1970s included: Development of a highly sensitive technique for the direct analysis of mercury in air, water, fish, and soils. Development of a method for isolating minute amounts of organic compounds found in water. Development of a process for removing copper, tin, and chromium from automotive scrap, yielding reclaimed steel pure enough for direct re-use. Development of an image intensifier screen that significantly reduced exposure to medical X-rays. Development of a solar heating module that could both store and transmit solar power. 1980s In the 1980s research at Ames Laboratory evolved to meet local and national energy needs. Fossil energy research focused on ways to burn coal cleaner. New technologies were developed to clean up nuclear waste sites. High-performance computing research augmented the applied mathematics and solid-state physics programs. Ames Laboratory became a national leader in the fields of superconductivity and nondestructive evaluation. In addition, DOE established the Materials Preparation Center to provide public access to the development of new materials. Other key accomplishments from the 1980s included: Development of a liquid-junction solar cell that was efficient, durable and non-toxic. Received Defense Department funding to develop nondestructive evaluation techniques for aircraft. Became DOE's lead laboratory for managing the environmental assessment of energy recovery processes. Development of a new method for alloying pure neodymium with iron, producing the feedstock for a widely used neodymium magnet. Assisted in development of Terfenol, which changes form in a magnetic field, making it ideal for sonar and transducer applications. 1990s Encouraged by the United States Department of Energy, in the 1990s Ames Laboratory continued its efforts to transfer basic research findings to industry for the development of new materials, products, and processes. The Scalable Computing Laboratory was established to find ways of making parallel computing accessible and cost-effective for the scientific community. Researchers discovered the first non-carbon example of buckyballs, a new material important in the field of microelectronics. Scientists developed a DNA sequencer that was 24 times faster than other devices, and a technique that assessed the nature of DNA damage by chemical pollutants. Other key accomplishments of the 1990s included: Development of the HINT benchmarking technique that objectively compared computers of all sizes, now supported by Brigham Young University's HINT site. Improvement of a method of high pressure gas atomization for turning molten metal into fine-grained metal powders. Prediction of the geometry for a ceramic structure with a photonic band gap. These structures