Surviving hostile Venus conditions, finding rare earths and other critical metals

(Press-News.org) Whether helping create an alloy that can withstand the withering conditions of Venus in partnership with NASA or collaborating with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to develop a portable sensor that can identify rare earth elements (REE), the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering’s Paul Ohodnicki is fueling innovative research while solving problems both in space and right here on Earth.

R&D World has recognized Ohodnicki and his team of collaborators with 2025 R&D 100 Awards, this year for two emerging technologies: VulcanAlloy and eMission Critical Sensor. The worldwide science and innovation competition celebrates “novelty, impact, and practical applications in fields like materials science, biotechnology, energy, and more.”

“We work on problems that matter as opposed to ones that just interest us,” said Ohodnicki, RK Mellon Faculty Fellow in Energy and associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science (MEMS). “We also work on problems that fuel relationships and facilitate technology transfer.”

Forging VulcanAlloy

To advance inductor technology that could power lander and rover systems for as long as 60 days on Venus’ harsh surface, the Pitt team collaborated with NASA Glenn Research Center, CorePower Magnetics, and Raytheon to create VulcanAlloy.

The collaboration has yielded a new class of high-temperature soft magnetic nanocomposite alloys that can withstand high temperatures continuously approaching 500 degrees Celsius. Alternative materials previously developed for extreme environments were only demonstrated for temperatures in the 200- to 250-degree Celsius range.

“We had previously developed a class of novel soft magnetic nanocomposite alloys,” said Ohodnicki. “We modified the chemistry of those alloys to stabilize the structure of the materials and expand their capabilities, allowing them to handle long-term operations in highly corrosive conditions that are unprecedented.”

The technology was developed under a Pitt-led project funded by NASA HOTTech. Pitt has partnered with NASA Glenn Research Center to develop the alloy and scale the technology; CorePower Magnetics to further scale the technology and design, fabricate, and demonstrate an inductor using these alloys; and Raytheon to validate the inductor in conditions relevant to aviation and aerospace.

“This is one of those projects where having all the right organizations at the table has been so important in creating the potential for commercial and real-world impact,” said Ohodnicki.

Illuminating rare earth elements

Rare earth elements (REEs), vital in new technologies, are more common than their name suggests. In fact, research has found that coal waste streams could potentially contain enough REE to cover U.S. domestic demand.

Extracting these elements, however, poses a significant and costly challenge. Just identifying if enough REE are found in a waste stream or feedstock to merit possible extraction has historically involved taking samples and sending them to a lab for analysis, an expensive and slow process that limits the economic and technological potential for recovery.

In 2016, while working at NETL, Ohodnicki began developing field sensor technology using fiber-optic-based probes that could identify REE right at the source. In 2019, he brought on Pitt PhD student Scott Crawford as an NETL post-doctoral fellow, beginning a collaboration that continues to date and has resulted in eMission Critical Sensing, a lightweight system that can be transported to waste streams or other sites with waste liquid or leachate, for example.

“When Paul brought me over to NETL for this exciting project, he asked me to develop a new sensing material that would work well in streams,” said Crawford, who now works at NETL as a staff scientist leading numerous projects in optical sensing and material characterization.

“Nathaniel Rosi's group at the University of Pittsburgh had pioneered a bio metal-organic framework (bio-MOF), an exciting class of materials that can induce luminescence from rare earth ions through photosensitization,” added Crawford. “I started working with the bio-MOF and explored how they could be used in this sensing.”

The technology they have created with other NETL inventors such as John Ahern, John Baltrus, Ward Burgess, and Ki-Joong Kim detects the presence of REEs and distinguishes which elements are present in an aqueous solution, often a waste stream but also adaptable to other applications. The system currently consists of a fiber-optic sensor probe connected to an LED light source and a detection unit, with a laptop used to monitor results. The commercialized product would integrate the entire system into a compact and optimized enclosure with custom-developed software, the natural next stage in the technology’s evolution.

“Scott has expanded the capabilities beyond rare earth elements, to identify additional critical metals including battery materials such as cobalt and possibly lithium in the future,” said Ohodnicki. “This system is about an order of magnitude lower in cost than lab-based systems, it operates in real-time to maximize value, and in principle it has a higher sensitivity level than other existing portable systems.”

“Having a long-time affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh and NETL, it’s exciting to have this opportunity to bring an award to both institutions and to the city of Pittsburgh, which has been my backyard for my whole life,” added Crawford.

R&D World is an organization dedicated to promoting and highlighting projects like these across industry, government, and universities through print journalism, their website, awards, and other media. They have hosted the R&D 100 Awards for 63 years. 

Last year, R&D World recognized Pitt for Ultrasonic Photonics, sensing technology developed in collaboration with NETL. The awards bring Dr. Ohodnicki’s total R&D 100 Awards to seven over his career and distinguishes him as a recipient for the last four years in a row while a Pitt faculty member.

The awards also highlights the strong and productive partnership between the University of Pittsburgh and NETL in major initiatives such as the University of Pittsburgh Infrastructure Sensing Collaboration (UPISC) workshop.

VulcanAlloy and eMissionCritical will be recognized at an R&D World awards ceremony held in Scottsdale, Arizona, on November 20, 2025. The event seeks to celebrate 100 leaders in innovation while fueling networking across industries and academic institutions.

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