Oak Ridge Today

Republican forum: Issues range from jobs, retail to drug courts, trial experience

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Anderson County Republican Party Forum

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, gives an opening statement during a Tuesday night candidate forum for Republican Party candidates. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioner Zach Bates, left, who is challenging Frank in the May 6 GOP primary, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers, one of two Republican candidates for sheriff.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m.

The starkest differences between any candidates at a Tuesday night Republican Party forum might have emerged in the race for Anderson County chancellor, where candidates Michael Farley and Nicki Cantrell clashed on questions of trial experience and whether the Chancery Court should ever be used to hear criminal cases.

In the race for sheriff, Republican candidates Anthony Lay and Randy Myers agreed on one key question: No federal inmates should be housed at the Anderson County jail.

In the race for mayor, Terry Frank, the incumbent, said she had presided over one of the few—and possibly the only—tax cut in Anderson County history, while her opponent, Commissioner Zach Bates, said the county’s biggest economic challenge is “retail leakage.” [Read more…]

ORAU-managed beryllium lab has zero test errors in 2013

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ORAU Beryllium Lab

ORAU-managed beryllium lab has zero test errors in 2013. Managed for DOE, lab personnel processed nearly 4,100 beryllium lymphocyte proliferation tests without a single error.
(Photo courtesy ORAU)

For the second time in recent years, the Beryllium Testing Laboratory managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities ended a year of testing without a single error, a press release said.

ORAU manages the Oak Ridge lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. The lab processed nearly 4,100 beryllium lymphocyte proliferation tests, or BeLPTs, in 2013, the press release said. The laboratory is one of only three in the United States that can perform the BeLPT.

The BeLPT is a blood test used to identify individuals at higher risk of developing Chronic Beryllium Disease, a chronic disease that scars the lungs, making it more difficult for oxygen to transfer into the bloodstream. The test examines how a lymphocyte, which is a type of disease-fighting blood cell in a person’s body, reacts to beryllium and can determine if an individual is developing an immune response to beryllium. [Read more…]

ORAU Annual Report highlights impact of early career researchers on U.S. scientific mission

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Jason Hayward

Jason Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, holds a high-resolution instrument, which is part of his research to benefit facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo credit: University of Tennessee)

With U.S. falling behind China and India in numbers of STEM graduates, strengthening U.S. scientific talent is critical, according to report

Jason Hayward is applying his nuclear engineering research expertise to develop the next generation of high-resolution instruments for facilities like Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.

Hayward, who has a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan, hopes his work will eventually help curtail the spread of nuclear weapons and assist in identifying viable alternative energy sources. Hayward is an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee, a joint faculty member with ORNL’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, a U.S. Department of Energy research award recipient, and a participant in the Higher Education Research Experiences Program.

He and many other early career researchers are participating in fellowships and internships managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities with DOE and other federal agencies, and they are the main focus of ORAU’s “2013 Annual Report,” which has just been released. [Read more…]

Featured at Obama speech, Sleek SuperTruck saves fuel, money

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David Koeberlein SuperTruck Cummins Engine

David Koeberlein, director of advanced engineering for Cummins and principal investigator on the SuperTruck project, says the prototype tractor-trailer uses exhaust heat that would otherwise be wasted to help power the crankshaft. (All photos courtesy ORNL/Genevieve Martin unless indicated otherwise)

Note: This story was last updated at 2 p.m.

Tractor-trailer prototype uses probe developed by ORNL for better gas mileage, cleaner exhaust

It’s a sleek, aerodynamic freight-hauling machine. With its wide tires, rounded edges, and body parts that hug the ground, this million-dollar prototype looks like it could be at home on a race track.

It’s already achieved celebrity status, serving as the backdrop for President Barack Obama during a February speech on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

But the SuperTruck is more likely to end up hauling meat and potatoes from Boise to Boston.

SuperTruck at ORNL

The fuel-efficient SuperTruck, the result of a four-year collaboration between the trucking industry and the federal government, made a pit stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday.

Still, researchers have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday, they said the high-tech tractor-trailer has increased fuel efficiency by 75 percent. Fully loaded, the SuperTruck can drive 10.7 miles on a gallon of gas. That compares to an industry average of 5.8 to 6.5 miles per gallon.

“This is a really big deal,” said Claus Daniel, deputy director of sustainable transportation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the SuperTruck made a pit stop on Tuesday.

It’s the result of a collaboration between the trucking industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s not clear how soon the new technologies tested in the Cummins/Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which was built in Denton, Texas, will show up on the nation’s highways. [Read more…]

K-25: Large, flat, close to ORNL, interstate—good for economic development

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Gov. Bill Haslam Visits ETTP/K-25

Sue Cange gives Gov. Bill Haslam, right, an update on the almost-completed demolition of the mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building. Cange is deputy manager of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Also pictured are Leo Sain, left, president of cleanup contractor UCOR, and Jeff Tucker, UCOR deactivation and decommissioning manager.

It was built during World War II to help enrich uranium for the world’s first atomic bombs. Then, it helped win the Cold War. Now, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge presents a giant opportunity for economic development in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam said during a tour last Friday.

“We have a real interest in what happens here,” Haslam said in a short meeting with reporters before getting a brief update on the demolition of the former mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Building, which was once the world’s largest building under one roof.

The governor said the K-25 site, now known as East Tennessee Technology Park or Heritage Center, has 2,000 flat acres with infrastructure already in place, including roads and rails, and it’s three miles from Interstate 40 and seven miles from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest science and energy laboratory.

“We don’t have that opportunity in a lot of places,” Haslam said. “Finding 2,000 flat acres in East Tennessee is virtually impossible.” [Read more…]

Employment offers made at Y-12, Pantex from April 15-June 2

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Jim Haynes

Jim Haynes

The new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, will make employment offers between April 15 and June 2, the company said Tuesday.

Information about the employment offers, which must be made no later than June 2, was included in a Tuesday message to employees from Jim Haynes, president and chief executive officer of the new Y-12 and Pantex contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC.

“The CNS management team and I recognize that you are waiting for information that will affect your jobs and your lives—and that waiting can cause anxiety about staffing plans, organizational structure, members of the senior leadership team, benefits, retirement planning, work schedules, and more,” Haynes said.

Here are other key dates: [Read more…]

Safety forum to focus on UPF nuclear safety culture

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Uranium Processing Facility

Pictured above is the proposed Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex, with the administrative area in the front and the fortified section of the building in the rear. (Submitted image)

The Oak Ridge Business Safety Partnership will have its first community safety forum of 2014 from 8-10 a.m. April 2 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge. The topic will be “Nuclear Safety Culture of the Uranium Processing Facility.”

The agenda includes an overview of the UPF project by Federal Project Director John Eschenberg; a presentation about the project’s nuclear safety culture by Project Director Carl Strock; and a presentation on how the project successfully manages its nuclear safety culture by UPF Acting Manager for Environment, Safety, and Health Gary Hagan and ORAU Senior Scientist Jeff Miller.

The ORBSP was formed in 2004 to help companies working on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation understand the DOE safety culture, to enhance communication among them, to share lessons learned about safety issues, and to share ideas about effective safety programs with commercial companies. [Read more…]

NSPS finishes first year as DOE’s security contractor in Oak Ridge

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Joe L. Evins Federal Building

National Strategic Protective Services LLC on Monday said it has completed the first year of its protective force services contract with the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge. Among the facilities guarded by NSPS are the Joe L. Evins Federal Building, pictured above.

National Strategic Protective Services LLC on Monday said it has completed the first year of its protective force services contract with the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge.

“Congratulations to everyone at NSPS for a job well done,” NSPS President Ignacio Balderas said in a press release. “A lot of hard work went into winning and transitioning this critical infrastructure contract in early 2013. During the course of the past 12 months, we have built a solid relationship with DOE, established high morale within our employee base, fostered productive labor relations and above all, engaged proactively with the Oak Ridge community.

NSPS is a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc. The company provides protective force services to the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. NSPS replaced former longtime security contractor WSI Oak Ridge in 2013 following an unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex in July 2012. [Read more…]

DOE report co-chaired by UT professor calls for renewed focus on high-end math research

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Jack Dongarra

Jack Dongarra

Professor also ORNL researcher, co-author of Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers

KNOXVILLE—The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a report co-chaired by Jack Dongarra, a distinguished professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in which he stresses the importance of prioritizing research into high-end mathematics to help keep the United States on the cutting edge of computing.

“Exascale computing (capable of one quintillion floating point operations per second) will enable us to solve problems in ways that are not feasible today and will result in significant scientific breakthroughs,” said Dongarra, of UT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “However, the transition to exascale poses numerous scientific and technological challenges.”

Dongarra, one of five National Academy of Engineering members on the faculty of UT’s College of Engineering, said that increased funding for the development of new models and ways of gathering data is key to unlocking a number of those challenges. [Read more…]

If elected, Wamp could become youngest member of Congress

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Weston Wamp and Verrner Anderson

Weston Wamp, right, a Republican candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, talks to Verner Anderson, who volunteered for the first campaign of Wamp’s father, Zach Wamp, in 1994.

If elected this year, Weston Wamp could become the youngest member of Congress. The Chattanooga Republican turns 27 this month.

If elected, he would return the East Tennessee seat to a member of the Wamp family. His father, Zach Wamp, held the seat for 16 years, from 1994-2010.

Wamp tried to unseat the incumbent, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, once before, in 2012. He wasn’t successful. Now, he’s trying again.

“Tennessee’s Third District deserves better representation,” Wamp said during a recent interview in Oak Ridge. “At the very least, they deserve a choice at the ballot box.”

Wamp suggested Fleischmann’s record could hurt the two-term congressman. Wamp said many federal employees and U.S. Department of Energy contractors are not pleased with Fleischmann’s performance, especially after a high-profile budget vote that led to a partial government shutdown in October. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Oak Ridge welcomes travel writer tour

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Travel Writers at ORNL Wall of Flags

Travel writers take a break at the Wall of Flags at ORNL that features flags for all home countries of current employees. Pictured left to right, front row, are Tori Cuddy, Lisa Sonne, Scott Cochran, Tricia Szulewski, and Clement Salvadori; and, second row, Nicole Elliott and Wayne Newton. (Photos courtesy ORCVB)

North American journalists experience adventure in America’s Secret City

Travel writers from across North America were in Oak Ridge on Thursday, researching interesting stories to help promote tourism to the area. With a focus on outdoor adventure and heritage tourism, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development partnered with the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, along with surrounding tourism organizations, to host the group.

The team of 17 journalists spent the first day of spring with local experts in heritage tourism and outdoor recreation. Each writer had the opportunity to ask many questions while experiencing both the natural beauty of Oak Ridge and the importance the city plays in scientific and technological discovery. Due to the excellent presentations given at each of the stops on the tour, all journalists left with a newfound love and appreciation for the exciting tourism opportunities Oak Ridge has to offer.

“Working with our partners in the capital and around East Tennessee helps Oak Ridge leverage our exposure in larger markets and reach out to broader audiences,” said Katy Brown, executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We rely heavily on our tourism partners in Oak Ridge as we roll out the red carpet for these visiting writers.” [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam in Oak Ridge on Friday to discuss development, DOE cleanup

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Gov. Bill Haslam will be in Oak Ridge on Friday morning to discuss the U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program and how it is enabling economic development in East Tennessee.

The government will meet with officials at the East Tennessee Technology Park and will also meet with reporters.