May 2, 2005

BATTELLE RESEARCHER HONORED FOR WELDING BREAKTHROUGH

Columbus, Ohio-Battelle researcher Pingsha Dong has received a prestigious Aerospace 2004 Laurels Award from Aviation Week and Space Technology for his breakthrough method of predicting the fatigue life of welded structures.

The Verity™ mesh-insensitive structural stress method is a revolutionary predictive tool that industry experts say could save billions of dollars in aerospace, automotive, and countless other engineering fields. It allows companies to reduce expensive testing practices and the common over-engineering of designs.

The Aerospace Laurels Award is among the most prestigious in aviation and aerospace technology. Other recipients of the 2004 Laurels Award include individuals and teams who developed the Mars Rovers and worked with the Hubble telescope to probe new galaxies. In conjunction with the award, Pingsha and Verity™ were recognized at the Aviation Week and Space Technology Laureates Hall of Fame Dinner Ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., on April 5, 2005.

"This award is a tremendous honor," says Pingsha. "My Battelle colleagues, Zhenning Cao and JK Hong, have been vital to the success of Verity™ and share in this recognition."

The Laurels Awards honor individuals and teams who made lasting contributions to the advancement of aerospace and to those who applied aviation or space technologies to the betterment of humankind. This year's honorees were nominated by Aviation Week & Space Technology editors in the categories of Space, Commercial Air Transport, Aeronautics/Propulsion, Government/Military, Electronics and Operations, Innovation/Entrepreneurship, and Business/General Aviation. Pingsha was honored in the category of Aeronautics/Propulsion.

Battelle is a global leader in science and technology. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, it develops and commercializes technology and manages laboratories for customers. Battelle, with the national labs it manages or co-manages, oversees 19,000 staff members and conducts $2.9 billion in annual research and development. Battelle innovations include the development of the office copier machine (Xerox), pioneering work on compact disc technology, medical technology advancements, and fiber optic technologies.

For more information, visit www.battelle.org/verity or contact Media Relations Manager Mark Berry at (614) 424-5544, berrym@battelle.org, or National Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at (410) 306-8638, delaneyk@battelle.org.