Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock received a patent Nov. 13 for their discovery and development of a new smart material called Galfenol. Galfenol is a magnetostrictive smart material that can be used in sensors, actuators and structural supports. The material was co-discovered in 1999 by NSWC Carderock and the Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and has been in development for the past 13 years in partnership with Etrema Products Inc. "By itself, iron has the characteristics to be considered a magnetostrictive material…