Oak Ridge Today

Spotlight: REAC/TS gives tour to radiologic technology class from Roane State

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Roane State REAC/TS Tour

The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) leads a recent tour of the REAC/TS facility with a radiologic technology class from Roane State Community College. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

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A former REAC/TS participant and current professor at Roane State Community recently led a radiologic technology class on a tour of REAC/TS.

REAC/TS is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education facility managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities for the U.S. Department of Energy with the mission to strengthen the medical response to radiological and nuclear incidents. REAC/TS provides 24/7 medical support and deployment to provide emergency medical consultation for incidents involving radioactive materials and ionizing radiation worldwide. REAC/TS also conducts ongoing research into the biological effects of radiation and provides continuing medical education for healthcare providers.

Pictured above from left are nurse/paramedic Rob Beauchamp from the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS); Julie Hall, right, Roane State Community College radiologic technology program director and assistant professor, and one of her students, Drew Campbell, back. Hall is a former student of the Roane State Radiologic Program who went to REAC/TS as a student for assistance in her research and studies.

Honors: DOE employee listed among area’s rising leaders

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Heather Cloar of U.S Department of Energy

Heather Cloar, a U.S. Department of Energy employee in Oak Ridge, was named as a member of this year’s 40 Under 40.

By Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management

Earlier this year, the Greater Knoxville Business Journal compiled a list of East Tennessee’s top rising business and community leaders under the age of 40. The 2014 listing featured Heather Cloar, a contracting officer with the Energy Department in Oak Ridge.

Specifically, Heather, an Energy Department employee since 2002, is the federal official responsible for administering the $2.2 billion environmental cleanup contract with URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR. She is responsible for reviewing and approving all contract actions and guaranteeing that the contract remains aligned with EM’s priorities. She also certifies that the contractor’s work is performed in a cost-efficient manner to ensure the best value for American taxpayers. As a testament to her watchful oversight and frequent interaction with contractor leadership, UCOR completed the department’s largest-ever demolition project one year ahead of schedule and approximately $300 million under the current budget.

“Heather is making sure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayers under the contract and making sure the contract stays on schedule,” said Karen Shears, chief of the special acquisitions branch for DOE’s procurement and contracts division. “She’s got excellent judgment and great leadership skills, which is something you need because you interact with so many stakeholders.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Reservation’s emergency sectors to change

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TEMA realigns boundaries to improve response

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will issue revised emergency sectors for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation on Wednesday. These sectors, labeled A-Y, determine which areas should take action if an event occurs at one of DOE’s sites locally. The new sector boundaries have improved correlation with roads, waterways, and recognizable landmarks.

“Knowing their emergency sectors will help residents better understand what to do when directed to take action by state or local emergency officials. Instructions pertaining to their safety will be issued by sector,” said Jim Bassham, TEMA director. “Periodic updates to emergency plans, like these changes, are part of TEMA’s normal review process.”

DOE and TEMA have been partners in a public information campaign aimed at the more than 50,000 people that live or work within a five-mile radius of Oak Ridge’s three main sites: the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and East Tennessee Technology Park. An updated version of a joint publication, “What to do if an emergency occurs on the Oak Ridge Reservation,” will be available on March 12. The booklet will be on DOE’s website for area residents to read and reference at http://science.energy.gov/isc/emergency-information/. [Read more…]

UT, ORNL part of breakthrough that reduces LED sizes

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2-D LED Light Image

This graphical representation shows the layers of the 2-D LED and how it emits light. (Image courtesy University of Washington)

SEATTLE—University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics, thanks in part to a breakthrough by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows.

“We are able to make the thinnest-possible LEDs, only three atoms thick yet mechanically strong,” said Xiaodong Xu, a UW assistant professor in materials science and engineering and in physics. “Such thin and foldable LEDs are critical for future portable and integrated electronic devices.”

Most consumer electronics use three-dimensional LEDs, but they are up to 20 times thicker than the LEDs being developed. [Read more…]

USEC bankruptcy filing won’t affect daily operations in Oak Ridge, company says

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Centrifuge Machine Manufacturing

In Oak Ridge, USEC workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing for the American Centrifuge Project. (Photos courtesy USEC)

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and financial restructuring plan that USEC Inc. announced last week will not affect daily operations in Oak Ridge or the American Centrifuge Project, a company spokesman said Monday.

The bankruptcy filing and financial plan are a restructuring of the balance sheet of the parent company, USEC Inc., spokesman Paul Jacobson said. He said the company is trying to strengthen its balance sheet and be a stronger sponsor of the American Centrifuge Project, a “next-generation” U.S. uranium enrichment technology. USEC Inc. is a global energy company that is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

The company currently has 304 people working on the centrifuge program in Tennessee. In Oak Ridge, workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing.

“This plan for restructuring our debt and equity will have no effect on our employees, who will continue to receive paychecks and benefits in the ordinary course,” Jacobson said. “As we have communicated to our employees previously, some employees will be impacted by several ongoing initiatives that are unrelated to the restructuring.” [Read more…]

Chief engineer for U.S. ITER at ORNL to give project overview on Tuesday

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Brad Nelson

Brad Nelson

The chief engineer for the U.S. ITER Project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will give a project overview on Tuesday.

Brad Nelson is the chief engineer for the U.S. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project. His Tuesday talk will be the first in a series of three presentations on the U.S. ITER project to Friends of ORNL, with Hans Vogel speaking on April 8 and Graeme Murdoch speaking on May 13.

The New Yorker published a story on ITER in its March 3 edition titled “A Star in a Bottle” by Raffi Khatchadourian.

Nelson’s Tuesday presentation during a Friends of ORNL luncheon lecture starts at noon at the University of Tennessee Resource Center in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Postdocs wanted for energy efficiency, renewable energy research awards

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Applications being accepted through the end of April

Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy are taking applications for the EERE Postdoctoral Research Awards, an opportunity for recent Ph.D. recipients to conduct applied research at universities, national laboratories, and other research facilities. Applications are being accepted here until April 30.

The EERE Postdoctoral Research Awards aim to support scientific leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy by attracting the best scientists and engineers to pursue breakthrough technologies in a postdoctoral research program. EERE research participants will have access to unique education and training opportunities, top scientists in their field, and state-of-the-art projects and equipment. [Read more…]

ORISE report shows nuclear engineering graduation rates on the rise in 2013

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Number of graduate degrees expected to remain consistent but undergraduate degrees could see decrease starting in 2015; UT among Top 3 degree-granting programs

The number of college students graduating with majors in nuclear engineering continues to increase, according to a report by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which surveyed 32 U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs. The report, titled “Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2013 Data,” includes degrees granted between Sept. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2013.

Graduate, undergraduate nuclear engineering degrees increased from last year [Read more…]

DOE Oak Ridge Office signs DOD National Guard and Reserve support statement

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DOE DOD Statement Signing

DOE-ORO Manager Larry Kelly, accompanied by retired Maj. Gen. Jack D’Araujo, ESGR Tennessee Area Chair, recently signs a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense Committee for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR) affirming ORO’s support for its employees that serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office Manager Larry Kelly has signed a Statement of Support with the Department of Defense Committee for Employer Support of Guard and Reserve, or ESGR. The statement affirms ORO’s support for its employees that serve in the National Guard and Reserve.

ORO Manager Larry Kelly, along with retired Maj. Gen. Jack D’Araujo, ESGR Tennessee area chair, and retired Brig. Gen. Jim Mungenast, vice chair for Tennessee’s DOD Committee for the ESGR organization, participated in the signing. [Read more…]

Nashville marketing director to keynote DOE workshop

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Jason Oschwald

Jason Oschwald

A Nashville marketing director for an entertainment company will give the keynote speech at a March 13 workshop.

The 2014 Oak Ridge Women’s Workshop is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Federal Women’s Program and the Federally Employed Women Oak Ridge Chapter.

This year’s workshop theme is “Mastering the Three-Ring Circus—Envision, Overcome, and Empower!” The workshop will be held at the Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge from 8 a.m.-4:15 p.m. Thursday, March 13. [Read more…]

Icenhour to lead ORNL’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate

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Alan Icenhour

Alan Icenhour

Alan Icenhour has been named associate laboratory director for nuclear science and engineering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Icenhour will oversee ORNL’s contributions to isotope production, nuclear security and fission, and fusion research and technologies, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors. Icenhour has served as interim associate laboratory director since December.

Icenhour joined ORNL in 1990 and has worked in a variety of nuclear positions. Since 2008, he directed three divisions: the Global Nuclear Security Technology Division, the Fuel Cycle and Isotopes Division, and the Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division. [Read more…]

DOE awards contract to small business for mercury project at Y-12

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Y-12 Water Treatment Plant Announcement

In May 2013, state and federal officials announce a plant to treat mercury-contaminated water at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Pictured from left are Mark Whitney, Robert Martineau, Lamar Alexander, Dave Huizenga, and Stan Meiburg.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, awarded the task order to Strata-G in Knoxville on Wednesday. The company will collect data and perform characterization at Outfall 200 at Y-12.

The task order is the first project in a five-year, multi-phase contract estimated at $15 million, DOE said in a press release Friday. The contract uses a bidding process among three small businesses for various characterization projects at EM’s cleanup sites in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]