Barbara Lograsso and Iver Anderson use the improved high-pressure gas atomization process to make metal powders for permanent magnets.

• In 1991, Ames Laboratory holds its first Science Bowl competition.
• Ames Lab scientists win a 1991 R&D 100 Award for SLALOM, a benchmarking technique that objectively compares computers of all sizes. (Inventors: John Gustafson, Stephen Elbert, Diane Rover and Michael Carter)
• Ames Lab scientists win a 1991 R&D 100 Award for using the high-pressure gas atomization technique to improve permanent magnets. (Inventors: Iver Anderson and Barbara Lograsso)
• Ames Lab scientists win a 1991 R&D 100 Award for the Microfluor Detector, which allows the precise analysis of the chemical composition of samples as small as a single cell. (Inventor:
Ed Yeung)

1990-91

• The Scalable Computing Lab is established in 1991. The mission of the SCL is to find ways of making parallel computing accessible and cost-effective for the scientific community.
• Ames Laboratory researchers predict the geometry for a ceramic structure that possesses a photonic band gap, a gap in the range of energy it can absorb or transmit. The structures hold potential for developing more precise and efficient lasers, sensing devices and antennas.
• In 1990, Ames Lab wins an R&D 100 Award for a thermite reduction process for making rare-earth iron alloys. (Inventors: Rick Schmidt, John Wheelock and David Peterson)
• The Lab builds the “Sun Ranger” in 1991. The vehicle is a solar electric truck that harnesses the sun’s energy.

Iver Anderson (standing) is “Another Dude for Science” at the first Science Bowl in 1991. Seated is Robert McCarley.

1992-93

• In 1992, Ames Laboratory undergoes a Department of Energy Tiger Team inspection in which outside investigators assess the Lab’s environment, health and safety readiness.
• In 1992, construction begins on the new administrative building, which will become the Technical and Administrative Services Facility, or TASF.
• Ames Lab scientists win a 1992 R&D 100 Award for Transient Infrared Spectroscopy, or TIRS, an on-line quality control test. (Inventors: John McClelland and Roger Jones)
• Lab researchers develop the Magnescope, a portable inspection device that measures the magnetic properties of materials to assess damage and potential for failure.
• Ames Lab engineers and ISU researchers begin collaborating to develop the level-1 trigger for PHENIX, the detector that will be part of the planned Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in New York.
• Ames Lab researchers develop the Mobile Demonstration Laboratory for Environmental Screening Technologies, or MDLEST, a trailer containing equipment that can carry out on-site detection of trace levels of soil contamination.

Lead-free solder

1994

• In 1994, the Lab signs a number of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, or CRADAs, which allow the Lab to team with industrial partners in developing new technologies.
• In 1994, Ames Laboratory begins holding public meetings about the planned cleanup of inactive waste disposal sites in the Ames area.
• In September of 1994, excavation is completed on one of the inactive hazardous waste disposal sites, and the waste is shipped to Utah for disposal.
• Ames Lab metallurgists develop a high-strength lead-free solder.
• The Lab becomes a member of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles that has the goal of developing a “clean” car that is far more fuel-efficient than current vehicles but costs about the same.

1995-96

• Ames Lab scientists win a 1995 R&D 100 Award for HINT, a computer benchmarking technique that determines the amount of work a computer can perform over time. (Inventors: John Gustafson and Quinn Snell)
• On Oct. 7, 1995, Harley Wilhelm passes away at the age of 95.
• In 1996, engineers and computer scientists from Ames Lab work to build a replica of the Atanasoff-Berry Computer, ABC, the world’s first electronic digital computer that was originally constructed at Iowa State in 1939.

Atanasoff-Berry Computer replica

1997

• In 1997, Ames Laboratory celebrates its 50th anniversary.
• Lab scientists develop a method of tracking single molecules in solution.
• Lab scientists win a 1997 R&D 100 Award for the ESY9600 Multiplexed Electrophoresis DNA Sequencer that operates at a speed 24 times higher than current sequencers for about the same cost. (Inventor: Ed Yeung)
• Lab scientists win a 1997 R&D 100 Award for Nanocrystalline Composite Coercive Magnet Powder that represents a new alloying approach in rare-earth-based permanent magnet systems. (Inventors: Bill McCallum, Matt Kramer and Kevin Dennis)
• The Atanasoff-Berry Computer replica is completed in 1997 and unveiled in Washington, D.C.

Active Magnetic Refrigeration Demonstration Unit

• Ames Laboratory scientists conduct award-winning research on the surface properties of quasicrystals.
• Ames Lab is handed a key role in DOE’s new Computational Materials Sciences Network – an effort to use the power of supercomputers to develop and model new materials.
• On Sept. 17, 1999, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson visits Ames Laboratory – the first Cabinet-level visit to the Ames facility since the Department of Energy was formed in 1977.

1998-99

• Ames Laboratory scientists develop a new class of materials that could make magnetic refrigeration a viable cooling technology for the future.
• On June 16, 1998, former Ames Laboratory director Robert Hansen passes away.
• Ames Laboratory receives a 1998 R&D 100 Award for Capillary Electrophoresis-Fluorescence Line-narrowing Spectroscopy, or CE-FLNS, that can detect the nature of DNA damage caused by chemical pollutants. (Inventors: Ryszard Jankowiak and Gerald Small)
• Lab researchers improve the method of high-pressure gas atomization for turning molten metal into fine-grained metal powders.

Director Tom Barton (right) presents Secretary Richardson with a plaque containing ultrapure metals made at Ames Laboratory.