Energy Department patent Web site launched

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy has launched a Web site that allows search and retrieval of information involving more than 20,000 department patents.

The database represents a growing collection of patents resulting from research and development supported by the Energy Department from the 1940s to the present.

"From helping the blind to see again to identifying hidden weapons through holographic computerized imaging technology, the U.S. Department of Energy has supported and will continue to support research addressing some of the world’s most pressing scientific challenges," the department's Under Secretary for Science Raymond Orbach said.

The new Web site is available at http://www.osti.gov/doepatents/.