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Inqui r y I s sue
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| 2014
n e m i g h t t h i n k Cr i t i c a l Ma t e r i a l s
Institute
Director Alex King would lead off the
first-anniversary meeting of the Critical Materials
Institute, held in September, with some big
numbers, or some big papers. Scientists can be like that.
Instead, he led with those far-harder-to-quantify human
values, ones like respect, collaboration, and agility. And
he’d been consciously keeping track of them in meetings
throughout the year.
THE KEY VALUE? LISTENING.
“Listening is the most important thing we do,” said King
to the assembly of 150 scientists, most of them visiting from
CMI’s partner labs and institutions. “Our best successes
in our first year come from the fact that we listened to our
industrial partners and acted on the advice we heard.”
It will be that value, King said, that will carry CMI through
its upcoming second year, and beyond.
Launched in 2013 as the newest of theU.S. Department of
Energy’s four InnovationHubs, theCriticalMaterials Institute
was tasked with the goal of finding and commercializing
ways to reduce reliance on the critical materials essential for
American competitiveness in
clean energy technologies.
To date, theCriticalMaterials
Institute has generated 20
invention disclosures, a number
that has garnered favorable
attention from the DOE and
legislators in Washington.
“It’s quite an achievement,”
said King in the plenary session.
“We have companies interested
in the inventions already and
they are moving forward toward
commercialization.” King noted
that the list of inventions garnered positive attention from
Congress, “so, we deliver.”
The Critical Materials Institute has delivered some
promising discoveries in substitute materials, especially in
the area of efficient lighting.
In addition, it has developed processes for reducing the
cost of mining and separating rare-earth materials.
“If you consider that you’re looking at technology that’s
been around 50 or 100 years or more—to be able to go in and
say, here’s a significant improvement—that’s a big deal,” said
King in a post-event interview.
FINE-TUNING RESEARCH GOALS
King said the institute would be carrying that listening
value into the second year, since it has served CMI so well
in the first; one of the hub’s second-year goals is doubling the
number of industrial partners.
Initial research efforts, while targeted at practical solutions
from the beginning, were fine-tuned or even changed
direction as industry partners weighed in on what were likely
to be the most promising outcomes for manufacturing. King
said there would continue to be a shifting of resources and
focusing of individual projects as CMI evolved.
“Learning where all those go/no-go decisions are from
an industry perspective, and then focusing all our efforts on
reaching them, that’s been really important. And the more
people we listen to, the better,” said King.
O
Listening to Industry
CMI,YEAR ONE:
CMI Director Alex King (back left) talks with advisory board
members John Poate, Colorado School of Mines, (right) and
Tom Graedel of Yale.
Alex King
B Y L A U R A M I L L S A P S
