Columbus, Ohio--At first sight, you might think Jay Sayre is in the wrong place when he pulls into the reserved parking spot marked "Battelle Inventor of the Year."

After all, this former college football player and father-slash-soccer coach to two daughters hardly matches the wild-haired mad scientist stereotype. But he fits right in at Battelle, and now he has the hardware (and parking space) to prove his high-tech chops. Sayre was honored with the Inventor of the Year award at Battelle's recent Recognition and Reward banquet.

"The award is a great honor," Sayre said. "But no one can do it alone; it's a team effort."

Sayre is a Senior Research Scientist in Battelle's Advanced Materials Applications group and part of teams that garnered a pair of 2006 R&D 100 Awards. They were honored for their ongoing work in fuel cells and fuel cell membranes, and for a revolutionary highway safety barrier. Sayre also has been involved in Battelle's work developing composite armor components to help protect U.S. troops in Iraq.

Sayre has been named on four patents and as the inventor or co-inventor of more than 50 invention reports and patent applications since joining Battelle in 2000.

"Jay is a tremendous representative for Battelle as well as a valuable asset," said Battelle President and CEO Carl Kohrt. "His work on fuel cells has helped position Battelle as one of the leaders in that field, and the safety barrier has the potential to save many lives. We consider this award a tremendous honor at Battelle, and Jay is more than deserving."

Sayre was honored along with 70 other Battelle scientists, researchers, and business developers at the banquet held at the Franklin Park Conservatory. The annual event honors individuals and teams who made significant achievements during the previous year.

Battelle is the world's largest non-profit independent research and development organization, with 20,000 employees in more than 120 locations worldwide, including five national laboratories Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle conducts $3.8 billion in R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management, and technology commercialization. Battelle provides innovative solutions to some of the world's most important problems including global climate change, sustainable energy technologies, high performance materials, next generation healthcare diagnostics and therapeutics, and advanced security solutions for people, infrastructure, and the nation. Battelle has a long history of developing successful commercial products in collaboration with its clients, ranging from products to fight diabetes, cancer, and heart disease to the development of the office copier machine (Xerox). As a non-profit charitable trust with an eye toward the future, Battelle actively supports and promotes science and math education.

For more information, visit www.battelle.org or contact Media Relations Manager Mark Berry at (614) 424-5544 or berrym@battelle.org.