1 00:00:00,277 --> 00:00:01,260 (upbeat techno music) 2 00:00:01,260 --> 00:00:03,620 - [Narrator] The Air Force Technology Transfer Program 3 00:00:03,620 --> 00:00:05,450 helps move important new technologies 4 00:00:05,450 --> 00:00:08,630 from Air Force research centers into the private sector 5 00:00:08,630 --> 00:00:12,250 where they can benefit the US Military and American economy. 6 00:00:12,250 --> 00:00:14,043 This is the story of one of them. 7 00:00:15,060 --> 00:00:19,464 - [Man] Five, four, three, two, one. 8 00:00:19,464 --> 00:00:22,047 (engine roars) 9 00:00:23,090 --> 00:00:25,310 - [Narrator] Keeping the US Air Force on the cutting edge 10 00:00:25,310 --> 00:00:27,723 of liquid propulsion systems in space, 11 00:00:28,900 --> 00:00:29,733 missile 12 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,160 and aircraft technology (engine roars) 13 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,310 is the mission of the AFRL Research Laboratory 14 00:00:37,310 --> 00:00:40,000 at the Edwards Air Force Base in California. 15 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,050 - Almost every propulsion system that the military has, 16 00:00:43,050 --> 00:00:45,800 uses a liquid of some sort. 17 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,900 All of those systems involve surfaces 18 00:00:47,900 --> 00:00:49,340 that interact with liquids. 19 00:00:49,340 --> 00:00:52,210 Particularly, fuels, oils and greases. 20 00:00:52,210 --> 00:00:54,380 So, the military is very interested in being able 21 00:00:54,380 --> 00:00:57,450 to control those interactions in ways that basically 22 00:00:57,450 --> 00:00:59,990 enhance the performance of any of those systems. 23 00:00:59,990 --> 00:01:02,740 - [Narrator] In 2002 a team led by the lab's 24 00:01:02,740 --> 00:01:06,340 senior scientist, Joseph Mabry, synthesized a series 25 00:01:06,340 --> 00:01:09,580 of chemical compounds, called fluorinated polyhedral 26 00:01:09,580 --> 00:01:13,540 oligomeric silsesquioxane monomers or F-POS, 27 00:01:13,540 --> 00:01:14,940 that were capable of repelling 28 00:01:14,940 --> 00:01:16,840 both water and oily liquids. 29 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:17,950 - [Scientist] Here on the left hand side 30 00:01:17,950 --> 00:01:20,970 is a piece of untreated aluminum metal 31 00:01:20,970 --> 00:01:23,320 and then we have a coated aluminum 32 00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:25,640 with our repellent surface and you could see 33 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,730 the water droplet will bead up 34 00:01:27,730 --> 00:01:30,030 and it doesn't want to stay anywhere. 35 00:01:30,030 --> 00:01:32,070 - [Narrator] The F-POS technology caught the attention 36 00:01:32,070 --> 00:01:34,620 of some scientists at Boston's prestigious 37 00:01:34,620 --> 00:01:37,460 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 38 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:39,350 - They immediately saw the potential 39 00:01:39,350 --> 00:01:41,730 of the molecule that Dr. Mabry had made, 40 00:01:41,730 --> 00:01:44,060 for really pushing the limits 41 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:47,360 in terms of controlling the interaction of solids and fluids 42 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:49,530 in ways that people hadn't thought about before. 43 00:01:49,530 --> 00:01:52,860 - [Narrator] An MIT spinout, NBD Nano, named after 44 00:01:52,860 --> 00:01:56,100 the Namib desert beetle that harvests moisture on its back, 45 00:01:56,100 --> 00:01:59,860 saw potential commercial uses for the F-POS technology. 46 00:01:59,860 --> 00:02:01,670 - We look at what the Air Force is developing. 47 00:02:01,670 --> 00:02:04,910 For the most part they're very real technologies. 48 00:02:04,910 --> 00:02:07,420 And what I mean real, I mean scientifically sound. 49 00:02:07,420 --> 00:02:10,380 But, more importantly, with clear applications in mind. 50 00:02:10,380 --> 00:02:14,680 A lot of academic research, is just that, it's academic. 51 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,820 But where the Air Force differs, I believe, 52 00:02:16,820 --> 00:02:19,560 is really the focus on applications. 53 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,000 - [Narrator] With the help of Techly, 54 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:23,640 a DoD partnership intermediary, 55 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:26,710 NBD Nano licensed the F-POS technology, 56 00:02:26,710 --> 00:02:29,100 formed a collaboration with the AFRL 57 00:02:29,100 --> 00:02:30,440 and went looking for funding 58 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,850 to commercialize the Air Force technology. 59 00:02:32,850 --> 00:02:34,830 - So we have been working with the Air Force 60 00:02:34,830 --> 00:02:36,810 for approximately four years now. 61 00:02:36,810 --> 00:02:38,940 Since then we have done a lot of the work 62 00:02:38,940 --> 00:02:41,770 around formulating that material 63 00:02:41,770 --> 00:02:43,377 and improving upon it 64 00:02:43,377 --> 00:02:46,560 so that it can be applied in a commercial setting. 65 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:48,640 - [Narrator] NBD Nano identified several 66 00:02:48,640 --> 00:02:50,770 promising commercial applications. 67 00:02:50,770 --> 00:02:53,500 The first of which they called RepelShell. 68 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,830 A water and oil repellent formulation 69 00:02:55,830 --> 00:02:58,000 that can be used as a plastic additive, 70 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,760 or as a glass coating. 71 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,720 - We can actually directly integrate it into 72 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,170 already vetted plastics, 73 00:03:04,170 --> 00:03:06,140 that are in commercial setting today. 74 00:03:06,140 --> 00:03:08,620 We can integrate this material into a paint, 75 00:03:08,620 --> 00:03:10,468 to try and make that paint 76 00:03:10,468 --> 00:03:12,890 more water and oil repellent. 77 00:03:12,890 --> 00:03:15,040 - We're doing a lot in athletic materials, 78 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:17,600 whether that's running shoes or running gear. 79 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,600 - [Narrator] NBD Nano has broadened the uses 80 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,520 of the AFRL F-POS technology beyond 81 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:24,270 oil and water repellent products, 82 00:03:24,270 --> 00:03:27,900 to a class of oil and water attracting formulations. 83 00:03:27,900 --> 00:03:30,410 NanoGlue is a next-generation adhesive 84 00:03:30,410 --> 00:03:33,510 with many high-value specialized applications. 85 00:03:33,510 --> 00:03:37,390 In addition, NBD Nano has developed a mixture of attracting 86 00:03:37,390 --> 00:03:40,023 and repelling compounds like Invisiprint. 87 00:03:41,130 --> 00:03:45,210 - Invisiprint is a whole new class of technology. 88 00:03:45,210 --> 00:03:46,900 It essentially hides fingerprints 89 00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:48,560 on a variety of print surfaces. 90 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:50,410 Predominantly glass and metal. 91 00:03:50,410 --> 00:03:52,600 - [Narrator] Currently, the company is scaling up 92 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:54,340 for industrial production. 93 00:03:54,340 --> 00:03:57,080 But none of these technological or commercial advancements 94 00:03:57,080 --> 00:03:59,350 would have been possible without the work done 95 00:03:59,350 --> 00:04:02,430 by the AFRL team at Edwards Air Force Base 96 00:04:02,430 --> 00:04:04,913 and the Air Force Technology Transfer Program. 97 00:04:06,180 --> 00:04:09,790 AFRL propulsion research, creating breakthroughs 98 00:04:09,790 --> 00:04:11,800 in material science that are leading 99 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,500 to important new commercial products. 100 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:16,170 For more information contact 101 00:04:16,170 --> 00:04:18,763 the Air Force Technology Transfer Program.