Experts at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are now offering short-term technical and scientific assistance to entities working to combat the coronavirus through the COVID-19 Technical Assistance Program, or CTAP, an initiative of DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions.
CTAP provides targeted funding to ORNL and other national laboratories to enable laboratory staff to assist United States-based institutions facing challenging technical hurdles as they seek solutions to the pandemic. The program creates a pathway for ORNL to offer technical services, analysis, testing and consulting on external projects related to COVID-19.
“Our scientists and engineers hold invaluable expertise useful for companies, not-for-profits and other entities creating treatments, vaccines, personal protective equipment and medical technology that can help combat COVID-19,” said Moe Khaleel, ORNL’s deputy for projects. “ORNL’s contributions in these areas have already made an impact in the fight against the coronavirus. The laboratory’s participation in this program will allow our experts to lend their time and knowledge to other institutions working towards the same goal.”
Work that qualifies for CTAP funding must not be R&D intensive nor intended to generate intellectual property. Applicants should connect with ORNL through DOE’s Lab Partnering Service, where information about resources, experts and facilities across the National Laboratory Complex is available.
ORNL’s participation in CTAP is the lab’s latest move to foster partnerships working toward solutions to the pandemic. In June, ORNL launched the COVID-19 Rapid Access Licensing Program to make a portfolio of ORNL technologies that may be useful against the coronavirus readily available for licensing at no cost. DOE User Facilities located at ORNL, including the Spallation Neutron Source, the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, have also rolled out streamlined access for users conducting coronavirus research.
ORNL’s COVID-19 research is supported by the DOE Office of Science through the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory, a consortium of DOE national laboratories focused on response to COVID-19, with funding provided by the Coronavirus CARES Act.
Learn more about ORNL research in the fight against COVID-19.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. — Abby Bower
