Oak Ridge Today

Wildcats sweep Gibbs, but Butch Jones steals the show

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Butch-Jones-Wildcat-Arena-Jan-29-2016

University of Tennessee Coach Butch Jones, left, watches the Oak Ridge Wildcats play basketball at home on Friday, Jan. 29, 2015. Tee Higgins, a junior guard, has committed to play football at UT. Higgins is a wide receiver. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:25 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Wildcats swept Gibbs at home on Friday, but University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones stole the show.

Although they couldn’t discuss why they were there, Jones and Zach Azzanni, UT wide receivers coach, were at Wildcat Arena on Friday to watch 6-foot-5 junior Tee Higgins. Besides playing basketball well, Higgins is also a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner who has committed to play football for the UT Volunteers. He was named Tennessee Titans Mr. Football in November, recognized as Back of the Year in Class 5A.

Jones and Azzanni also attended a Wildcats football game in the fall, when Oak Ridge beat Lenoir City 55-15 on September 18.

When Jones arrived at the basketball game on Friday, the excited student section—many of them dressed in Volunteer orange—began singing “It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol, I said, it’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!” [Read more…]

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

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ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]

UT-ORNL breakthrough aims to improve tech gadgets, TVs

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Ramki-Kalyanaraman

Ramki Kalyanaraman

Whether at home, work, or play, touchscreen devices have quickly become one of the hallmarks of the modern world.

Phones, tablets, computers, and even televisions use the technology, which relies on substances known as transparent conductive films. All but a small fraction of those films are made from a particular class of oxides that, although they do the job very effectively, contain rare and costly elements.

Now, thanks to a breakthrough led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that problem could soon be in the past.

“The electronics industry relies heavily on the use of Indium metal for the many situations requiring the right balance of transparency and current carrying ability,” said UT Professor Ramki Kalyanaraman. “While Indium is scarce, our new material contains elements that are far more abundant such as iron, terbium, and dysprosium.” [Read more…]

ORNL’s Dai ranked among world’s most influential scientists

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Sheng Dai

Sheng Dai (Photo by ORNL)

 

Sheng Dai of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been named to a list of the most highly cited researchers in the world.

Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers is an annual list that recognizes some of the world’s leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences. About 3,000 researchers were named to the 2015 list.

Dai is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and serves as the group leader of the Nanomaterials Chemistry Group in ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division. He also holds a joint appointment with the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee. His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of materials for energy-related applications. [Read more…]

CVMR still hopes to build $300M metal refinery, but R&D center on hold

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Michael Hargett and Kamran Khoza of CVMR USA

CVMR President Michael Hargett, left, and Kamran Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer, joined local, state, and federal officials on Friday, March 13, 2015, to announce they’re moving company headquarters from Toronto to Oak Ridge, investing $313 million and adding 620 jobs.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 7:05 p.m.

Seeking to clarify its plans, CVMR on Friday said it still hopes to build a metal refining facility in Oak Ridge to produce metal powders and “nano materials.” That investment, to be completed in three phases, could cost more than $300 million in the first phase and eventually employ 1,200 to 1,500 engineers and technicians, the company said Friday.

But they will not establish a Center of Excellence focused on research and development of the application of vapor metallurgy technology to an expanding group of elements, CVMR said in a Friday letter to Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

The company sought to publicly clarify its position after news stories this week suggested that the CVMR deal was dead. Some officials and developers had pushed back after those stories appeared in several Knoxville media outlets, saying they remained “cautiously optimistic” that the company could still come to Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Baker Center: Roadway quality at risk unless new funding found

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Tennessee spends less on a per-capita basis than almost any other state on its highways and roads, yet enjoys roadways that are better than those in most states. But according to a new paper produced by researchers at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, roadway quality is now at risk unless new funding is found.

Fuel tax rates are among the lowest in the nation, yet Tennessee boasts a roadway network that has better pavement, better bridges, and less congestion than most comparable state systems. Concerns are mounting that these benefits are at risk because of a funding outlook that continues to deteriorate.

The state’s gasoline tax was last raised—from 16 to 20 cents per gallon—more than 25 years ago, in 1989.

Currently, the state’s gasoline tax of 21.4 cents a gallon (which includes a special petroleum products tax) ranks 12th lowest in the U.S., and Tennessee is one of only five states that are free of highway-related debt. Gasoline and diesel tax revenues not only support state roadways but are shared with cities and counties across the state. [Read more…]

Four ORNL researchers elected fellows of American Physical Society

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Jaime Fernandez-Baca

Jaime Fernandez-Baca (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Four researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society, one of the nation’s top professional organizations for scientists.

Jaime Fernandez-Baca, Sergei Kalinin, Mark Lumsden, and Thomas Maier were selected for the honor by the APS Council of Representatives. They will be formally recognized at the APS’s March meeting.

Fernandez-Baca, a distinguished research staff member in the Quantum Condensed Matter Division in ORNL’s Neutron Science Directorate, was recognized by the APS Division of Materials Physics “for seminal neutron scattering studies of magnetic materials, especially the spin and lattice dynamics of colossal magnetoresistive manganites.”

Fernandez-Baca’s research is performed mainly at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, where he is the lead for the Triple Axis Spectroscopy group. His expertise is in the study of the magnetic ordering and spin dynamics of complex oxides and related alloys using neutron scattering techniques.

He was the recipient of the International Atomic Energy Agency fellowship, the DOE Office of Science Outstanding Mentor Award (2008), and the Neutron Scattering Society of America Distinguished Service Award (2014). [Read more…]

CNS, UT chemical sensing technology wins R&D 100 Award

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ChIMES CNS and UT RD100

The ChIMES team’s investigators each brought unique expertise to the project. (Photo courtesy CNS)

 

An inexpensive, small, and portable chemical sensor developed by Consolidated Nuclear Security researchers at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the University of Tennessee received a prestigious R&D 100 Award.

ChIMES, which is short for Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing, was selected as a revolutionary technology by a panel of 70 independent judges. This low-cost sensor has virtually limitless applications, including detection of chemical and biological warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, explosives, and illegal drugs, a press release said.

The sensor is the product of a three-year collaborative effort between CNS and scientists from the University of Tennessee. Y-12 researcher Vincent Lamberti, who managed the project, said: “The R&D 100 award reflects the importance in having strong partners in the advancement of a new technology. ChIMES surely would not have succeeded without the steady stream of innovations that were created in our collaboration with UT.” [Read more…]

UT, Y-12 chemical sensing technology wins national R&D100 award

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Michael-Sepaniak

Michael Sepaniak

A low-cost chemical sensor invented by a University of Tennessee chemistry professor in partnership with the Y-12 National Security Complex has been recognized by R&D Magazine as a top technology product in the marketplace, a press release said.

The invention, the product of UT Chemistry Professor Michael Sepaniak and collaborators at Y-12, was selected this weekend for the 2015 R&D100 Award—known in the field as the “Oscars of innovation.” The award recognizes the top 100 technology projects of the year and honors the inventors.

ChIMES (Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing) is a new low-cost passive chemical sensing technology. The sensors are based on a set of target response materials that expand in the presence of a target. The expanding volume puts stress on materials, changing their magnetic properties so they can be detected wirelessly. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Titan still No. 2 as China triples Top500 supercomputers

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was once ranked as the world’s most powerful supercomputer, but it has since been ranked number two. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

 

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained at number two on a list of the world’s top 500 supercomputers released Monday. China tripled the number of its systems on the semiannual Top500 list, while the number of systems in the United States fell to the lowest point since the list was created in 1993.

The Tianhe-2 supercomputer in China again maintained the number one spot on the list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. It’s the sixth consecutive time Tianhe-2 has been the top supercomputer. The system was developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology.

Titan was once the most powerful supercomputer.

The 46th edition of the twice-yearly TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers was released Monday. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has annual Owl Prowl on Saturday

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UTAS Owl Prowl

Katie Cottrell, right, and Kathy Strunk are pictured at an earlier Owl Prowl at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

The Owl Prowl, one of the most popular events offered at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, will again be sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society on Saturday, October 24. It’s at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue (Highway 62) in Oak Ridge.

Presented by the Clinch River Raptor Center, Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will bring live owls for display and will give information about their natural history, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started by John Byrd 30 years ago at Clinton Middle School. So far, 2,000 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated. Strunk and Cottrell have shared the responsibility as co-directors of the Raptor Center for more than 25 years, and they have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey, the press release said. [Read more…]

Pay cited most often as reason for ORPD turnover, low morale, MTAS report says

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Margaret Norris and Rex Barton of MTAS on Oct. 15, 2015

Margaret Norris, left, and Rex Barton of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee deliver the results of a six-month review of the Oak Ridge Police Department to City Council on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12 p.m. Oct. 16.

It probably wasn’t the explanation that many expected, but pay was cited most often as the reason for turnover and low morale in the Oak Ridge Police Department, according to a report released Thursday.

Some have pinned most of the blame for the department’s woes—or perceived woes, depending upon your perspective—on Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, and they had called for an investigation of the chief earlier this year on several different fronts.

Among those pressing for an investigation was Oak Ridge City Council member Trina Baughn. She and others had raised questions about the chief’s temperament, including whether he has outbursts and is vindictive, and what Baughn suggested is a high turnover rate.

But the City Council instead approved a review of the ORPD that focused on morale, turnover, and administrative policies. In March, Council hired the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the University of Tennessee to conduct the six-month review, which was first proposed by Council member Kelly Callison. MTAS presented its findings in a 20-page report presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in a special work session on Thursday.

The report identified a primary culprit familiar to many workers: pay. But as officers have pointed out, they, unlike most other workers, face danger on a daily basis.

Most of those interviewed by MTAS thought that ORPD salaries are not suitable for retaining good employees, MTAS consultant Rex Barton told Council members Thursday. Whatever raises have been given in the past few years have been outstripped by the rise in the cost of benefits, Barton said.

[Read more…]