National lab offers mentor role to local software company

By BENNETT HALL
Gazette-Times business editor

A Corvallis software developer is hoping a new relationship with its biggest client will open the door to even greater things.

ProWorks Corp., owned by Susan Prothero, has been working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 1998, when PNNL operator Battelle Memorial Institute bought some of the company's software written by Prothero's husband, Gary.

The software was integrated into a product called Morning Report, a data mining application that sifts aircraft flight data for statistical anomalies. Airline safety experts evaluate the data on anomalous flights for any potential safety hazard.

"They can drill down into it," Gary Prothero said. "They can actually look at the raw flight data."

If a real problem is discovered — a malfunctioning sensor, pilot error or mechanical issue — it can be addressed to make future flights safer. Delta and Alaska have been using the software on a trial basis, and a broader test involving 10 airlines is in the works.

That's good news for ProWorks, which has five of its 14 employees working on the Morning Report project. But what could be even better news arrived recently in the form of a "mentor-protege agreement" between PNNL and ProWorks.

Like the nation's other national research laboratories, PNNL in Richland, Wash., is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy but operated under contract by a private firm — in this case, Battelle. ProWorks qualified for the special arrangement under federal rules promoting contracts with woman- and minority-owned enterprises.

Potential benefits of the relationship include the opportunity to receive no-bid contracts and technical assistance in writing contracts and grant proposals.

"That's really a major benefit," Susan Prothero said. "When you're dealing with federal government contracts, there's a lot of paperwork involved."

An even bigger benefit, however, may come from the entree provided by the agreement to other large government contractors. The Protheros plan to attend a Department of Energy-sponsored conference for small businesses in Nashville next month. As a preferred subcontractor of Battelle and PNNL, they anticipate getting introductions to some of the other major corporate players in the federal contracting game.

"We look at this as an opportunity to increase our work with Battelle and PNNL, but also with other prime contractors," Susan Prothero said.

As her husband put it, "Networking's the name of the game."

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.