Oak Ridge Today

Leadership Oak Ridge provides outdoor seating area at AMSE

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Leadership-Oak-Ridge-2019-Graduation.jpg

Members of the 2019 Leadership Oak Ridge Class recently graduated and dedicated their class project: a gathering space near the American Museum of Science and Energy. (Submitted photo)

 

 

Information from Kathy Gillenwaters and Amanda Meixel Kinghorn

Members of the Leadership Oak Ridge program recently finished a project that provides enhancements to the American Museum of Science and Energy. The multi-offering project was made possible through numerous volunteer hours from participants and generous donations from local businesses, a press release said.

Additions include a new outdoor seating area, landscaping, and beautification installations, the press release said.

“The new gathering area was a project of particular importance and filled a need that existed since AMSE’s location change last year,” the release said.

AMSE now has outdoor classroom space, transition space for rotating large groups through the educational facility, and seating for the bus tour that departs from the building nine months of the year. The project also included new landscaping and beautification pieces that enhance the visual appeal of Oak Ridge’s expanding Main Street area, the press release said. [Read more…]

Call center relocates to Oak Ridge

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Avant LLC

Avant LLC hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. Avant recently relocated its call center operations to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Avant LLC recently announced that the company has completed the relocation of its call center operations from nearby Louisville to Commerce Park in Oak Ridge.

This completes a year-long series of planning discussions that started in the fall of 2018, a press release said. The financial services company currently employs 200 people in the region. Site director Steve Massey expects that number to grow to between 350 and 400 in 2020.

“Our move has been very successful so far, and we are looking forward to growing with Oak Ridge into a bright future here,” Massey said.

“It’s exciting to see a company that is growing and already has plans to increase employment levels come into the City of Oak Ridge,” said Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. [Read more…]

Celebrate—or take a break from—the holidays with Dine and Donate!

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ADFAC Dine and Donate

ADFAC’s Becky Hook and Nan Shugart recently brought ‘Addy the School Supplies Frog’ along for a celebratory lunch at Mediterranean Delight. (Submitted photo)

 

The holiday season is in full force! Black Friday is over, and Cyber Monday has come and gone—but the blizzard of holiday activities won’t be over for a few more weeks.

On Monday, December 9, rest your feet and enjoy good eats with ADFAC’s Dine and Donate event! On that day, participating restaurants will donate a portion of sales to support Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC). Whether you need a break from holiday stress or want to share an early festive meal with friends and family, Dine and Donate restaurants are ready for you.

December’s featured Dine & Donate supporter is Mediterranean Delight, located in Security Square shopping center, tucked behind Methodist Therapy Services. Mediterranean Delight offers exceptional ethnic cuisine. Customers “delight” in regional Mediterranean specialties such as tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghanoush, kubeh, shawarma, and kebabs. Multiple vegetarian and gluten-free dishes are available. [Read more…]

Winter Farmers’ Market opens Saturday

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The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, and it will be open through March 28, 2020, in St. Mary’s School gym in Oak Ridge. (Photo courtesy Grow Oak Ridge)

The Winter Farmers’ Market will open in Oak Ridge on Saturday, and it will be open through March.

With more than 30 vendors each week, the Winter Farmers’ Market is the largest one in Anderson County, a press release said.

This weekend’s opening is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, December 7, in the gym at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge.

This year, the Winter Farmers’ Market will extend an extra four weeks, through March 28, 2020. It is closed only on the Saturday after Christmas, December 28, the press release said.

“Our farmers grow a wide array of crops all winter long,” said Rebecca Williams, director of Grow Oak Ridge, the nonprofit organization that produces the market.

[Read more…]

Updated: TerraPower, Isotek extracting cancer treatment materials from U-233 at ORNL

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DOE EM ORNL Pumping Uranyl Nitrate Solution into Resin Columns
TerraPower, a company that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped launch in 2006, is working with Isotek Systems LLC, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, to extract rare isotopes from nuclear materials for cancer treatment and research. Pictured above is a uranyl nitrate solution being pumped into resin columns. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management)

Note: This story was last updated at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 25.

A company that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates helped launch in 2006 is working with a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge to extract rare isotopes from nuclear materials for cancer treatment research.

The project will significantly increase the number of cancer treatment doses available each year, federal officials and company executives said Friday. It will help remove highly enriched fissile nuclear material from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and save taxpayers an estimated $90 million, the officials and executives said. And it will recycle an isotope that would otherwise be “irretrievably lost” as the nuclear material, uranium-233, is converted into a disposal-ready form.

The U.S. Department of Energy, Isotek Systems LLC, and TerraPower celebrated with an announcement of the project in Oak Ridge on Friday morning.

TerraPower, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, where Gates is chairman, is particularly interested in actinium-225. That isotope can be extracted from thorium-229. The thorium will be removed from the fissile material, the uranium-233 stored at ORNL, by the federal cleanup contractor, Isotek.

The unique agreement, a public-private partnership, is expected to allow TerraPower the ability to make 100 times more actinium-225-based cancer treatment doses per year than the 4,000 doses that are currently available worldwide. TerraPower could first offer actinium-225 in late 2020, company executives said.

[Read more…]

For members: Companies have agreement to make nuclear fuel

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X-energy-TRISO-Carbonization-and-Heat-Treatment-Furnace
The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy)

Note: This story was updated at 12:15 p.m.

A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.

 

The carbonization and heat treatment furnace used to produce TRISO fuel, a high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuel, at a pilot production facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy X-energy)

 

A company that has a trial fuel fabrication facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is collaborating with a joint venture led by GE with Hitachi to produce nuclear fuel for the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA.

The company, X-energy of Rockville, Maryland, announced the collaboration with Global Nuclear Fuel on November 6.

The two companies have an agreement to develop high-assay, low-enriched uranium TRISO fuel. The fuel could be used in defense micro-reactors and by NASA for nuclear thermal propulsion, a press release said.

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Oak Ridge Chamber’s Christmas Parade will be Saturday, Dec. 14

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The Oak Ridge High School Softball team prepares for the 2018 Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade. This year’s parade will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019. (Submitted photo)

 

The annual Christmas Parade organized by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will be Saturday, December 14.

This year’s theme is “Christmas Around the World.” The parade promises to provide spectators with plenty of music, lights, and beautiful floats, a press release said.

The sponsor of this year’s parade is The Cowperwood Company. There is no cost to participate.

The Chamber will be accepting entries online through Monday, December 9. Register by visiting the Chamber’s website at www.oakridgechamber.org. [Read more…]

ORAU’s Cindy Snow promoted to director of procurement

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Cindy Snow

 

Cindy Snow has been promoted to director of procurement for Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

As a long-time employee of ORAU, Snow has experience in both contracts administration and the management of purchasing company equipment, materials, supplies, and professional services, a press release said. In her new role, she will direct all ORAU procurement and small business activities and staff, including internal purchases, acquisitions and sub-contracting, and ensure excellent customer service to internal and external clients, the press release said.

“We are proud to see an employee as dedicated to ORAU as Cindy take this next step in the company,” said Andy Page, ORAU president and chief executive officer. “She has held numerous leadership roles, and we know she will only continue to prosper as our director of procurement. We all offer her sincere congratulations and look forward to what she accomplishes in this new role.” [Read more…]

Roane State hosts launch of ‘Dream It. Do It.’ competition

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Roane State Dream It Do It Oct. 14 2019
Roane State Community College hosts the 5th annual ‘Dream It. Do It.” competition launch at the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility on Oct. 14, 2019. (Photo courtesy Roane State)

By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer

Roane State hosted the launch of the fifth annual “Dream It. Do It.” competition last week at the community college’s mechatronics campus in Clinton, and it is also providing judges for the months-long events.

Now in its fifth year, the unique student competition highlighting manufacturing careers is sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the contractor that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, and the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce.

The event is held each October as part of the National Manufacturing Day celebration.

Chamber President Rick Meredith during the competition kickoff expressed appreciation for the college’s assistance. Gordon Williams, director of the mechatronics program in the Clinton Higher Education and Training facility, showed the students the various types of equipment used in mechatronics.

[Read more…]

City to present ideas for mixed-use development on Wilson Street on Wednesday

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Wilson Street is pictured above. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge and its Community Development Department will present possibilities for the mixed-use redevelopment of the Wilson Street corridor at a public meeting on Wednesday, October 23.

The meeting will be held at the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce, located at 1400 Oak Ridge Turnpike, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., a press release said. The community is invited to view the presentation, which uses data compiled over several years of study and public engagement focused on the needs of Oak Ridge residents, business owners, and visitors, the release said.

The City of Oak Ridge secured grant funding for this project under an agreement with the State of Tennessee Department of Transportation and coordinated through the regional Transportation Planning Organization for the purposes of envisioning a new “Downtown Oak Ridge,” the press release said. The goal of the study is to explore what could be along the Wilson Street corridor, including multi-story, mixed-use development adjacent to the ongoing retail redevelopment of Main Street Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has Fall Plant Sale on Saturday

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University of Tennessee Arboretum Society Fall Plant Sale (Submitted photo)

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s Fall Plant Sale will be held Saturday at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge.

The sale is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 19, at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

“Fall is the ideal time to add plants to your landscape because of milder temperatures and more dependable rainfall,” a press release said. “In addition, the fact that plants are not putting energy into their top growth but devoting all their resources to developing a strong root system will give them a head start in the spring and a much better survival rate.”

[Read more…]

ORAU names Laura Kopp business development manager

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Laura Kopp (Submitted photo)

 

Laura Kopp, former alliance manager for MITRE Corporation (a new ORAU strategic partner), has been named business development and capture manager for ORAU.

In her new role, Kopp will share her extensive expertise in identifying and capturing new large-scale business opportunities; identifying emerging markets, growth opportunities, and new contract vehicles that will help enable growth; and leveraging and growing existing networks to help align new ORAU partners with complementary capabilities, strong federal sponsor relationships, and aligned goals, a press release said.

Initially, Kopp will focus on growing ORAU’s footprint within health and life sciences by targeting new business opportunities, the press release said. She also will serve as the business development liaison for ORAU’s University Partnerships Office. [Read more…]