Oak Ridge Today

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

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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 the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]

ORNL plays role as four new elements added to periodic table, filling seventh row

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Periodic Table of Elements

Periodic Table of Elements (Image by Los Alamos National Laboratory)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:56 p.m. Jan. 6.

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

The discovery and assignment of elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 was announced on December 30 by the International Association of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The discoveries have been officially verified.

ORNL participated in the discovery of elements 115 and 117 in a collaboration between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The discoverers, who also include researchers in Japan, will now be invited to suggest permanent names and symbols.

For now, the elements are known as: [Read more…]

ORNL cell-free protein synthesis is potential lifesaver

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Nanoporous-Membrane-December-2015-ORNL

This section of a serpentine channel reactor shows the parallel reactor and feeder channels separated by a nanoporous membrane. At left is a single nanopore viewed from the side; at right is a diagram of metabolite exchange across the membrane. (Image by ORNL)

 

Lives of soldiers and others injured in remote locations could be saved with a cell-free protein synthesis system developed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The device, a creation of a team led by Andrea Timm and Scott Retterer of the lab’s Biosciences Division, uses microfabricated bioreactors to help the on-demand production of therapeutic proteins for medicines and biopharmaceuticals. Making these miniature factories cell-free, which eliminates the maintenance of a living system, simplifies the process and lowers cost.

“With this approach, we can produce more protein faster, making our technology ideal for point-of-care use,” Retterer said. “The fact it’s cell-free reduces the infrastructure needed to produce the protein and opens the possibility of creating proteins when and where you need them, bypassing the challenge of keeping the proteins cold during shipment and storage.” [Read more…]

UT-ORNL breakthrough aims to improve tech gadgets, TVs

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Ramki-Kalyanaraman

Ramki Kalyanaraman

Whether at home, work, or play, touchscreen devices have quickly become one of the hallmarks of the modern world.

Phones, tablets, computers, and even televisions use the technology, which relies on substances known as transparent conductive films. All but a small fraction of those films are made from a particular class of oxides that, although they do the job very effectively, contain rare and costly elements.

Now, thanks to a breakthrough led by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, that problem could soon be in the past.

“The electronics industry relies heavily on the use of Indium metal for the many situations requiring the right balance of transparency and current carrying ability,” said UT Professor Ramki Kalyanaraman. “While Indium is scarce, our new material contains elements that are far more abundant such as iron, terbium, and dysprosium.” [Read more…]

Plutonium-238 produced at ORNL helps restores ability to power NASA space missions

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ORNL-Plutonium-238

By producing 50 grams of plutonium-238, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated the nation’s ability to provide a valuable energy source for deep space missions. (Photo by ORNL)

 

With the production of 50 grams of plutonium-238, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have restored a U.S. capability dormant for nearly 30 years and set the course to provide power for NASA and other missions.

Plutonium-238 produces heat as it decays, and it can be used in systems that power spacecraft instruments. The new sample, which is in the same oxide powder form used to manufacture heat sources for power systems, represents the first end-to-end demonstration of a plutonium-238 production capability in the United States since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production of the material in the late 1980s.

Researchers will analyze the sample for chemical purity and plutonium-238 content, then verify production efficiency models and determine whether adjustments need to be made before scaling up the process.

“Once we automate and scale up the process, the nation will have a long-range capability to produce radioisotope power systems such as those used by NASA for deep space exploration,” said Bob Wham, who leads the project for the lab’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Dai ranked among world’s most influential scientists

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Sheng Dai

Sheng Dai (Photo by ORNL)

 

Sheng Dai of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been named to a list of the most highly cited researchers in the world.

Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researchers is an annual list that recognizes some of the world’s leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences. About 3,000 researchers were named to the 2015 list.

Dai is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and serves as the group leader of the Nanomaterials Chemistry Group in ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division. He also holds a joint appointment with the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee. His research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of materials for energy-related applications. [Read more…]

UCOR repairs water leak at Oak Ridge Research Reactor at ORNL

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Oak-Ridge-Research-Reactor-Pool-Valve-Workers-December-2015

Workers turn off the valves after draining of the pool was completed at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor at ORNL. (Photo by UCOR)

 

Workers have repaired a water leak at the Oak Ridge Research Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, officials said this week.

The completion of the work was announced by UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor and partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

The seep was detected in the reactor’s pool in September 2014. While it did not pose any immediate dangers to workers or the environment, it prompted quick action by the U.S. Department of Energy, which oversees ORNL. DOE asked UCOR, its prime cleanup contractor, to develop and implement a solution to remedy the seep, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL technique could set new course for extracting uranium from seawater

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ORNL-TOC-Graphic

Using high-energy X-rays, researchers discovered uranium is bound by adsorbent fibers in an unanticipated fashion. (Image by ORNL)

 

An ultra-high-resolution technique used for the first time to study polymer fibers that trap uranium in seawater may cause researchers to rethink the best methods to harvest this potential fuel for nuclear reactors.

The work of a team led by Carter Abney, a Wigner Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, shows that the polymeric adsorbent materials that bind uranium behave nothing like scientists had believed. The results, gained through collaboration with the University of Chicago and detailed in a paper published in Energy and Environmental Science, highlight data made possible with X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy performed at the Advanced Photon Source. The APS is a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Argonne National Laboratory.

“Despite the low concentration of uranium and the presence of many other metals extracted from seawater, we were able to investigate the local atomic environment around uranium and better understand how it is bound by the polymer fibers,” Abney said. [Read more…]

ETEC presents 2015 Muddy Boot Awards, Postma Young Professional Medal

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Jim-Henry-Muddy-Boot-Award-Chris-Whalen-Ron-Woody-Wade-Creswell-Dec-11-2015

Tennessee Deputy Governor Jim Henry, left, received one of two 2015 Muddy Boot Awards on Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. Also pictured are presenter Ron Woody, Roane County executive, second from right; Roane State Community College President Chris Whaley, second from left; and Roane Alliance President Wade Creswell. (DOE photo by Lynn Freeny)

 

Submitted

Two titans of East Tennessee’s business community were honored Friday with the Muddy Boot Award, given by the East Tennessee Economic Council in an ongoing tribute to individuals who, through their work and activities, build a better community.

This year’s honorees are Jim Henry, deputy governor of the State of Tennessee, a former businessman, legislator, and mayor of Roane County; and Dan Hurst, founder of StrataG, an East Tennessee entrepreneurial company and activist in numerous organizations across the region.

The Council also presented the Postma Young Professional Medal to Ann Weaver, a facilities engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Anne Harrington, deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, keynoted the event, which was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Looking ahead: SNS users visit to discuss next-generation target station at ORNL

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SNS-Second-Target-Station

More than 200 scientists from around the world met from October 27 to 29 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide input on the scientific instruments that would be installed at a proposed Second Target Station, or STS, at the Spallation Neutron Source, which is pictured above. (Aerial photo and overlay by ORNL)

 

More than 200 scientists from around the world met from October 27 to 29 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide input on the scientific instruments that would be installed at a proposed Second Target Station, or STS, at the Spallation Neutron Source.

The workshop—which was organized by ORNL’s Neutron Sciences Directorate and drew researchers from 56 universities, research institutions, and other national laboratories—aimed to define the capabilities needed to ensure the next-generation neutron source meets the biggest science challenges.

The Spallation Neutron Source is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Green elected fellow of SAE International

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Johney-Green-Jr

Johney Green Jr.

Johney Green Jr., director of the Energy and Transportation Science Division of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected fellow of SAE International, the professional society of automotive engineers, a press release said.

Green was awarded the organization’s highest membership grade for his work championing innovative research on advanced combustion applications, which has led to fundamental breakthroughs in more sustainable high-efficiency automotive transportation. He also promotes vehicle research nationally and internationally through his many speaking engagements at conferences and universities. [Read more…]

Nuclear Engineering Science Laboratory Synthesis program accepting apps for 2016

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Opportunity provides students with research experience at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Nuclear Engineering Science Laboratory Synthesis, or NESLS, program is accepting applications for spring and summer 2016.

NESLS is a cooperative research initiative at Oak Ridge National Laboratory administered through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and geared toward students working in nuclear engineering and science. NESLS offers students on-the-job educational and research opportunities at a multidisciplinary national laboratory.

Research areas of interest may include nuclear security technologies; nuclear systems analysis, design, and safety; and fuels, isotopes, and nuclear materials. Other features of the internship include: [Read more…]