All that glitters may not be gold, but if NRaD, the US Navy's high tech research facility in San Diego, finds that a unique furniture coating made by LuminOre, Inc. (also of San Diego) can coat and protect the hulls of its fleet of ships from marine micro-organism "Fouling", the coating technology's owner and developer Mr. Tom Valente will have struck it rich.

Sound incredible? Even more incredible is that LuminOre, a composite metal containing up to 95 percent copper, can be conductive of electricity for some applications and non-conductive for others. It is also being studied for use in computers where ceramics have been utilized for electrical insulation and heat diffusion. Other uses may be in electronic mounting boards, burn in boards, heat sinks, fiber optics, and encapsulation. SRI International, formerly Stanford Research Institute, wants to test encapsulation capabilities for radiation management, waste disposal, and radiation shielding. Another lab is researching LuminOre's use as a mercury-free dental filling.

All of the uses listed above are a far cry from LuminOre's original aesthetic application; a coating for mirror frames, furniture, and art objects. Tom Valente, the inventor, was a custom furniture manufacturer in Boston 13 years ago who wanted a low-cost metallic furniture finish. He wanted something that would look like gilt, but be less expensive and labor intensive than the traditional methods of hot casting, forging, covering with sheet metal, or using bronzing powders in a lacquer coating. His patented invention is manufactured in a "cold" process. Objects are either cold cast or cold sprayed using standard HVLP spray equipment and standard tools. In comparison, this process is a much less expensive and easier to master technique for adding beauty and perceived value to wood, reinforced plaster, molded urethane foam, plastics, PVC, paper, fabric, as well as non-precious solid cast metals.

The Far West RTTC's involvement, through its affiliate South West Technology Transfer (SWTTC), was to assist LuminOre in entering into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the US Navy. Having the benefit of a close working relationship with NRaD and understanding of the partnering process, the SWTTC was able to expedite execution of the CRADA pact to develop both Navy-specific and commercial applications for the unique coating material.

For more Information, please contact:

Dr. Brenda-Lee Karasik (brenda@nosc.mil)
at NRaD
(619) 553-2101
Fax: (619) 553-6924