Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge fire chief selected to serve on state commission

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Darryl Kerley

Darryl Kerley

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has announced the appointment of Oak Ridge Fire Chief Darryl Kerley to the Commission on Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education as a representative of the Tennessee Fire Chief’s Association, the Tennessee Fire Safety Inspectors Association, and the Tennessee Fireman’s Association.

The appointment is effective immediately and runs through July 31, 2020, a press release said.

Kerley has more than 37 years’ experience in fire and emergency services, serving in various capacities for several East Tennessee agencies, including fire chief for the Seymour Volunteer Fire Department, rescue technician and diver for the Knoxville Rescue Squad, and fire chief for the U.S Department of Energy at the K-25 Gaseous Diffusion plant in Oak Ridge.

In a letter to Kerley, Haslam stated: “I consider it very important to ensure that Tennessee’s boards and commissions are filled with the most dedicated and qualified citizens. I believe your participation is certain to leave a positive impact on this board and the work it does.” [Read more…]

Presidential museum, Baker Center director featured at AMSE meeting Thursday

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Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe, director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, will be the featured speaker this week in the third of a series of community meetings on the future of the American Museum of Science and Energy.

The community meeting is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, October 9, at AMSE.

Lowe was previously founding director of the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Thursday’s meeting has been organized by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. Lowe’s presentation is titled “The Path Forward for AMSE: Lessons Learned from a Life in Museums.” [Read more…]

Spotlight: ORAU’s Abelquist authors 2nd edition of ‘Decommissioning Health Physics’

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Eric Abelquist

Eric Abelquist

Revised handbook provides experienced guidance on technical issues of radiation decommissioning projects

As one of the original authors of the “Multi-Agency Radiation Survey and Site Investigation Manual (MARSSIM),” Oak Ridge Associated Universities Executive Vice President Eric Abelquist released updated information on the cleanup of radioactive sites in the second edition of a new handbook geared toward those involved in characterization or remediation efforts.

Extensively revised and updated, the second edition of “Decommissioning Health Physics: A Handbook for MARSSIM Users” covers release criteria, survey instrumentation, detection sensitivity, statistics, dose modeling, and survey procedures. The handbook is published by CRC Press, a division of the Taylor and Francis Group.

Abelquist served as a member of the multi-agency committee representing the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, who produced the MARSSIM to provide guidance to federal agencies, states, site owners, contractors, and other private entities on how to demonstrate that their site is in compliance with a radiation dose or risk-based regulation, otherwise known as a release criterion. [Read more…]

ORISE receives DOE Legacy of Stars safety, health award

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US DOE VPP Legacy of Stars Award

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has been given a 2014 Legacy of Stars award.

This is the third consecutive time ORISE has received the prestigious designation and only one of 10 such awards granted nationwide in 2014, a press release said. ORISE first achieved this designation in 2008.

The award is presented by the U.S. Department of Energy, and it recognize outstanding safety and health performance.

ORISE is managed for DOE by Oak Ridge Associated Universities. [Read more…]

DOE to begin Building K-31 demolition on Wednesday

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K-31 Transite Panel Removal

Workers began removing transite paneling from the outside of the K-31 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park earlier this year. (May 2014 DOE Photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

The U.S. Department of Energy will start demolishing Building K-31 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, the former K-25 site, on Wednesday afternoon, and reporters have been invited to witness the beginning of the work.

The event is meant to provides participants, including senior DOE and contractor leadership, a “firsthand look at the continuing cleanup and transformation at the East Tennessee Technology Park,” a media advisory said.

The K-25 site was built to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during the top-secret Manhattan Project in World War II. It’s been shut down since the mid-1980s, and ETTP is slowly being converted into a large industrial park.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

ORNL staff help students prepare for FIRST LEGO League competition

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ORNL First Lego League 2014

Brian Peters, right, a design engineer for nuclear systems with US ITER at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, works with Jessey Yang, left, and Victoria “Tori” Mullins during a FIRST LEGO League practice session at the National Transportation Research Center. (Photo courtesy ORNL/UT-Battelle)

 

About 30 students ages nine through 14 are gearing up for the 2014-15 FIRST LEGO League competition with weekly training sessions at the National Transportation Research Center in West Knoxville. NTRC is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and ORNL operating contractor UT-Battelle co-sponsors the LEGO League tournament.

“This year’s theme is ‘World Class Learning Unleashed,’” said Claus Daniel, an ORNL researcher who’s coaching one of three teams meeting at the NTRC. “Part of what the students are doing is defining a question, research, how people learn about the question nowadays and then original ideas to improve the learning process.” [Read more…]

Los Alamos National Lab director to give talk at UT on Oct. 1

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Charles McMillan

Charles McMillan

Charles F. McMillan, nuclear physicist and director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, will give the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy’s annual Distinguished Global Security Lecture on October 1 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

McMillan will speak on “The Timeline of Technology” at 5:30 p.m. in the Toyota Auditorium at the Baker Center, 1640 Cumberland Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

McMillan’s lecture will look at how innovations from the previous century are being used to solve today’s national and global security, energy, and environmental issues. Then he’ll pose a question to policy makers: “Are we prepared for the policy needed in the 22nd century with the scientific and technical expertise we have today?” [Read more…]

Hitson named OSTI director

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Brian Hitson

Brian A. Hitson

Brian A. Hitson has been appointed director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information in Oak Ridge, officials said this week.

Hitson had been acting director of OSTI since January 12. OSTI’s former longtime director, Walter L. Warnick, retired January 3.

Hitson has held a number of positions at OSTI, most recently serving as associate director for administration and information services. In that position, he was responsible for international information exchanges, archival digitization and preservation, classified and sensitive information, cost-reimbursable product development, and administrative and financial management. [Read more…]

NNSA welcomes new assistant deputy for military application

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Nuclear Security Administration on Friday welcomed Brigadier General Stephen L. Davis of the U.S. Air Force as principal assistant deputy administrator for military application.

Davis will assist Don Cook, NNSA’s deputy administrator for defense programs, in directing the Stockpile Stewardship Program, which maintains the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile without underground nuclear testing, a press release said.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing Brigadier General Davis since he was a lieutenant and I have seen first-hand his commitment to excellence and service above self,” said U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz. “I am confident that he will excel as the senior uniformed officer in the Department of Energy. I also want to thank General Jim Dawkins for his superb service at NNSA and wish him the best of luck in his new and extraordinarily important position as director of strategic capabilities policy at the National Security Council.” [Read more…]

Presidential museum, heritage tourism experts to be featured in AMSE meetings

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Alan Lowe

Alan Lowe

The director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas will be featured in a community meeting in October on the future of the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

During that Thursday, October 9 meeting, Alan Lowe will discuss the process of developing and managing facilities that function as both research libraries and historical museum attractions, a press release said.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is located inside the George W. Bush Presidential Center on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas. In his role as director, Lowe oversees millions of presidential records as well as exhibits related to the important issues and events of the Bush Administration, a press release said. [Read more…]

Energy Secretary Moniz showcases national labs on the Hill

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Lab Day demonstrations highlight labs’ contribution to U.S. competitiveness and innovation

Submitted

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz last week joined Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and Senator Jim Risch, an Idaho Republican, for National Lab Day on the Hill. The event highlighted several notable research projects from across the national laboratory system.

Senators Durbin and Risch also formally launched the Senate National Laboratory Caucus, which aims to increase awareness of the reach of the national labs as leaders in developing new breakthrough technologies and discoveries to address some of our nation’s most pressing challenges.

“The national labs continue to advance science, clean energy, and nuclear security in this country, as they have for decades,” Moniz said. “The labs also provide essential capabilities for university and industrial researchers—nearly 30,000 per year—and advance technology frontiers, such as high performance computing and advanced manufacturing.” [Read more…]

Top White House official confirmed as DOE deputy secretary

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Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Photo courtesy Stanford University)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, September 18, as the U.S. Department of Energy’s deputy secretary.

“Liz’s confirmation comes at a historic time in our nation’s energy evolution,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “She joins us with deep expertise in the department’s nuclear security mission, including both nuclear weapons and countering proliferation. Her extensive public service and recent responsibilities on the White House national security team position her to contribute to the department’s energy and security missions in a major way, both domestically and internationally. I thank the Senate for their attention to Liz’s nomination, and look forward to working closely with her as a key, trusted colleague.”

President Barack Obama nominated Sherwood-Randall in July.

As deputy secretary, Sherwood-Randall will support Moniz in the management and operation of the Department of Energy. [Read more…]