Tech Transfer Honors for Sandia

An FAA funded technique for rapidly detecting defects in wiring insulation has won the Federal Laboratory Consortium's 2007 Interagency Partnership Award for Excellence - for Sandia Laboratories. The award is not for developing the technology itself but moreso for facilitating its acceptance in the commercial marketplace via "technology transfer". The technique's called the Pulse Arrested Spark Discharge (PASD). PASD sends a very brief, high-voltage spark along aircraft wiring bundles and accurately records the locations where a spark can momentarily jump to ground because of compromised insulation. Once the faults are mapped, the insulation flaws can be tracked down and repaired. Astronics Advanced Electronics Systems, a subsidiary of New York-based Astronics Corp, holds the license for the technology. Sandia is an FFRDC (Federally Funded Research and Development Center) that is also a fully owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. Related Links