The director of Ames Laboratory has won the prestigious national award of Laboratory Director of the Year from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.

Tom Barton, distinguished professor in chemistry and director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Lab since 1988, will receive the award May 7 at a national forum.

“We are thrilled with this honor for Dr. Barton,” said Steve Karsjen, program director for Ames Laboratory. “It is well deserved.”

The Federal Laboratory Consortium is a nationwide network of more than 600 federal laboratories. The Federal Laboratory Consortium is representative of all federal laboratories that focus on technology transfer, said Debra Covey, one of 20 executive board members of the Federal Laboratory Consortium.

She said the consortium’s awards committee chooses to recognize a director who has made maximum contributions in technology transfer. The national-level awards committee accepts nominations for directors from consortium members. It selects the director of the year based on his or her ability to enhance technology transfer in economic development or applying research to technological advancements in the field, she said.

“Dr. Tom Barton was recently recognized and honored … as the Federal Laboratory Director of the year, because he has helped to focus the Ames Laboratory to produce first-rate science, and science that leads to new companies, new products and improvements within existing companies and products,” said President Gregory Geoffroy in an e-mail.

The laboratory makes an effort to take its research and technology and transfer it to help Iowa businesses and the nation, Barton said.

“It makes you feel good to help a company,” he said. “After all, they’re paying for it. Their tax dollars pay for our work.”

Barton said the laboratory’s staff has used its expertise, knowledge and achievements in 1,100 separate projects which allow companies in Iowa to receive technical assistance. The Ames Laboratory’s research has resulted in the beginning of 14 companies, Karsjen said. The lab has issued 136 patents, most of which were issued under Barton’s direction, Barton said.

“[Being named Laboratory Director of the Year] means I get to throw my weight around in the office for about 30 minutes and then get back to work,” Barton said. “It’s not just me that is being recognized, it’s our people, our system and our team.”

Covey said Barton was selected not only for his work with the Ames Lab, but also for his contributions as the director of the Institute for Physical Research and Technology since 1998. The institute is a network of technology transfer centers which covers a broad spectrum of research. The Ames Lab is a part of that network, Barton said.

He is also one of 15 elected members of the Federal Laboratory Consortium’s National Advisory Board, which oversees the network in reaching its technology transfer goals, Barton said.

He will receive his award at the Federal Laboratory Consortium national meeting in Tucson, Ariz. As director of the year, he will work with a Federal Laboratory Consortium panel to discuss ways to improve technology transfer, Barton said.