Oak Ridge Today

ORAU, DOE seeking students, grads for EM internships, research

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ORAU Logo

Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the U.S. Department of Energy are currently seeking students and recent graduates for paid internships and research opportunities in a variety of disciplines through the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Science Education and Internship Program.

The mission of OREM is to remove environmental legacies resulting from decades of uranium enrichment activities and energy and scientific research. Students and recent college graduates will learn about this mission and receive specialized training and practical experience in the safe cleanup of environmental projects.

This workforce development program offers internships and research opportunities in disciplines ranging from chemical, nuclear, and other engineering fields to environmental and physical sciences, information technology, and occupational safety and health. The goal is to give participants a chance to explore a federal career with DOE and to create a pipeline of highly qualified professionals to support critical DOE missions for years to come. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge warns of high energy bills

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The Oak Ridge Electric Department is warning its customers to expect higher utility bills for the next two months. According to Jack Suggs, Oak Ridge electric director, bills for power used in December are now in the mail, and bills for January will be coming out in a few weeks. He expects these bills will be difficult for many customers.

The National Weather Service calculates an index called “degree days of heating,” which is used as an indication of how cold the weather is over the course of a month. The higher the value of the number, the greater difference between the outside temperature and a properly heated home.

“Higher degree days of heating means that the heating system in a customer’s home has to work harder to keep the home warm,” Suggs said. December 2013 had nearly twice the degree days of heating as November, and January is looking to be significantly higher than that. [Read more…]

INCITE grants awarded to 59 computational research projects

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced 59 scientific projects that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers, including the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pictured above. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science announced 59 projects, promising to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers dedicated to open science. Their work will advance knowledge in critical areas from sustainable energy technologies to the environmental consequences of energy use.

The allocations come from the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE, program. Through it, the world’s most advanced computational research projects from academia, government, and industry are given access to DOE’s leadership computing facilities at Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories. [Read more…]

ORNL receives GreenGov Presidential Award

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory received one of eight GreenGov Presidential Awards announced Tuesday.

The lab won in the Good Neighbor category for a project titled “ORNL Good, Green, Sustainable Neighbor,” a press release said.

The fourth annual awards were announced by the White House Council on Environmental Quality. They honor federal civilian and military personnel as well as agency teams, facilities, and programs that have taken innovative steps to reduce energy use and carbon pollution, curb waste, and save taxpayer money in federal agency operations, the release said.

At a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., senior administration officials recognized the eight award winners for exemplifying President Barack Obama’s charge to “lead by example and demonstrating extraordinary achievement in the pursuit of the president’s 2009 executive order on federal leadership in environmental, energy, and economic performance,” the release said. [Read more…]

Neutrons, electrons, and theory reveal secrets of natural gas reserves

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Scanning Electronic Microscope Image of Unconventional Gas Reservoir

A scanning electron microscope image illustrating mineralogy and texture of an unconventional gas reservoir. Note that nanoporosity is not resolvable with this image. SANS and USANS analysis is required to quantify pore size distribution and interconnectivity. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Gas and oil deposits in shale have no place to hide from an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technique that provides an inside look at pores and reveals structural information potentially vital to the nation’s energy needs.

The research by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy laboratory could clear the path to the more efficient extraction of gas and oil from shale, environmentally benign and efficient energy production from coal, and perhaps viable carbon dioxide sequestration technologies, according to Yuri Melnichenko, an instrument scientist at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. [Read more…]

Y-12 receives six of 18 NNSA sustainability awards

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Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge received six of 18 sustainability awards announced by the National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy B&W Y-12)

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge received six of 18 sustainability awards announced by the National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday.

The NNSA said the awards were for innovation and excellence at its national laboratories and sites. They recognize exemplary individual and team performance in advancing sustainability goals through innovative and effective programs and projects that increase energy, water, and fleet efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gases, pollution and waste, a press release said.

“I congratulate the winners of this year’s sustainability awards and all those involved in our efforts to implement environmentally responsible and sustainable operations and projects,” said James McConnell, NNSA acting associate administrator for infrastructure and operations. “NNSA will continue striving to develop new and creative solutions to minimize the environmental impact of our vital national security mission.” [Read more…]

Guest column: H.M.S. Carbon Fiber

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By Leslie Agron and Pat Fain

Anyone a Gilbert and Sullivan fan?

“When I was a lad I served a term / As office boy to an attorney’s firm. /
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor, / And I polished up the handle of the big front door.” (HMS Pinafore)

So, how does this go in Oak Ridge? Perhaps: Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility will revolutionize the choice of materials used in manufacturing. Major manufactures, such as auto companies, will be falling over themselves soon to locate here, so as to capitalize on the technical information to be transferred from ORNL (possibly, but it might be a few years out yet). They will all want sites in Horizon Center, next to the ORNL demonstration facility, to be closest to the technology (maybe, but remember that Nissan found a Middle Tennessee location adequate for transfer of battery technology they consider vital to their future).

Carbon fiber manufacturing is a high energy-utilizing process. ORNL’s demonstration facility could take most of the 10-megawatt energy capacity at Horizon Center (true, but Horizon Center was designed as a commercial park, not as an industrial park). So we need a large project to bring 20 megawatts of additional electrical capacity into Horizon Center right away to meet this pressing need (hmm…has there been someone knocking at our doors lately that they have not been telling us about? What we seem to need right now is an incremental project to put in a lesser amount of power, especially at peak load times, so that the one or two parcels we might sell soon at Horizon Center will have adequate power available—else they are correct that nothing might sell). [Read more…]

TVC Summit next week includes House majority leader

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Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

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Business, community, and political leaders and senior decision-makers will convene at the 2013 Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit next week to discuss issues that are critical to the economic engine of the Tennessee Valley, a press release said.

Hosted by Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the two-day meeting themed “Securing America’s Future” will focus on energy and environment, innovation and entrepreneurism, public and private partnerships, and advanced manufacturing, the release said.

The Summit will be held at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 29-30. [Read more…]

Guest column: ‘For The Common Good’

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The progressive and socialist vision for the direction of this country is an ordered society where poverty is eliminated, and healthcare and pensions for life are provided by a central authority or government. The foundation for this structure is rooted in utopian theories that are based on the premise that in a free market society, people fear for basic necessities and lack the opportunities to obtain equality. Regrettably however, ordered societies have never proven viable…which we know is accurate because had they succeeded and flourish; we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

There are two significant reasons why ordered societies fail. The first is the central authority’s inability to accurately allocate and distribute scarce resources for the production of goods and services, which over time diminishes the methods of production that result in a reduced standard of living—the opposite of what was promised. Using the current administration policies regarding energy as an example, the central government declared solar and wind a priority over gas and oil production. Billions were redirected to solar and wind and nothing was produced, except a resulting consequence of increased gas and oil prices. [Read more…]

Tennessee Valley Summit returns to Oak Ridge; energy, manufacturing on agenda

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has announced the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit will be held the last week of May and return to the site where it started 18 years ago—Oak Ridge. The exact dates are being determined based on the schedules of several anticipated national speakers, including U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Senior decision-makers representing academia, government, and industry from Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina will convene in the New Hope Center at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 National Security Complex for the two-day meeting. Fleischmann will serve as host and be joined by of members of the TVC congressional delegation.

[Read more…]