boron-aluminum-magnesium ceramic alloy that exhibits exceptional hardness. Adding a coating of BAM to blades could reduce friction and increase wear resistance, which could have a significant effect in boosting the efficiency of pumps, which are used in all kinds of industrial and commercial applications. Materials produced by the Ames Laboratory's Materials Preparation Center (MPC) were launched into outer space as part of the European Space Agency's Planck Mission. The MPC-produced lanthanum-nickel-tin alloy was used in Planck's crycooler systems to cool instruments during the space mission. Development of osgBullet, a software package that creates 3-D real-time computer simulations that can help engineers design complex systems ranging from next-generation power plants to highly efficient cars. The osgBullet software won a 2010 R&D 100 Award. Research confirming negative refraction can be observed in photonic crystals in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum, which moves physicists one step closer to constructing materials that exhibit negative refraction at optical wavelengths and realizing the much-sought-after superlens. 2011 and beyond Development of a new alloy that achieved a 25 percent improvement in the ability of a key material to convert heat into electrical energy, which may someday improve efficiency in automobiles, military vehicles, and large-scale power generating facilities. Signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Institute of Industrial Technology to promote international collaboration in rare-earth research. Dan Shechtman, an Ames Laboratory scientist, won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of quasicrystals. Gas atomization technology was used to make titanium powder with processes that are ten times more efficient than traditional powder-making methods, which significantly lowers the cost of titanium powder to manufacturers. The technology led to the formation of a company that won the Obama Administration's America's Next Top Energy Innovators Challenge. The company based on the technology, Iowa Powder Atomization Technology, also won the 2012 John Pappajohn Iowa Business Plan competition. Pioneering mass spectrometry methods developed at the Ames Laboratory are helping plant biologists get their first glimpses of never-before-seen plant tissue structures, an advancement that opens new realms of study that may have long-ranging implications for biofuels research and crops genetics. Scientists are unraveling the mysteries of exotic superconductors, materials that when cooled have zero electric resistance, which may someday help increase the efficiency of power distribution. Discovery of the underlying order in metallic glasses, which may hold the key to the ability to create new high-tech alloys with specific