An analysis of 45 years of R&D 100 Awards reveals a clear leader: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), with more than two hundred winning products. National labs dominate the top ranks, demonstrating the staying power of consistent government investment in R&D. All of the top 10 organizations since 2010 are federally-backed entities.
R&D 100 heatmap
ORNL
Frequently featured on R&D World, ORNL’s expertise — and awards span diverse fields, from advanced materials and manufacturing processes to breakthroughs in computing and energy. For instance, their development of the “Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM-CI)” system in 2015 is an example of an ORNL project focused on large-scale 3D printing.
ORNL is also a frequent collaborator. Their partnership with Martin Marietta Energy Systems Inc. (before ORNL’s management change) resulted in 16 R&D 100-winning products, including the “Integrated Gas Analysis and Sensing Chip,” “Fiber-Optic Fluoroimmuno Sensor,” and the “Multimode Ionization Detector.” Additionally, collaborations with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory led to innovations such as the “Flexible Data Management” system and the “3-D Chemical X-Ray Microscope.”
Beyond ORNL, the top collaborating pairs showcase a robust network of government, academic, and private sector alliances. For example:
- Sandia National Laboratories and University of New Mexico collaborated on projects like the “Numerical Simulation of Multiphysics Processes” and the development of the “Holey Platinum” catalyst.
- Ames Laboratory and Iowa State University worked together on the “Transient Infrared Spectroscopy On-Line Analyzer” and the “ESY9600 Multiplexed Capillary Electrophoresis DNA Sequencer..
- Industrial Technology Research Institute and Taiwan partnered on diverse technologies, including “TEMM – Thermoelectric Material and Module Technology” and “Lignoxy – Lignin-Based Polymer Technology.”
A closer look at the top 20 collaborating pairs involved in R&D 100 awards reveals a mix of government, academic, and private sector alliances. While internal collaborations within organizations like Hitachi and Industrial Technology Research Institute are common, cross-sector partnerships, such as those between national labs and universities like the University of New Mexico, are also prevalent. These collaborations have led to groundbreaking innovations, including the “Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope (PSTM)” from ORNL and Martin Marietta Energy Systems Inc., and the “Soft X-Ray Laser” developed by Princeton University and Princeton X-Ray Laser Inc.
One example from the top partnership pair, involving Martin Marietta Energy Systems Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is the “Soft X-Ray Emission Spectrometer.”
Yet the volume of collaborations in the data set has fallen significantly after peaking around 2009, reflecting changing dynamics in R&D funding and partnership strategies.
Other notable historical collaborations include the following while a network graph below highlights key partnerships over the years since 1979.
| Rank | Collaboration Pair | Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | (Martin Marietta Energy Systems Inc., Oak Ridge National Laboratory) | 16 |
| 2 | (Sandia National Laboratories, University of New Mexico) | 8 |
| 3 | (Ames Laboratory, Iowa State University) | 8 |
| 4 | (Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan) | 6 |
| 5 | (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories) | 5 |
| 6 | (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee) | 5 |
| 7 | (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley) | 4 |
| 8 | (Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Medical Corp.) | 4 |
| 9 | (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory) | 4 |
| 10 | (Princeton University, Princeton X-Ray Laser Inc.) | 4 |
| 11 | (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) | 4 |
| 12 | (Carnegie Mellon University, Jet Propulsion Lab) | 3 |
| 13 | (Nippondenso Co. Ltd., Toyota Central R&D Laboratories Inc.) | 3 |
| 14 | (Sandia National Laboratories, University of Illinois) | 3 |
| 15 | (Ames National Laboratory, Critical Materials Institute) | 3 |
| 16 | (Carnegie Mellon University, National Energy Technology Laboratory) | 3 |
| 17 | (Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) | 3 |
| 18 | (Battelle Memorial Institute, Electric Power Research Institute) | 3 |
| 19 | (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories) | 3 |
| 20 | (Cleveland State University, NASA) | 3 |
