Oak Ridge Today

Keppens takes over as head of UT-ORNL Joint Institute of Advanced Materials

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Veerle Keppens

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute for Advanced Materials has named Veerle Keppens as its new director. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute for Advanced Materials has named Veerle Keppens as its new director.

Keppens, current head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in UT’s College of Engineering, brings a knowledge of advanced materials—substances with properties that go beyond the norm in one or more aspects, such as electronically or chemically—that will allow her to transition to the new role without a learning curve, a press release said.

“Dr. Keppens carries a wealth of materials science knowledge to this position along with a well as a passion for broadening our understanding in these areas of research,” said UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “She has worked well in research partnerships with ORNL and will be a strong leader of the institute.”

UT and ORNL established JIAM in 2005 as a way of bringing together researchers studying those materials, with the impact of that research being as varied as the materials themselves. [Read more…]

TVC honors Earl Gohl, Wayne Cropp for commitment to region

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Earl Gohl

Earl Gohl (Submitted photo)

 

Two long-time supporters of the Tennessee Valley Corridor were presented the organization’s top award at the TVC’s National Summit held June 1-2 on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee.

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-Chair Earl Gohl and Chattanooga attorney J. Wayne Cropp were honored with the Corridor Champion Award in recognition of their leadership to enhance the TVC’s national visibility, high-tech economic development, and collaborative efforts within the five-state region, a press release said.

“Wayne Cropp chaired the TVC first two Summits in 1995 and 1996 in Oak Ridge and Chattanooga and has been an active leader since,” said Board Chair Steve Cope from Tullahoma. “He has been a true champion for our region’s efforts to promote its federal missions and to leverage those investments for high tech economic development. [Read more…]

Video: Tennessine the proposed name for new element in honor of Tennessee

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Tennessine has been announced as a provisional name for superheavy element 117, one of four new superheavy elements. The proposed name honors the contributions of three Tennessee institutions: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.

See a short ORNL video about the announcement and discovery below.

See earlier stories here and here.

Tennessee gets a place at the table with newest element: Tennessine

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Robert Grzywacz

Robert Grzywacz

One of the newest members of the periodic table will likely have a familiar sound to it, even if the spelling might be a bit off: Tennessine.

Proposed as a nod to researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Tennessee, who helped confirm its existence, element 117 would be only the second to be named for a state. Since the name Tennessee has its origins in the name of the Cherokee village of Tanasi, it also becomes the first element with Native American roots.

The International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry formally verified the discovery and has now put forth the name Tennessine—pronounced to rhyme with green—for public comment.

Robert Grzywacz, director of the UT-ORNL Joint Institute for Nuclear Physics and Applications and a physics professor at UT, served as UT’s connection to the project. Grzywacz helped develop a process that measures the decay of nuclear materials down to one millionth of a second, which was vital in proving the existence of the new element. [Read more…]

Recognizing Tennessee’s contribution, Tennessine could be name of new chemical element

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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 DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

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

Tennessine is among the names proposed for four new elements. If approved, the name would recognize the contributions of Tennessee research centers—Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Tennessee—in the discovery of one of four new superheavy elements: 113, 115, 117, and 118.

Tennessine (Ts) is proposed for element 117.

The discovery of the four new elements was announced in January, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory played a role in discovering two of them. The elements have been added to the periodic table, filling the seventh row, or period.

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at ORNL were used in the discovery of two of the new chemical elements. [Read more…]

ORISE report shows nuclear engineering graduation rates rebounding in 2015 after brief decline

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Increases seen in undergraduate and master degrees, while number of doctorate degrees awarded declined

After briefly declining in 2014 following five straight years of continual increases, the number of college students graduating with majors in nuclear engineering has rebounded. This is according to an annual study conducted by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education which surveyed 35 U.S. universities with nuclear engineering programs. The report, titled “Nuclear Engineering Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2015 Data,” includes degrees granted between September 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015.

Overall number of nuclear engineering degrees increases

According to the report, 652 students received bachelor’s degrees with majors in nuclear engineering in 2015—a 4 percent increase over 2014 and just 0.5 percent lower than 2013. This is the second highest number of bachelor’s degrees reported since 1984; however, it remains 23 percent below the peak years in the 1970s.

The number of nuclear engineering master’s degrees awarded in 2015 increased by 13 percent over 2014 and is nearly identical to the number reported for 2013. The 363 master’s degrees awarded in 2015 are the highest since the 1980s. [Read more…]

Westcott photo exhibit of Oak Ridge during World War II opens Friday

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Ed Westcott and Ray Smith

Ed Westcott, right, was the only official photographer in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project in World War II, a top-secret project to build the world’s first atomic bomb. Westcott is pictured above with D. Ray Smith, Y-12 National Security Complex historian and newspaper history columnist. (Photo courtesy D. Ray Smith)

 

An exhibit of more than 50 historic photographs by James Edward “Ed” Westcott, the official photographer of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge during World War II, will open Friday in Knoxville.

The exhibit is titled “Through the Lens of Ed Westcott: A Photographic History of World War II’s Secret City.” It’s scheduled to be on display from June 3 to August 6 at the University of Tennessee Gallery at 106 South Gay Street in Knoxville.

A First Friday Opening Reception is scheduled from 5-9 p.m. Friday, June 3. Westcott will be in attendance from 6:30-8:30 p.m., a press release said.

There will be a gallery talk with Baldwin Lee, UT art professor emeritus, starting at 7 p.m. Friday. Baldwin will discuss the photos in the exhibition, the press release said.

Here is more information from the press release: [Read more…]

Fifteen students, including one from ORHS, named as Haslam Scholars at UT

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Oumar Souleymane Diallo

Oumar Souleymane Diallo

Fifteen students, including one from Oak Ridge High School, have been named to the 2016 cohort of Haslam Scholars at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. There are 14 students from Tennessee and one from North Carolina.

The ORHS student is Oumar Souleymane Diallo.

A student from Hardin Valley Academy, Sophia Cui, is also among the incoming students.

The Haslam Scholars Program is UT’s premier four-year scholarship program. Each year, the program admits 15 first-year students from the university’s Chancellor’s Honors Program and supports them with the university’s most prestigious and generous named scholarships. [Read more…]

Duhamel, who ran cross country for Oak Ridge, signs with UT, finishes 2nd in state in Class A-AA race

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Tennessee School for Deaf Duhamel Run at State Track Meet May 27 2016 Moore

Gashaw Duhamel, a senior at Tennessee School for the Deaf who ran cross country for Oak Ridge in the fall, finished second in the Class A-AA 3,200-meter run in the boys state track and field meet in Murfreesboro on Friday, May 27, 2016. (Photo by Kindell Moore)

 

Gashaw Duhamel, an Oak Ridge resident who ran cross country for the Wildcats in the fall, has been signed by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to run for the Volunteers, and he finished second on Friday in the boys’ state championship 3,200-meter run.

Duhamel attends Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville. He’s reported to be the first athlete from Tennessee School for the Deaf to earn a Division I scholarship.

He finished second on Friday in the boys 3,200-meter run in the Class A-AA state track and field championship meet in Murfreesboro. Duhamel also finished second in the Class A-AA East Section Finals on May 19 at Christian Academy of Knoxville. The top runner in the 3,200-meter race at both meets was Johnathan Chavez, a Knoxville Catholic senior. [Read more…]

Wildcats end spring practice with scrimmage at UT today

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Joe Gaddis

Joe Gaddis, head coach of the Oak Ridge Wildcats football team

The Oak Ridge Wildcats football team ends spring practice with a scrimmage against Seymour at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville today (Friday, May 20).

Oak Ridge will scrimmage against Seymour, Wildcats Coach Joe Gaddis said. The scrimmage is scheduled to start at 6 p.m., and it’s in the UT indoor practice facility.

That’s generally a closed facility, but since high schools are scrimmaging there family members and parents can attend, Gaddis said. A few fans might be able to as well, but they better get there early, and they need to bring chairs, Gaddis said.

“It’s not made for spectators,” he said. [Read more…]

Knoxville Opera’s Salesky brings program to Oak Ridge on Tuesday

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Brian Salesky

Brian Salesky

Maestro Brian Salesky, executive director and conductor of Knoxville Opera, will present a dynamic program illustrating the history of opera and musical theater at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, May 17. The program starts at noon Tuesday in the sanctuary of Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 309 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Salesky will be joined by two opera singers in his exposition of Opera 101, soprano Sarah Fitch and baritone Kevin Doherty. Both have performed roles in Knoxville Opera’s productions at the Tennessee Theatre and are graduates of the University of Tennessee, a press release said.

Opera 101, which can be adapted for different age groups, is one of several in the Knoxville Opera Education Program. In information provided for the upcoming program, Salesky said Knoxville Opera annually presents 75-100 education events for the community, including the recent Rossini Festival, Knoxville Opera Goes to Church, African-American Voices Series, and in-school operas, reaching up to 100,000 people. [Read more…]

Learn about gravitational waves at ORION astronomy lecture

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Michael Guidry

Michael Guidry

Learn about gravitational waves during an ORION astronomy club meeting on Wednesday.

The meeting will feature Mike Guidry, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Tennessee and an adjunct staff member with Oak Ridge National Laboratory Physics and Computer Science departments.

On September 14, 2015, the event detectors from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO, facilities in Washington and Louisiana recorded data that was consistent with the merging of two black holes, a press release said. Together, the recorded data form the event known as GW150914. [Read more…]