Neodymium-Iron-Boron Permanent Magnet (IMAGE) DOE/Ames National Laboratory Caption During a recent hearing of the Investigations & Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory senior metallurgist and acknowledged leader in the rare earth field, demonstrated the benefits that added expertise in rare-earth alloying would bring the nation by holding up a neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet, which he and his colleagues recently created at the Ames Laboratory, using a revolutionary new process that was also developed at the Lab. However, current methods used to manufacture the magnets produce hazardous byproducts. In contrast, the Ames Lab process eliminates production of these byproducts. Also significant, the Ames Laboratory process has the potential to enable the United States to produce neodymium-iron-boron magnets less expensively. Credit U.S. Dept. of Energy's Ames Laboratory Usage Restrictions Please credit to License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.