Steve Zinkle
KNOXVILLE—Steve Zinkle, an authority on the effect of radiation on materials in fission and fusion nuclear reactors, has been named the thirteenth University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.
Zinkle will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Materials, based in the department of nuclear engineering at UT with a complementary appointment in materials science and engineering. He begins at UT on Oct. 1. [Read more…]
This figure shows a list of measures and their effectiveness, safety impacts, and efficiency impacts. (Submitted image)
KNOXVILLE— It’s a common driving predicament: As you approach the intersection, the light is yellow. Do you hit the brakes or face a red light camera fine?
Some municipalities engineer their traffic signals to force drivers into this situation in an effort to generate revenue from the cameras.
Professors at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville have analyzed this issue to determine if traffic control measures intended to boost red light revenue—such as shortening yellow light time or increasing the speed limit on a street—compromise safety. [Read more…]
Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, will join the faculty of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville this fall. (Submitted photo)
KNOXVILLE—Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, will join the faculty of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville this fall.
Dean arrives at UT from IBM, where he most recently served as chief technology officer for IBM Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai.
He begins on Sept. 1 as the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. [Read more…]
Ken Mossman
KNOXVILLE—President Barack Obama recently nominated University of Tennessee alumnus Kenneth L. Mossman to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Now a professor of health physics at Arizona State University, Mossman is an expert in radiation health and safety. He received his master’s degree in 1970 and doctorate in 1973, both in radiation biology, from UT and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences. He established the Ken and Blair Mossman Professorship in Biomedicine, currently held by Associate Dean and Professor Cynthia Peterson.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is a five-member executive branch agency with safety oversight of all U.S. nuclear weapons facilities. Its mission is to identify potential threats to public health and safety at the U.S. Department of Energy’s defense nuclear facilities and to make safety recommendations to the secretary of energy and to the president. Among other things, the DNFSB issues weekly reports on Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]
KNOXVILLE—Hypothetical scenario: A nuclear bomb is detonated in one of America’s most populated cities. Just as at a crime scene, the officials need to find the culprit.
Currently, the process of analyzing weapons debris to understand the performance or design of the device is painstakingly slow. But new research to be conducted at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville seeks to improve radiochemistry and nuclear forensics to enhance global security.
The new Radiochemistry Center of Excellence is being established through a $1.2 million grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration for the first year, with the potential for a total of $6 million for five years. The center will focus on research and education to advance UT and NNSA laboratories such as the nearby Y-12 National Security Complex, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The center will begin operating immediately. [Read more…]
Ramamoorthy Ramesh
KNOXVILLE—Ramamoorthy Ramesh, an authority in the physics of functional materials, has been named the 12th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. He has also been appointed as deputy director for science and technology at ORNL.
Ramesh will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nanomaterials Engineering, based in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He began on June 1. [Read more…]
KNOXVILLE—The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has released a policy brief summarizing factors the federal government should consider while making its decision of whether or not to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority.
In his proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, President Barack Obama suggested the federal government consider selling TVA. There are several factors that may affect the federal government’s final decision on the matter, including TVA’s ability to be self-sufficient and the absence of federal money in its programs since 1999. Mary English, Baker Center Fellow for Energy and Environmental Policy, summarizes these factors in the brief, titled “Should the Federal Government Sell TVA?”
KNOXVILLE—Falling unemployment rates, an increase in vehicle sales, and a long-awaited rebound in the residential housing market are all indications that the national and state economies are making a comeback.
Despite sequestration of federal spending and a payroll tax increase that have slowed consumer spending, the economy is poised for strong growth in both 2014 and 2015, according to the spring 2013 Tennessee Business and Economic Outlook released Wednesday.
The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, predicts the trajectory of the state and national economies by examining many economic and fiscal factors and trends. [Read more…]
Multiple outcroppings of rocks like this one (termed a pebble conglomerate) were observed along the first 275 meters traversed by the rover with the high-resolution Mastcam. (Submitted photo)
KNOXVILLE—Despite satellite images that show vast networks of channels, past Mars rover missions have shown limited evidence for flowing water on Mars.
Now, rocks analyzed by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover team, including Linda Kah, associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, provide solid evidence that Mars had rivers or streams. This suggests that the environment was drastically different than today’s cold and dry conditions, with the potential to support life.
A paper on the team’s findings is published in this week’s edition of Science magazine. [Read more…]
KNOXVILLE—Most people have experienced a long wait to see a doctor. Technology being developed through a new collaboration between the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Y-12 National Security Complex, and Stanley Healthcare aims to cut down on wait times.
The three entities are developing an intelligent interactive dashboard that crunches data in real time to help managers determine how best to administer flow.
An official signing of a cooperative research and development agreement was signed during the Tennessee Valley Corridor’s National Technology Summit on Wednesday evening at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s New Hope Center in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Sudarsanam Suresh Babu
Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, an authority in the production, design, and performance of transforming materials into parts, has been named the 11th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.
Babu will serve as Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing. He begins on July 1.
Babu, a professor in the Welding Engineering Program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, directed a National Science Foundation Industry and University Cooperative Research center focused on materials joining for energy applications. [Read more…]
KNOXVILLE—The U.S. and Tennessee economies continue to dig their way out from the Great Recession, but they will be digging at a slower pace this year than last.
The debate over the nation’s debt ceiling, the looming risk of sequestration of federal spending, and the payroll tax increase contribute to the slowdown in predicted gains, according to the forecast in the 2013 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, released today.
The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, predicts the trajectory of the state and national economies by examining many economic and fiscal factors and trends.
