Oak Ridge Today

3 displaced, none injured after being rescued from apartment fire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Three people are safe after a fire at an apartment complex on Glassboro Drive Wednesday morning. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Three people who had been asleep are safe after being evacuated from a fire at an apartment complex on Glassboro Drive on Wednesday morning.

At around 8:57 a.m. June 23, Oak Ridge Fire Department crews were dispatched to 114 Glassboro Drive. Firefighters arrived on scene within six minutes of the dispatch, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

“The first arriving crew found smoke showing from the top of the apartment building,” Oak Ridge Fire Marshal Eric Rackard said. “During a search of the apartments, three residents were found asleep in the apartment that was on fire. Crews were able to safely evacuate all residents and they were not injured.”

[Read more…]

ORAU awards five Pollard Scholarships

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

ORAU has awarded five William G. Pollard Scholarships of $2,500 each toward undergraduate studies for the 2021-2022 academic year. The recipients of this year’s scholarships include Semilore (Semmy) Abiodun-Adeniyi, Olivia Campbell, Olivia Hudson, Sara Malicoat, and Trisha Prater.

Each year, ORAU awards these scholarships to employees’ children or stepchildren who display exceptional achievements in their high school or undergraduate studies. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all high schools and colleges attended, three references (at least two of which must be from teachers), and a 500-word essay describing professional and personal interests, a press release said.

The William G. Pollard Scholarship Awards are presented in honor of ORAU’s founder in recognition of his dedication to science and education. A University of Tennessee physics professor, Pollard founded the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies—which later became ORAU—to link the valuable scientific resources developed in Oak Ridge as part of the Manhattan Project with regional universities.

Here is more information about this year’s winners: [Read more…]

Secret City Sprint Triathlon is Saturday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Secret City Sprint Triathlon is in Oak Ridge on Saturday from 7:30 to 10 a.m.

Participants will begin with a 500-meter swim in the outdoor pool before transitioning to bikes for the 15-mile ride to Imperium Drive in west Oak Ridge and back.

[Read more…]

ORHS grad and National Academy of Sciences member to speak Wednesday on food research at Berkeley

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Krishna Niyogi, a 1982 Oak Ridge High School graduate who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2016, will give a virtual talk on Wednesday, June 23, on “Understanding photosynthesis to improve crop productivity.” He will deliver the Dick Smyser Community Lecture at 7:00 p.m., which is open to the public and sponsored by Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Smyser was the first editor of The Oak Ridger and an active member of FORNL. You can access the Zoom link by clicking on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website.
Niyogi is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California at Berkeley and a faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The Niyogi Lab studies photosynthetic energy conversion and its regulation in algae and plants. The lab’s long-term research goals are to understand how photosynthesis works, how it is regulated, and how it might be improved to help meet the world’s needs for food and fuel.
Niyogi discovered the genetic mechanisms by which green plants cope with receiving excessive sunlight. He found that plants have a line of defense (nonphotochemical quenching, or NPQ) that enables them to release the extra light energy as heat. In 2001, Niyogi received the Melvin Calvin Award from the International Society of Photosynthesis Research in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the understanding of mechanisms of “photoprotection” in plants and algae.
Niogi holds a B.A. degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also performed research at the Carnegie Institution.
Kris Niyogi is the son of the late Salil Niyogi and Audrey Stevens, both scientists in ORNL’s old Biology Division. His mother was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1998 for independently demonstrating the synthesis of RNA in E. coli bacterial cells by an enzyme called RNA polymerase.

Madison Lamon wins President’s Award, Roane State’s highest student honor

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Madison Lamon

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

It was the perfect setting for a surprise announcement: surrounded by her teammates and coach at a team cookout.

Madison “Madi” Lamon watched on a YouTube livestream on Awards Night that she had been named the winner of Roane State Community College’s highest student honor – the President’s Award.

“I was very surprised,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

Lamon, 19, a pitcher for the Roane State Raiders softball team, is the latest recipient of the award, and on an auspicious occasion – the 50th anniversary of the community college. Current Roane State President Chris Whaley won the award as a student in 1989.

[Read more…]

AT&T’s ‘Believe Tennessee’ campaign partners with Roane State Community College to support area students

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The AT&T Foundation is helping support Roane State Foundation’s Pay-It-Forward Emergency Aid fund with a $5,000 donation. AT&T employees and students from Roane State also collected school supplies for students at Ridge View Elementary in Rockwood, where the check presentation was recently held. TBR Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Advancement Cris Perkins, Roane State Foundation Executive Director Scott Niermann, Roane State President Chris Whaley, and Roane County Director of Schools LaDonna McFall are joined by local elected officials Sen. Ken Yager and Rep. Kent Calfee along with members of the Roane State golf team, Ridge View Elementary staff, and representatives from AT&T Tennessee. (Submitted photo)

Donation to support Student Emergency Fund at Roane State Community College and school supplies for Ridge View Elementary students

Harriman—AT&T said it has a long-standing commitment to the future of Tennessee and through its initiative – Believe Tennessee – the AT&T team is working with community leaders and organizations to remove barriers to academic success and engage youth to have an impact in their communities.

As part of this effort, the AT&T Foundation has donated $5,000 to Roane State Community College’s nonprofit Foundation to support the Pay-It-Forward Emergency Aid fund. This fund ensures students receive the support they need in times of financial distress, a press release said. Additionally, AT&T employees and students from Roane State have collected school supplies for students at Ridge View Elementary.

“We are thrilled to see AT&T expand their commitment to community engagement through this project,” said Chris Whaley, president of Roane State Community College. “Our local students will benefit greatly from this gift and AT&T’s continued support of higher education.”

[Read more…]

Roane State student eyes video game design as career

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Journey Long

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Roane State student Journey Long has been interested in video games for as long as he can remember. He said he was around 4 or 5 years old when he started thinking about designing games. “It kicked my little kid mind into overdrive,” he said.

It’s not surprising that Long would rank the college’s director of computer information technology, George Meghabghab, as his favorite instructor.

“He’s probably everyone’s favorite in the computer science program,” Long said. “He really cares about what he’s teaching.”

Long said he chose Roane State because he lives close by in Harriman and was told that “it has a good reputation for beginners.” He was home-schooled and had never before been in a public school setting.

[Read more…]

Rockwood celebrates 50th anniversary of Roane State, Harriman TCAT

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Banners in Rockwood celebrate the 50th anniversary of Roane State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Harriman. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

By Bob Fowler
Roane State staff writer

Banners commemorating the 50th anniversary of Roane State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Harriman now line Rockwood’s main thoroughfare.

The 10 large banners are on utility poles from Wheeler Street to Rockwood Street on Gateway Avenue near the downtown district. Each features a photo of a graduate of either Roane State or TCAT-Harriman in wardrobes representing professions in which they acquired expertise during their studies.

The signs are also on display on the college’s flagship campus in Roane County.

“Roane State and TCAT-Harriman have been community partners with all of us for all these years,” said Becky Ruppe, Rockwood city administrator and recorder.

[Read more…]

CNS donates $10,000 to Oak Ridge High School NJROTC

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams, Cmdr. Keith Klemm, Y-12 Site Manager and retired Capt. Gene Sievers, and Chief Ryan Nicholls at a recent ceremony where Consolidated Nuclear Security provided a $10,000 donation to support the Navy Junior ROTC program’s continued excellence. (Photo provided by Oak Ridge High School.)

The Oak Ridge High School Navy Junior ROTC began four years ago with a donation from Consolidated Nuclear Security. As the first class of seniors who have been with the program all four years graduates, CNS is making another significant donation to the program, a press release said.

On May 19, parents and NJROTC community partners attended a ceremony at Oak Ridge High School to celebrate the cadets’ accomplishments. During the ceremony, Y-12 Site Manager and retired U.S. Navy Captain Gene Sievers announced a $10,000 CNS donation for continued support of the program. Other organizations provided scholarships and awards to the cadets, the press release said.

“It’s vitally important to support programs like this in schools,” Sievers said. “Providing these students with a way to explore military careers and leadership while still in high school can significantly affect their career trajectory.”

[Read more…]

NASA selects ORAU for postdoc program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

NASA has selected Oak Ridge Associated Universities to provide the agency with administrative support and coordination of research opportunities between NASA’s mission directorates and centers across the agency.

The NASA Postdoctoral Program 2 (NPP-2) contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a maximum potential value of approximately $129.7 million. The one-year base performance period begins September 9, 2021, and it is followed by four one-year options, which would end September 8, 2026, NASA said in a press release.

[Read more…]

First Presbyterian offers free meals, groceries Thursday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

First Presbyterian Church will provide a free meal and bag of groceries to food-insecure guests who drive by the church between 5:30 and 6 p.m. Thursday, June 10, a press release said.

The church’s monthly “Welcome Table” community meal program plans to supply each guest with a hot meal consisting of taco soup, Fritos chips, fresh fruit. and brownies or cookies, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORAU awards 35 research grants, $175K to junior faculty

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU has awarded competitive research grants totaling $175,000 to 35 junior faculty from its member institutions. The annual grants are made through the company’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program that provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty, a press release said.

The recipients, each of whom is in the first two years of a tenure track position, will receive $5,000 in seed money for the 2021-2022 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their careers. Each recipient’s institution matches the ORAU award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner, the press release said. Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue research, or travel to professional meetings and conferences.

Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded 804 grants totaling about $4 million, the press release said. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $8 million, the release said.

[Read more…]