Battelle Memorial Institute

Battelle Memorial Institute (more widely known as simply Battelle) is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code because it is organized for charitable, scientific and education purposes. The institute opened in 1929 but traces its origins to the 1923 will of Ohio industrialist Gordon Battelle which provided for its creation. Originally focusing on contract research and development work in the areas of metals and material science, Battelle is now an international science and technology enterprise that explores emerging areas of science, develops and commercializes technology, and manages laboratories for customers.

Battelle Memorial Institute
TypePrivate Nonprofit Charitable Trust
IndustryNational Security, Healthcare, Environment
FoundedColumbus, Ohio (1929)
HeadquartersColumbus, Ohio, USA
Key people
Lewis Von Thaer, President and CEO
ServicesResearch & Development, Engineering Services
RevenueUS$6.2 billion[1]
Number of employees
3,200 (+29,500 from national labs)
Websitewww.battelle.org
Headquarters in Columbus

Contract research business

Battelle serves the following:

  • Agribusiness: cannabis research, encapsulation, formulation, environmental fate, spray drift and droplet characterization
  • Ecology & Environment: scientific data packages for researchers, air, water and soil analysis, assessment and remediation
  • Health: genomics, life sciences research, medical device development, neurotechnology, public health studies
  • Materials Science: analytical chemistry, characterization, coatings, compounds and structures, corrosion studies, nanoparticles and materials
  • National Security: aviation and aerospace technologies, chemical and biological defense systems, cyber innovations, ground tactical systems, maritime technologies
  • Research Infrastructure: Biosafety Laboratory 3 (BSL3) operations, chemical demilitarization facilities, National Ecological Observatory Network, national laboratory management
  • STEM Education: BattelleEd, STEMX, Battelle Arts Grant, STEM Learning Networks

In addition to its Columbus (Ohio) headquarters, Battelle has offices in Aberdeen (Maryland), West Jefferson (Ohio), Seattle (Washington), Arlington (Virginia), Norwell (Massachusetts), Charlottesville (Virginia), Baltimore (Maryland), Boulder (Colorado) and Egg Harbor Township (New Jersey).[2]

National laboratory management

In addition to operating its own research facilities, as of 2019, Battelle manages or co-manages on behalf of the United States Department of Energy the following national laboratories:

Additionally, on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security:

National Science Foundation projects:

Notable projects
View of Columbus facilities from King Ave.

In the 1940s, Battelle's Vice-President of Engineering, John Crout made it possible for Battelle researchers, including William Bixby and Paul Andrus, to develop Chester Carlson's concept of dry copying. Carlson had been turned down for funding by more than a dozen agencies including the U.S. Navy. Work led to the first commercial xerographic equipment, and to the formation of Xerox corporation.

Battelle also developed the first nuclear fuel rods for nuclear reactors, numerous advances in metallurgy that helped advance the United States space program, algorithms and coatings that led to the first optical digital recorder developed by James Russell, which paved the way for the first compact disc, and the first generation jet engines using titanium alloys.[5]

Other advances included the armor plating for tanks in World War II; Snopake, the first correction fluid, developed in 1955; the fuel for the first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571); development of the Universal Product Code in 1965; cruise control for automobiles in 1970; and the first all-sputtered photovoltaic cell for solar energy in 1974. In 1987, PIRI, a fiber optics venture with Mitsubishi and NTT, was launched, which resulted in a $1.8 billion market. In conjunction with Kevin M. Amula, Battelle Geneva developed "No-melt" chocolate in 1988.

Battelle has made numerous medical advances, including a 1972 breakthrough development of special tubing to prevent blood clots during surgical procedures,[6] and more recently, the development of reusable insulin injection pen, including dose memory, with Eli Lilly and Co..

Battelle was the contractor for a computer system on which the Voter News Service relied for tallying exit polling data in the November 2002 U.S. Congressional and Senate elections; the system failed and results were not reported until ten months after the election. The failure led to the disbanding of the VNS and the formation of its replacement, the National Election Pool.[7][8][9]

In April 2020, Battelle Memorial Institute partnered with Ohio State University to distribute rapid tests for Covid-19, with results in less than 5 hours.[10][11]

Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy (OSU/Glenn)

Battelle provides funds for a public policy research center at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs of The Ohio State University to focus on scholarly questions associated with science and technology policy. The Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy began official operation in July 2011.[12]

Nonprofit status

From 1969 to 1975, the institute was involved in a lawsuit over whether it was "neglecting its philanthropic promises" as a nonprofit organization. It reached an $80 million settlement in 1975 (equivalent to $380,111,317 in 2019), used to demolish Union Station, build Battelle Hall at the Columbus Convention Center, refurbish the Ohio Theatre and create Battelle-Darby Creek Metro Park. The institute lost its nonprofit status in the 1990s, though regained it by 2001.[13][14]

See also

References
  1. "Annual Financial Statement" (PDF). Battelle Memorial Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  2. Battelle.org
  3. "About the Alliance". allianceforsustainableenergy.org. Archived from the original on 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
  4. Mervis, Jeffrey. "NSF picks Battelle to run NEON". Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. Battelle Memorial Institute Firsts Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  6. St. Louis Commerce Magazine, "A Tale of Four Cities" Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 26 July 2009.
  7. Bauder, David (September 5, 2003). "VNS Data From '02 Midterm Votes Released". Associated Press  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  8. Morin, Richard (January 14, 2003). "Networks To Dissolve Exit Poll Service". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 4 August 2011.
  9. Rutenberg, Jim (5 November 2004). "Report Says Problems Led to Skewed Surveying Data". The New York Times.
  10. "Battelle Memorial Institute partners with OSU to create rapid results testing for COVID-19". WEWS. 2020-04-06. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  11. Hancock, Laura; clevel; .com (2020-03-31). "Columbus-based Battelle is at the forefront of battling the coronavirus: 5 facts about the nonprofit firm". cleveland. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  12. Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy
  13. https://www.dispatch.com/article/20090125/NEWS/301259607
  14. https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a121573.pdf

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