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New "Micro-Lattice" Material Makes Styrofoam Look Heavy

By Rain Noe - November 21, 2011

in Materials

Back in the day at the Pratt ID studios, a truck would occasionally pull up, front-loaded with raw materials. If you were in the vicinity of the shop manager when this happened, you'd often be pressed into service to help unload stuff and manhandle it up to the fifth floor. Worst thing to unload: 4×8 sheets of plywood. Best thing: Those massive pieces of blue foam. Ever since then, I've always loved carrying huge things that are light as a feather because you feel like Superman.

Last week, it was announced that researchers at HRL Laboratories have developed a new material 100 times lighter than styrofoam, consisting of "micro-lattice cellular architecture" that is 99.99% air. Though technically a metal comprised of nanotubes, the material has surprising elasticity—"including complete recovery from compression exceeding 50% strain"http://www.handeyesupply.com/making it ideal for shock absorption, dampening, and whatever else HRL client DARPA can dream up for the stuff.

Dr. Bill Carter, manager of the Architected Materials Group at HRL, lays out the vision for these micro-lattice materials by drawing parallels to large structures: "Modern buildings, exemplified by the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge, are incredibly light and weight-efficient by virtue of their architectures. We are revolutionizing lightweight materials by bringing this concept to the materials level and designing their architectures at the nano and micro scales."

via pop sci

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Jonathan North Priluck

8 years ago

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Doctor Carter stole all his ideas from me. I met Dr. Carter in 2003 and introduced him to Lattice Block Materials. I invented this entire technology: not Boeing and certainly not Dr. Carter. Anyone who cares to check can easily verify my claims. Boeing and Dr. Carter did not announce this "discovery" until exactly one day after my patents expired (USPTO #5,527,590 was the first, you can find the others yourself).

This is a classic story/example of how big corporations systematically rip off and exploit small companies and individual inventors. They are big, they are powerful, and they can afford to just wait for patents to expire and then claim the invention as their own.

The really sad part is that if Boeing had just worked with me they would now have an entire aircraft built out of Lattice Block Material. I knew how to manufacture huge pieces of it, they could never figure out how to do that, they still have not. I would be happy to show them, but I think I would rather give the technology away to Airbus than deal with them again.

I showed Dr. Carter a piece of "MicroLattice " we called it MicroPerf, they even stole the name. Dr. Carter knew a good idea when he saw it, and jumped in to take credit for himself. To bad neither Boeing, HRL Labs, or Dr. Carter have any vision.

They have done nothing with this technology. The day they announced their "discovery" was the same exact day my patent expired. What does that tell you? Theynever went into production either. Not on any level whatsoever. Why do you suppose that is?

It's because I own all the manufacturing secrets. One look at our website should convince anyone of the truth, www.jonathanaerospacecorp.com is the URL. Decide for yourself. At this point I don't really care what happens in terms of money or business.

But the whole issue of credit for the invention still infuriates me personally. Not only because it is so obviously wrong, but because of the nerve these folks have. Google my name and you will find out instantly that it is synonymous with Lattice Block Materials.

The public references go 20 years further back than any of Boeing's claims. Most of them can be directly traced to my original research. The rest of the technology still belongs to my company, Jonathan Aerospace Materials Corporation.

After a few run ins with companies like Boeing, I learned not to file any more patents. Trade secrets, a low profile, and plenty of classified Defense Department and NASA clients is a much better way to go if you want to avoid a situation like the one I had to deal with.

Best Regards, Jonathan Priluck
Founder and CEO, JAMCORP
Original Inventor of Lattice Block Materials

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- Boo Haw
  
  Jonathan North Priluck
  
  6 years ago
  
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  Let's not forget the dozens, if not hundreds, of investors who lost millions of dollars when JamCorp closed its doors like a thief in the night without so much as one word from you. I've personally been contacted by investors as far away as European countries trying to find out what happened to JamCorp and you. In retrospect, maybe Cal Spiney saw the handwriting on the wall. What you did is nothing short of shameful.
  
  I searched for years to try to figure out where JamCorp and you had disappeared to only to discover everything had been sold/given to a federal incubation company. After several attempts to get them to disclose what they knew, the only thing they ever revealed was that you personally turned everything over to them.
  
  You never attempted to contact your investors, you never offered to repay even one red cent. Believe me, I have had to file many freedom of information requests to find out what little I now know.
  
  We investors who believed in you, in JamCorp, and in your vision, provided you millions of dollars to bring your invention to fruition but were ultimately betrayed and victimized by the very person we trusted to do the right things for the right reasons.
  
  May you rest well at night...
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