Oak Ridge Today

Y-12 technology brings licensee recognition

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The pairing of an environmentally friendly solvent invented and patented by the Y‑12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge with the business acumen of its licensee Scott Manley has gained recognition in two recent competitions.

Manley owns RockinBoat LLC, a South Carolina start-up that in 2011 obtained sole commercial rights to manufacture and market the solvent RonJohn. Teknikem, the chemical division of RockinBoat LLC, offers the solvent as its sole technology. Initially developed at Y-12 by Ron Simandl and John Brown for use in dismantling weapons parts, the 2011 R&D 100 Award–winning technology can completely strip adhesives and finishes from a variety of surfaces with advantages not afforded by other commercially available solvents.

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Officials from Oak Ridge area attend DOE intergovernmental meeting

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State and local officials from Oak Ridge and Anderson and Roane counties recently attended the U.S. Department of Energy’s Annual Intergovernmental Conference in New Orleans. Participants met with federal, state, and local leaders from DOE sites across the nation, including top managers overseeing DOE’s Environmental Management, or EM, program.

Two senior DOE officials were keynote speakers at the conference. David Huizenga, senior advisor for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, provided an update on the EM program, which is responsible for environmental restoration, waste management, and long-term stewardship at DOE sites across the complex.

Neile Miller, recently named acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration and acting undersecretary for nuclear security, addressed the relationship between NNSA and EM, and how the programs work together at sites with multiple missions like Oak Ridge.

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Supercomputers, materials and bears: ORNL marks eventful 2012

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Jeff Nichols and Titan at ORNL

ORNL’s newest supercomputer, Titan, seen here with associate lab director for computing and computational sciences Jeff Nichols, took the top spot in November’s Top500 rankings. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory regained the lead in high-performance computing, enjoyed record-setting recognition for its research, and became a showpiece for renewable energy technology during 2012.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science reciprocated with favorable marks in its annual appraisal of managing contractor UT-Battelle. DOE cited the laboratory’s operation of its scientific user facilities, its “delivery of impactful science,” and a successful workforce restructuring to reduce operating costs.

“The dedicated efforts of our laboratory staff in all phases of science and technology and operational support have resulted in an excellent record of delivering science to the nation in 2012,” said ORNL Director Thom Mason. “ORNL will continue to set the pace in research toward a clean and secure energy future.”

ORNL’s 2012 included achievements in both research and support.

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One-of-a-kind waste incinerator in ‘safe shutdown’ at ETTP

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Filling the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator

Workers fill the sumps at the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator with grout, as part of the work to close it. (Submitted photo)

A one-of-a-kind waste incinerator, which began operations at the East Tennessee Technology Park more than 20 years ago, has been safely shut down.

When the Toxic Substances Control Act Incinerator, or TSCAI, began operations in 1990, the intent was to run it for five years to prove the technology worked. It was the only incinerator in the nation permitted to burn certain hazardous and radioactive wastes.

Operations ceased in December 2009, after a safe and successful run that saw the facility burn 35 million pounds of liquids and solids from DOE sites across the United States—even some from Hawaii.

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With ‘fiscal cliff’ looming, ORNL says it’s as well-prepared as it can be

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As President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue their high-stakes negotiations over tax revenues and spending cuts, officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they have prepared as best they can for automatic spending cuts that could go into effect in January.

“We have been preparing for increased budget pressures for several years now and have taken a number of steps to reduce our costs, including workforce restructuring, benefits changes, reduction in energy consumption, and other operational costs,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said in a statement Monday. “Since we don’t know exactly how any cuts would be allocated by the various governments agencies that fund ORNL, we can’t really say with certainty what the impacts would be, other than to say we are as well-prepared for uncertainty as we can be.”

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New leader named to UT-ORNL Supercomputer Center

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Tony Mezzacappa

Tony Mezzacappa

Tony Mezzacappa, a leader in the field of astrophysics and supernova science, has been named director of the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Mezzacappa is a world leader in computational astrophysics and a pioneer in the field of supernova science. He is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and group leader for theoretical physics in the Physics Division at ORNL.

He is also a joint professor in the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy. With this new position, Mezzacappa will become the department’s Newton W. and Wilma C. Thomas Endowed Chair in Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics.

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Science.gov celebrates 10 years

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A federal science website that offers access to millions of web pages and is hosted by an organization with offices in Oak Ridge celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.

Science.gov was launched in December 2002. It has broken new ground in interagency collaboration, a press release said, and offers access to more than 200 million pages of scientific information, a “one-stop” shop for real-time science data.

It’s hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information, located in Washington, D.C., and Oak Ridge. Science.gov has more than 34 million page views per year, a 45-fold increase from the earliest days, the press release said. It can help users answer a range of scientific questions.

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DOE recognizes ORAU for Science Bowl support

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ORAU and DOE Science Bowl

Representatives of Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the U.S. Department of Energy at a recent ceremony recognizing their partnership in the management of a high school science bowl. Among those pictured are DOE Program Manager Greg Mills (center back), ORNL Site Office Manager Johnny Moore (second from left), and ORAU President and CEO Andy Page (third from left). (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities was recently recognized for its continued support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tennessee Science Bowl, an annual competition to encourage high school students to excel in science and math and pursue careers in those fields.

Johnny Moore, DOE’s site office manager at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, presented a commemorative plaque to ORAU for its support of the science bowl.

In a letter to ORAU President and CEO Andy Page, Moore emphasized that coordinating the event—which in 2012 hosted more than 300 students, coaches, and volunteers over a two-day period—was a “huge undertaking and (ORAU) staff performed in an incredible manner to make it happen.”

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Baughn asks for mayor’s travel records for past five years

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Trina Baughn

Trina Baughn

After asking Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan to consider resigning, new City Council member Trina Baughn requested trip and cost information for all of his city-related travel in the past five years.

She asked Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson for the trip information in a Wednesday afternoon e-mail.

Baughn requested the mayor’s travel records for the dozen boards and committees she knows about, as well as any she doesn’t. She asked Watson to also give the total cost of each trip, including mileage, per diem, hotel expenses, entertainment, and other charges, as well as the funding sources.

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ORNL’s Smith, Sokolov elected AAAS fellows

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Sean Campbell Smith and Alexei Sokolov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers Sean Campbell Smith (left) and Alexei Sokolov, have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

Two researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—Sean Campbell Smith and Alexei Sokolov—have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Smith, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, came to ORNL in 2011 from the University of Queensland in Australia, where he was the director of the Centre for Computational Molecular Science. He was cited by his AAAS peers for “distinguished contributions to the field of computational and theoretical chemistry, including fundamental advances in unimolecular rate theory and exploration of novel functionalities in nanomaterials.”

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New federal health insurance law discussed Tuesday

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Paula Flowers

Paula Flowers

Attorney and business executive Paula Flowers will discuss the effects of the new federal health care law during a Tuesday meeting in Oak Ridge.

Flowers will also discuss the U.S. Department of Energy’s recent announcement of an award to support a new project to design, license, and help commercialize small nuclear reactors in the United States. The award was given to Babcock & Wilcox in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bechtel.

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ORNL develops lignin-based thermoplastic conversion process

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Turning lignin, a plant’s structural “glue” and a byproduct of the paper and pulp industry, into something considerably more valuable is driving a research effort headed by Amit Naskar of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In a cover article published in Green Chemistry, the research team describes a process that ultimately transforms the lignin byproduct into a thermoplastic—a polymer that becomes pliable above a specific temperature. Researchers accomplished this by reconstructing larger lignin molecules either through a chemical reaction with formaldehyde or by washing with methanol. Through these simple chemical processes, they created a crosslinked rubber-like material that can also be processed like plastics.

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