Oak Ridge Today

ORNL, Hyundai Motor collaborating through new R&D agreement

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ORNL and Hyundai Agreement

Martin Keller, left, associate laboratory director for the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Tae Won Lim, vice president of Hyundai Motor Company, made a memorandum of understanding official on Monday, June 8. (Submitted photo)

 

Hyundai Motor Company and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an agreement intended to strengthen the automaker’s U.S. research and development, or R&D, portfolio.

Hyundai Motor Company and its affiliate Kia Motors Corporation will be identifying and providing R&D needs of the automotive industry, providing feedback and evaluation technology concepts, consulting with ORNL on R&D topics related to the industry, and developing potential Hyundai-sponsored projects to be carried out under separate, legally binding agreements, a press release said.

As the world’s fifth largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Company employs more than 30,000 workers in the United States, and more than 700,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles are made in the U.S.

Through this agreement, Hyundai Motor and UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL for the U.S. Department of Energy, will also work to identify R&D funding opportunities of mutual interest and coordinate meetings to exchange information, the press release said. Hyundai sees ORNL as providing significant expertise in diverse areas. [Read more…]

U.S. joins world in new era of research at Large Hadron Collider

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Alice

At the Large Hadron Collider, scientists have begun to collect new data from experiments such as ALICE, which aims to reproduce conditions similar to those that existed immediately after the Big Bang. (Image credit: CERN)

 

New LHC data gives researchers from around the world their best chance yet to study the Higgs boson and search for dark matter and new particles.

On Wednesday, scientists at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European research facility, started recording data from the highest-energy particle collisions ever achieved on Earth. This new proton collision data, the first recorded since 2012, will enable an international collaboration of researchers that includes more than 1,700 U.S. physicists to study the Higgs boson, search for dark matter, and develop a more complete understanding of the laws of nature.

“Together with collaborators from around the world, scientists from roughly a hundred U.S. universities and laboratories are exploring a previously unreachable realm of nature,” said James Siegrist, the U.S. Department of Energy’s associate director of science for high-energy physics. “We are very excited to be part of the international community that is pushing the boundaries of our knowledge of the universe.”

The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, reproduces conditions similar to those that existed immediately after the Big Bang. Oak Ridge National Laboratory led an equipment upgrade for LHCs experiment called ALICE (for A Large Ion Collider Experiment), which aims to learn more about the conditions of the early universe. [Read more…]

BESC, Mascoma develop revolutionary microbe for biofuel production

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Yeast

A yeast engineered by Mascoma and BESC could hold the key to accelerating the production of ethanol in the U.S. (Submitted photo)

 

Biofuels pioneer Mascoma LLC and the U.S. Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center have developed a revolutionary strain of yeast that could help significantly accelerate the development of biofuels from nonfood plant matter.

BESC is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The approach could provide a pathway to eventual expansion of biofuels production beyond the current output limited to ethanol derived from corn.

C5 FUEL, engineered by researchers at Mascoma and BESC, features fermentation and ethanol yields that set a new standard for conversion of biomass sugars from pretreated corn stover—the non-edible portion of corn crops such as the stalk—converting up to 97 percent of the plant sugars into fuel. [Read more…]

AMSE opens three new science-themed interactive exhibits

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AMSE Logo

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Space exploration, supercomputing, and neutron science are featured in three new hands-on exhibits at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The exhibits showcase national science topics with local ties to research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Bringing more of the modern lab into AMSE enhances our mission,” said AMSE director David Moore. “In addition to learning about our past, we hope visitors enjoy learning about the fascinating scope of research ongoing at ORNL.” [Read more…]

Kent named HR director for DOE Oak Ridge

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Melanie Kent

Melanie Kent

Melanie M. Kent was recently named director of the Human Resources Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In her new position, Kent has the responsibility for providing leadership and direction for the development and implementation of comprehensive Human Capital Management strategies, a press release said.

Kent has more than 30 years of experience in federal human resources providing the full range of services to multiple DOE program organizations, including Science, Environmental Management, Nuclear Energy, Energy Efficiency, and Fossil Energy.

Kent began her federal career in 1979 in the human resources arena. She served as the chief of the Federal Human Resources Branch in the DOE ORO from May 2001 to April 2015. [Read more…]

Curran at ORNL receives SAE Foundation industry leadership award

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Scott Curran and SAE Leadership Award

Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award winner Scott Curran, center, is congratulated by SAE Foundation Board Chairman Mazen Hammoud of Ford Motor Company and Patrick Hupperich, FEV North America Inc. president and CEO. (Photo: SAE Foundation)

 

Scott Curran, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has received the Society for Automotive Engineers Foundation’s 2015 Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award.

The award, given this week at this year’s SAE Foundation Annual Celebration in Detroit, highlights early career individuals who demonstrate leadership potential and promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)-based researched in their respective fields. The SAE Foundation is the charitable branch of the SAE International professional society.

A recipient of three engineering degrees from the University of Tennessee, Curran has been an active member of the SAE since his college days and has been involved in DOE’s Advanced Vehicle Technical Competition as both a student and an advisor. [Read more…]

Balajee named director of Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Lab at REAC/TS

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Adayabalam Balajee

Adayabalam Balajee

Research scientist brings more than 20 years of laboratory expertise to the position

Adayabalam Balajee has been named the director of the Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory, which is operated as part of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS, at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

In his new position, Balajee will manage the operations and staff at the CBL, which is one of only two labs in the U.S. where chromosome abnormality analysis is used for ionizing radiation dose assessment, a press release said. The process for this analysis starts with a blood sample from someone who a physician thinks may have been exposed to radiation.

Prior to joining the CBL, Balajee held the position of research scientist at the Center for Radiological Research, Department of Radiation Oncology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, where he had been employed since 1999. Balajee also spent five years as a visiting fellow at the Gerontology Research Center at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore. [Read more…]

Driver airlifted to hospital after crashing through guardrail, into rock embankment

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Chevrolet Cavalier Crash at Highway 95

The driver of this Chevrolet Cavalier was flown by a medical helicopter to a hospital after apparently crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment, right, below a DOE haul road on Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

 

A car driver was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital after crashing through a guardrail and into a rock embankment below a U.S. Department of Energy haul road that crosses over Highway 95 in west Oak Ridge on Wednesday afternoon.

The name and condition of the driver weren’t immediately available after the one-vehicle, one-person crash. The collision occurred in a curvy section of Highway 95 near the western entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Bear Creek Road.

The haul road is used to move debris from the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility west of Y-12. [Read more…]

DOE Oak Ridge awards $33.4 million telecommunications contract

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DOE Oak Ridge Telecommunications Contract

Robert Forshay, left, partner alliance manager with Black Box Network Services, and Kevin Hall, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office, sign a telecommunications contract for the Oak Ridge Federal Integrated Communications Network. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated Support Center-Oak Ridge has awarded a $33.4 million telecommunications contract to Mutual Telecom Services Inc., doing business as Black Box Network Services, or Black Box.

Black Box is responsible for providing operations, maintenance, and upgrades to the Oak Ridge Federal Integrated Communications Network at the Oak Ridge Townsite, East Tennessee Technology Park, Y-12 National Security Complex, Office of Secure Transportation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. The Oak Ridge Townsite refers to the Federal Building, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Building 2714 Complex, and various locations in the local vicinity.

“We are pleased to announce Black Box as the Oak Ridge Reservation’s integrated telecom service provider,” Oak Ridge Office Manager Kevin Hall said. “This selection comes after many months of evaluations by our selection team for this crucial service, and we are excited to have Black Box on board as our new partner.”

The company has more than 30 years of experience supporting U.S. government locations with similar needs and requirements. Black Box is located in Needham, Massachusetts. The contract has a two-year base and three one-year options. A 90-day transition begins on June 1.

Alexander: Bill raises Office of Science funding to highest-ever, includes UPF, supercomputing, cleanup funding

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

A bill approved by a U.S. Senate subcommittee on Tuesday would give $5.144 billion to the federal agency that oversees work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It’s the highest level of funding ever for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which oversees 10 national labs, including ORNL, federal officials said.

The bill would also provide $430 million for the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will “continue to keep this project on time and on budget,” according to a press release from the office of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

Alexander’s office also said the legislation would provide funding for:

  • a new mercury treatment plant in Oak Ridge,
  • cleanup of nuclear facilities that are no longer in service,
  • nuclear infrastructure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and
  • advanced computing, which supports the new Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The bill was unanimously approved on a voice vote by the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on Tuesday afternoon. Alexander is chair of that subcommittee, and he said the approval shows that there is bipartisan support for energy research, waterways, and national security. [Read more…]

ORNL demonstrates first large-scale graphene composite fabrication

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ORNL Graphene

ORNL’s ultrastrong graphene features layers of graphene and polymers and is an effective conductor of electricity. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

One of the barriers to using graphene at a commercial scale could be overcome using a method demonstrated by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Graphene, a material stronger and stiffer than carbon fiber, has enormous commercial potential but has been impractical to employ on a large scale, with researchers limited to using small flakes of the material.

Now, using chemical vapor deposition, a team led by ORNL’s Ivan Vlassiouk has fabricated polymer composites containing 2-inch-by-2-inch sheets of the one-atom thick hexagonally arranged carbon atoms.

The findings, reported in the journal Applied Materials & Interfaces, could help usher in a new era in flexible electronics and change the way this reinforcing material is viewed and ultimately used. [Read more…]

UCOR awards 33 mini-grants for local school projects

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UCOR, the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Reservation, has announced the 33 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program.

UCOR is a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

The company said one of its primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives.

“The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM,” a press release said. [Read more…]