Specialty Metals Exhibit at the Albany Regional Museum in Albany, OR.

Reactive metals, rare metals, specialty metals – all these terms refer to a set of elements that include titanium, hafnium, niobium, and zirconium. The processing of these metals has a very close link with the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Albany, OR.  And the work done at NETL’s Albany facility (formerly a Bureau of Mines lab) to help develop a process for using zirconium in naval submarines is featured in a new exhibit at the Albany Regional Museum. 

NETL employees worked with museum staff, Bureau of Mines retirees, and key figures from local metallurgical businesses to construct the exhibit. Organized in a timeline that currently spans from 1910 until 1979, the exhibit blends the technical, social, and economic developments in specialty metals that continue to deeply impact the Albany region.

The exhibit also includes many unique artifacts donated by members of the community. These include zirconium flatware commemorating the launch of the U.S.S. Nautilus (the first nuclear submarine) and a zirconium clock that was constructed from a zirconium plate with hafnium “crystal bar” composing the hour markers.

The exhibit is designed to evolve over time, and NETL is currently working to donate several historic pieces of equipment for viewing at the museum.  It will also eventually feature current activities at the various metallurgical facilities in Albany, providing museum visitors with a sense of NETL’s mission and goals.

But the exhibit provides more than just interesting artifacts and photographs.  NETL employees will also assist with K–12 school visits at the museum to give students interested in scientific careers an opportunity to see the positive impacts they can have on their communities, their nation, and the world.

For more information on the history of innovative research and development at NETL-Albany and other NETL facilities, please visit “NETL: A Century of Innovation.”