Imation Awarded NIST-ATP Grant to Develop Multi-Terabyte Storage

7th November, 2002, Hong Kong - Imation Corp. (NYSE:IMN), a worldwide leader in removable data storage media, today announced that it has been awarded a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program (NIST-ATP) for the development of technologies to advance the storage density capabilities of magnetic tape. The four-year, $11.9 million grant was jointly awarded to Imation and its partners to support the development of new technologies needed to increase data density of current magnetic tape data systems, and lay the foundation for even greater densities in future tape systems.

With this new funding from the NIST-ATP, Imation and its partners plan to dramatically improve "volumetric data density" (the number of bytes of data stored in a data cartridge) for linear magnetic tape systems through a number of technical innovations. Imation's partners in this development program include Accutronics, Inc., Advanced Research Corp., Peregrine Recording Technology, Inc., and Read-Rite Corp.

Founded in 1990, the ATP, which is managed by the NIST, provides cost-shared funding to industry-led teams to help advance particularly challenging, high-risk research and development projects that have the potential to spark important, broad-based economic or social benefits for the United States. ATP awards are made on the basis of rigorous competitive peer review considering scientific and technical merit of each proposal and its potential benefits to the US economy. The program accelerates enabling technology research, but does not support product development work.

Imation received $6.6 million of the $11.9 million grant, and will use those funds to engage additional support for the project from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio), and the University of California at San Diego.

About NIST
NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Commerce Department's Technology Administration that promotes measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade and improve the quality of life. NIST-ATP awards are intended to accelerate the development of innovative technologies for broad national benefit through research and development partnerships with the private sector. NIST-ATP awards are granted on the basis of a rigorous competitive review that considers the scientific and technical merit of each proposal and the potential benefits to the U.S. economy. More information about the NIST-ATP award may be obtained at www.atp.nist.gov.