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Workers devise strategies to clean up high-risk contaminated lab at ORNL

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Workers lower detection equipment through an opening in the roof of the East Cell Bank at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to capture readings inside the facility. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy Environmental Management/UCOR)

Innovation has been required as federal cleanup crews work to deactivate and demolish the final portion of the former Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The structure is known as the East Cell Bank, and it is on the U.S. Department of Energy’s list of high-risk excess contaminated facilities, said a press release from DOE Office of Environmental Management. The East Cell Bank is located in the heart of ORNL, near ongoing research missions.

Workers with cleanup contractor UCOR characterized the final cell to identify potential radiological and hazardous contamination, the press release said. They conducted the work in stages under a six-story protective structure erected to ensure nearby facilities and ongoing research missions at ORNL aren’t impacted by the cleanup.

The crews began by taking surveys and readings from an opening at the front of the structure, the release said. They used long-reach tools and a specialized radiation detector. The detector overlays a radiation-intensity color map on a picture of the environment and identifies gamma-ray emitting nuclides and their locations.

[Read more…]
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Scientist-entrepreneur to talk about regenerative medicine, potential COVID treatment

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Cymbeline “Bem” Culiat

A former molecular geneticist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will discuss regenerative medicine and a potential treatment for severe COVID-19 disease patients and those who struggle with “long haul” symptoms.

The talk by Cymbeline “Bem” Culiat—co-founder, president, and chief science officer of NellOne Therapeutics in Knoxville—will speak virtually to Friends of ORNL at noon Tuesday, February 8.

“While at ORNL, Culiat discovered the role of the NELL1 signaling protein in fostering the growth and maturation of musculoskeletal and cardiovascular tissues in mice and other mammals, including humans,” a press release said. “Her biotech company focuses on using her discovery to advance regenerative medicine, which involves replacing, engineering, or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues, or organs to promote healing and restore normal function. In contrast, traditional medicine typically provides treatment of symptoms rather than addressing root causes.”

To view the virtual lecture, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link near the top of the page describing the lecture. Here is Culiat’s summary of what she will talk about: [Read more…]

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DOE makes upgrades to Molten Salt Reactor Experiment

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An aerial view of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment. The facility was shut down in 1973, and the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is responsible for keeping it in a safe mode until its demolition is scheduled. (Photo courtesy DOE EM)

The U.S. Department of Energy is upgrading a historic reactor in Oak Ridge to keep the facility safe until it can be demolished.

The reactor, the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, is at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and it was shut down nearly 50 years ago. At some point, the MSRE will be deactivated, and that will save about $5 million in annual operating costs, a press release said.

The work is being overseen by the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management.

“We have the important responsibility of keeping it safe until major cleanup operations begin,” said Nathan Felosi, EM’s ORNL portfolio federal project director. “The latest round of projects is making sure that’s the case and achieving considerable cost savings to taxpayers.”

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Secretary’s Honor Awards recognize ORNL employees

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at the Secretary’s Honor Awards Ceremony, which was presented virtually. (Photo credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in January for their work on projects related to computer tools and classified information, a new alloy, and the production of plutonium-238 and special components for the Mars Perseverance rover.

The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation, a press release said. More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received awards.

“The Department of Energy’s core mission—promoting scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent, and remediating environmental harms—have never been more important,” Granholm said. “Our role in tackling the climate emergency and ensuring America’s continued security and prosperity is absolutely critical, and it could not be done without the dedicated and diverse team of world-class scientists, engineers, policy experts, and mission support personnel employed at our headquarters, fields sites, and laboratories across the country.”

The teams and ORNL employees named in achievement awards include:

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ORNL employees, UT-Battelle donate $900K+ to nonprofits

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees gather on the campus quad for the Facilities and Operations Charity Carnival for Kids and Barbecue Cookoff to benefit East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital on June 23, 2021. (Photo credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees and the lab’s managing contractor UT-Battelle donated more than $900,000 to local nonprofit organizations in 2021.

Most of the donations, almost $800,000, came from laboratory employees. UT-Battelle provided an additional $144,000 in corporate contributions, a press release said. That’s a total of $944,000 in donations.

The contributions from ORNL’s employees benefit 169 area and regional nonprofits, the press release said.

Organizations receiving funds include:

[Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex employees celebrated for inventions, patents

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Employees at Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, were recently celebrated for inventions and patents.

Y-12 employees filed eight invention disclosures during fiscal year 2021, a press release said. The inventions ranged from environmental and electrical load controllers to diagnostic tools, sensors, and unique material processes. Among those recognized were Eric Spurgeon, Justin Holland, Rachel Bachorek, Robert Cole, Ed Ripley, and Jacob Miller, the press release said.

At Pantex, Stephen Jones and Brian Harlow filed an invention disclosure for laser pulse shaping for a laser-powered bed fusion printer.

[Read more…]

FORNL talk about electrified infrastructure on Tuesday

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Richard Raines, seen here testifying in 2017 before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on efforts to protect the electric grid and the nation’s energy providers from cybersecurity threats. (Submitted photo)

 

Richard A. Raines, director of the Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will talk about electrified infrastructure in the United States at noon Tuesday.

The virtual lecture will be to Friends of ORNL. Raines’ talk is titled “An Electrified U.S. Infrastructure Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges.”

He will address his division’s work with public and private partners to develop breakthroughs for the resilience and security of the electrical power grid, as well as to manage microgrid resources—solar power and battery energy storage—and smart home appliances to give homeowners precise control over their power supply and demand at a lower cost while ensuring reliable service, a press release said.

To view the virtual lecture, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link near the bottom of the page describing the lecture. Here is Raines’ summary of what he will talk about, according to a press release: [Read more…]

Hubbard named deputy for science, technology at ORNL

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Susan Hubbard has been named deputy for science and technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo credit: Berkeley Lab)

Susan Hubbard, an acclaimed scientific leader and researcher, has been named deputy for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her appointment will be effective March 1.

“Dr. Hubbard brings skilled and passionate leadership that will enable world-leading impact across our portfolio,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a press release. “She is a true champion of the DOE mission, the national laboratory system, and our responsibility to leverage powerful user facilities and multidisciplinary teams in the national interest.”

Hubbard joins ORNL from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she most recently served as associate laboratory director of Berkeley Lab’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, leading efforts to find solutions to sustainably meet the water, energy, critical mineral, environmental quality, and food needs of a growing population, the press release said. In addition to her current role, she is a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab and a full professor adjunct in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California at Berkeley.

“It is a profound honor and privilege to be named as the deputy for science and technology at ORNL,” Hubbard said. “ORNL has a stunning breadth, depth, and history of transformational fundamental science discoveries, technological advances, and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our nation. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help shape the lab’s future and its contributions to the DOE mission.”

[Read more…]

Granholm learns about ORNL wireless charging, seawater batteries

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U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, second from right, talks about the infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden and the Build Back Better Act during a visit to GRID-C at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Also pictured from right are ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, whose district includes Oak Ridge; and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory shared their intriguing studies of wireless charging and seawater batteries, among other novel projects, with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm during a tour on Monday.

Granholm was in East Tennessee to highlight the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Congress and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, and the president’s Build Back Better agenda, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week but hasn’t been approved by the Senate yet.

“These historic investments will accelerate the transition to a more resilient, clean energy powered future—bringing economic development and good-paying, local jobs,” the U.S. Department of Energy said in a press release.

The Biden administration has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent, compared to 2005 levels, by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

“Part of the legislation passed last week is a big step forward,” Granholm said.

Among other benefits, the ORNL projects are expected to help the United States transition to a carbon-free economy as countries around the world seek to reduce emissions, improve the use of batteries and renewable energy, and allow the nation to be less reliant on other countries for critical materials such as cobalt.

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Ten ORNL scientists among world’s most highly cited researchers

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Submitted photo)

Ten scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate. 
 
The annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their field through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. These researchers authored publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. 
 
“Researchers at ORNL are leading the advancement of scientific knowledge in multiple fields,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a press release. “This recognition demonstrates that the laboratory and our scientists are engaged in cutting-edge research and development to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.” 
 
The ORNL scientists listed are:

[Read more…]

Summit at ORNL still No. 2 supercomputer

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The Summit supercomputer, an IBM system that is the world’s second-most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL)


 

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained the fastest system in the United States and the second-most powerful in the world in the biannual TOP500 list released Monday.

Fugaku in Kobe, Japan, remained No. 1, where it has been since June 2020. The 442-petaflop system has been at the top of the list four consecutive times.

Summit, an IBM system, was the world’s most powerful supercomputer from June 2018 to November 2019, when the U.S. Department of Energy had the two fastest systems in the world. DOE still has the second and third most powerful supercomputers, Summit at number two and Sierra at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California at number three.

Fugaku is installed at the Riken Center for Computational Science. It was co-developed by Riken and Fujitsu, and it has 7,630,848 cores. It is based on Fujitsu’s custom ARM A64FX processor, TOP500 said. Fugaku uses a Fujitsu interconnect known as Tofu D to transfer data between nodes.

TOP500 said Fugaku’s 442-petaflop performance on a benchmark test makes it three times as powerful as Summit, which has 2,414,592 cores. The TOP500 list uses a benchmark test to rank the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

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The Summit supercomputer, an IBM system that is the world’s second-most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL)


 

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained the fastest system in the United States and the second-most powerful in the world in the biannual TOP500 list released Monday.

Fugaku in Kobe, Japan, remained No. 1, where it has been since June 2020. The 442-petaflop system has been at the top of the list four consecutive times.

Summit, an IBM system, was the world’s most powerful supercomputer from June 2018 to November 2019, when the U.S. Department of Energy had the two fastest systems in the world. DOE still has the second and third most powerful supercomputers, Summit at number two and Sierra at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California at number three.

Fugaku is installed at the Riken Center for Computational Science. It was co-developed by Riken and Fujitsu, and it has 7,630,848 cores. It is based on Fujitsu’s custom ARM A64FX processor, TOP500 said. Fugaku uses a Fujitsu interconnect known as Tofu D to transfer data between nodes.

TOP500 said Fugaku’s 442-petaflop performance on a benchmark test makes it three times as powerful as Summit, which has 2,414,592 cores. The TOP500 list uses a benchmark test to rank the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

General Fusion locating U.S. headquarters in Oak Ridge

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General Fusion Corporation will locate its U.S. headquarters in Oak Ridge as the company advances plans for a commercial pilot plant, Tennessee officials and company executives announced Wednesday.

The headquarters decision was announced Wednesday by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe, and General Fusion Corporation executives.

General Fusion Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada. The company says fusion could provide a carbon-free power source that would meet the growing global energy demand while fighting climate change.

The U.S.-based subsidiary of General Fusion Incorporated will initially invest $539,000 and create 20 new jobs in Anderson County during the next five years, a press release said. It’s the first private fusion company to establish an office in Tennessee, General Fusion said. The new headquarters in Oak Ridge will be near Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a science and energy lab that is home to the U.S. ITER program. ITER is an experimental fusion device being built in southern France through an international collaboration and planned to be the first such device to produce net energy.

In Oak Ridge, General Fusion said it will collaborate with “world-leading fusion scientists and tap into key engineering talent.”

[Read more…]

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