Oak Ridge Today

ORNL’s Keller, Babu, Hazen elected AAAS fellows

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ORNL Martin Keller, Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, and Terry Clyde Hazen

Martin Keller, associate director for energy and environmental sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and UT-ORNL Governor’s Chairs Suresh Babu and Terry Hazen have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (Photos courtesy ORNL)

The associate laboratory director for Energy and Environmental Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and two University of Tennessee-ORNL Governor’s Chair researchers are among the newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

EES Associate Laboratory Director Martin Keller and Governor’s Chairs Sudarsanam Suresh Babu and Terry Clyde Hazen will receive the highest honor bestowed by members of the AAAS on their peers. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Keller came to ORNL in 2006 from Diversa Corporation, where he held a series of research management positions. He was cited by his AAAS peers for “distinguished contributions to bioenergy science, and for dynamic and inspiring leadership of innovative partnerships to advance the development and deployment of clean energy technologies.” [Read more…]

President Obama announces more DOE nominations, including science director

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WASHINGTON, D.C.— President Barack Obama recently announced plans to nominate two people to top U.S. Department of Energy posts, including a director of the Office of Science.

The Office of Science is responsible for 10 of the 17 DOE labs, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Obama nominated Marc Kastner to serve as director of the Office of Science and Franklin Orr to serve as DOE under secretary for science and energy.

“I am confident that these outstanding individuals will greatly serve the American people in their new roles, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” Obama said in a press release.

Here is more information about the two candidates: [Read more…]

NNSA removes high-activity radioactive materials from Boston

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Nuclear Security Administration recently successfully recovered a disused, high-activity cesium-137 source from Massachusetts General Hospital in downtown Boston and transported it for permanent disposition. Formerly used as a research irradiator for medical studies, the device contained cesium-137, which could be used in a dirty bomb. The removal was part of NNSA’s global campaign to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear and radiological material.

“This operation is a key part of the NNSA’s broad strategy to strengthen both U.S. and global security by keeping dangerous nuclear and radiological material safe and secure,” said NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington. “Today’s announcement is a good example of how NNSA utilizes its unique expertise and assets at the national laboratories to partner with local communities and other agencies to make our cities and those around the world safer and more secure.” [Read more…]

UT professor receives more than $880,000 in DOE funding for carbon cycle research

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UT Students Measure Soil Carbon Flux

Doctoral candidate Jessica Bryant, left; Associate Professor Aimee Classen, middle; and University of Tennessee undergraduate student Kelsey Richesin use Li-Cor 6400, a machine that measure carbon flux from soil. (Photo courtesy UT)

KNOXVILLE—Carbon dioxide is key to life on Earth, but too much of the good thing can overheat the Earth’s surface and hurt the very things it supports. Thus, understanding how carbon cycles through the atmosphere is crucial to predicting its effects.

A University of Tennessee professor in Knoxville has received more than $880,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate often-overlooked carbon cycle players.

Aimee Classen, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and her team, which includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff members, will examine factors that influence carbon cycling below the ground and are not included in today’s carbon-cycle models.

“We know that tiny things that live in soil, like fungi, can regulate carbon processes in forests. However, our current soil models don’t consider what role fungal and plant root activity may play in soil carbon dynamics. Our project aims to fill this knowledge gap,” Classen said. [Read more…]

INCITE grants awarded to 59 computational research projects

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced 59 scientific projects that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers, including the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pictured above. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science announced 59 projects, promising to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers dedicated to open science. Their work will advance knowledge in critical areas from sustainable energy technologies to the environmental consequences of energy use.

The allocations come from the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE, program. Through it, the world’s most advanced computational research projects from academia, government, and industry are given access to DOE’s leadership computing facilities at Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories. [Read more…]

K-25 Building demolition nears completion

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K-25 Building Demolition

Workers continue demolishing and hauling away debris at the K-25 Building. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/UCOR)

Demolition of the last standing section of the K-25 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park is more than 75 percent complete.

UCOR workers began tearing down the last six units in the east wing of the mile-long Manhattan Project-era gaseous diffusion building in September. The majority of those six units—4.5 of them—are already on the ground, and work is continuing at a steady pace, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported in the December issue of Public Involvement News.

The entire project, including waste removal, should be completed next year, the Oak Ridge Office said.

The historic, U-shaped K-25 Building was erected to enrich uranium for atomic bombs during World War II, and it was once the world’s largest building under one roof. It once had 54 units. [Read more…]

Stabilization of hot cells facility at ORNL completed

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ORNL Hot Cell Stabilization

Installation of the permanent electrical equipment at the 3026 facility has been completed, marking the final step of the stabilization activities at the building. (Photo courtesy DOE/UCOR)

UCOR has finished installing permanent electrical equipment at the 3026 hot cells facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

This action completes all scheduled tasks under the 3026 Hot Cells Transition and Stabilization Phase, the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office reported in the December issue of Public Involvement News.

UCOR took over the 3026 Hot Cells project at the request of DOE. The stabilization activities were con- ducted to help “downgrade” the facility from a Hazard Category 3 nuclear facility to a radiological facility, the Oak Ridge Office said. This downgrade, which has been approved by DOE, will make the facility less costly to maintain.

UCOR is DOE’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge.

GIS Day on Wednesday at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus

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Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus will host GIS Day from noon-3 p.m. Wednesday.

GIS Day is an international event that highlights the real-world applications of the geographic information systems, or GIS, field. Roane State offers a one-year certificate and a two-year associate degree in GIS.

“GIS is a great field that blends science, geography, mathematics and, in a way, art,” said Pat Wurth, associate professor and director of Roane State’s GIS program. “We want anyone interested in GIS to visit on GIS Day and learn more about how this technology and training is used in a variety of fields.” [Read more…]

Chinese supercomputer still No. 1, ORNL’s Titan No. 2

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory stayed at No. 2 in a Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers released Monday morning. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

A Chinese supercomputer kept its top ranking, and Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory stayed at No. 2 in a Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers released Monday morning.

The top two spots were unchanged from the semiannual rankings released five months ago in June, when Tianhe-2, a supercomputer developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology, bumped Titan from the top spot. The ORNL supercomputer had been named No. 1 one year ago.

The rankings released Monday at the SC13 conference in Denver, Colo., said Tianhe-2 is capable of performing 33.86 petaflops. That’s 33.86 quadrillion calculations per second, on what is known as a Linpack benchmark test.

Titan is a Cray XK7 system that achieved 17.59 petaflops. Titan is one of the most energy-efficient systems on the list, consuming a total of 8.21 megawatts and delivering 2.143 gigaflops per watt, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lecture to focus on whether small reactors can rejuvenate nuclear power

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Kent Williams

Kent Williams

A retired distinguished staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss Thursday evening whether small modular nuclear reactors, such as the one proposed in west Oak Ridge, can rejuvenate nuclear power.

The presentation by Kent Williams starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge.

Many people in the nuclear industry say that small modular reactors, or SMRs, are key to a revitalized nuclear industry in the U.S. and overseas because of their projected market, safety, and economic characteristics, a press release said. One SMR plant has been proposed at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Final milestone in U.S.-Russian partnership converting nuclear warheads into fuel

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Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Russia has converted 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium—the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads—and the resulting low enriched uranium, or LEU, has been delivered to the United States, fabricated into nuclear fuel, and used in nuclear power plants to generate nearly 10 percent of all U.S. electricity for the past 15 years, federal officials said.

That’s roughly half of all commercial nuclear energy produced domestically during that period, a U.S. Department of Energy press release said.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the final LEU shipment on Thursday.

The LEU was derived from Russian weapons-origin highly enriched uranium, or HEU, under the 1993 U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement, commonly known as the Megatons to Megawatts Program, the press release said. [Read more…]

Officials celebrate conversion of historic hotel to assisted living center

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Alexander Inn Groundbreaking

Local, state, and federal officials join volunteers and nonprofit and business executives for a groundbreaking ceremony at the historic Alexander Inn on Thursday.

Top military leaders and scientists once stayed at this historic two-story hotel in the heart of Oak Ridge, and now it’s being converted into an assisted living center.

The $5.5 million renovation of the Alexander Inn at Jackson Square started in July, the culmination of a years-long preservation effort. It could be complete by mid-2014, said Rick Dover, manager of Family Pride Corp., the company converting the hotel.

The Guest House Senior Living at the Alexander Inn will have 62 rooms, including a 17-room memory care wing.

The hotel was built during the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. Guests who once stayed there included Gen. Leslie Groves, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and physicists J. Robert Oppenheimer and Enrico Fermi. [Read more…]