Oak Ridge Today

ASM International elects ORNL researchers Paranthaman, Pint fellows

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Parans Paranthaman and Bruce Pint

From left are Parans Paranthaman and Bruce Pint. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The professional society ASM International has elected two researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to the rank of fellow. A former ORNL researcher was also elected.

The materials engineering professional society cited Mariappan Parans Paranthaman “for the development of novel epitaxial buffer layers on textured templates, enabling high critical current density superconductor films, and for developing mesoporous architectures destined for high performance energy storage applications.”

Paranthaman, a distinguished researcher in the lab’s Chemical Sciences Division, has a joint faculty appointment with the University of Tennessee’s Bredesen Center in Knoxville as a professor. He is also a distinguished UT-Battelle inventor who has authored or co-authored more than 350 publications and has been awarded 28 U.S. patents. His awards include four R&D 100 Awards and three national and two regional Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for developing high performance second-generation superconducting wires for electric-power applications.

Bruce Pint, a researcher in the Materials Science and Technology Division, was cited for “groundbreaking contributions to the fundamental knowledge of high temperature oxidation mechanisms in alloys and coatings, and for contributions to heat resistant alloy design and development through the incorporation of minor elements to control and improve high temperature stability and overall oxidation resistance.” [Read more…]

Second meeting on AMSE features regional museum executives

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The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

 

The second in a series of community meetings on the American Museum of Science and Energy will feature executives from regional museums and attractions. They will discuss how their museums were established and developed, and how each is currently managed and operated.

The executives who are participating are:

  • John Joslyn, owner/operator of The Titanic Museums in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and Branson, Missouri;
  • Leah Ross, executive director of Birthplace of Country Music Museum and Association in Bristol, Virginia, and Tennessee; and
  • Ellie Kittrell, executive director of The MUSE Knoxville (formerly The Discovery Center).

The community meeting is sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge and the American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation. It’s scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, August 19, at AMSE. [Read more…]

UCOR donates $50,000 for UT faculty fellowship

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UCOR UT Check Presentation

Pictured at the check presentation ceremony, from left, are J. Wesley Hines, head of the UT Department of Nuclear Engineering; Wayne Davis, dean for the UT College of Engineering; Matt Marston, UCOR chief operating officer; fellow Jason Hayward; and Jimmy Cheek, UT chancellor. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

 

UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, presented the University of Tennessee with a $50,000 check this week for a faculty fellowship in the university’s College of Engineering.

This check was the latest installment of a $250,000 commitment UCOR, a partnership between URS and CH2M Hill, has made to the university, a press release said.

“As a cleanup contractor of a nuclear site, UCOR is committed to ensuring continued excellence in nuclear education,” said Matt Marston, UCOR chief operating officer. “This fellowship is an important step to fulfilling that commitment.”

The recipient of the fellowship, Jason Hayward, is an assistant fellow in the College of Engineering’s Department of Nuclear Engineering. Since arriving at the University of Tennessee in 2008, Hayward has focused on research in the areas of detector science and development of gamma ray and neutron imaging for applications in nuclear security, neutron scattering science, and medical imaging, the press release said. [Read more…]

Wounded veteran finds new way to serve by training for career in 3D printing

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Joseph Grabianowski

Joseph Grabianowski

New training program prepares veterans, others to enter advanced manufacturing workforce

While 26-year-old wounded veteran Joseph Grabianowski has inspired Americans with his harrowing war story, someday he may be nationally known for building highly efficient exhaust systems for cars and trucks using 3D printing technology.

Grabianowski—pictured at left at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in front of a 3D printer holding a 3D-printed DOE seal and the plastic material from which it was made—is part of the Energy Department’s inaugural Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Internship. The pilot program is designed to provide accelerated, hands-on career training for veterans and next-generation engineers to prepare them to immediately enter the workforce of the growing advanced manufacturing industry.

Grabianowski stepped on an IED while deployed with his Army unit in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in May 2012. Damage from the blast required a rare, radical amputation of his lower body. He had long dreamed of being a U.S. Marshal but knew his path would now lead in a new direction. In a December 2013 interview with USA Today, Grabianowski said, “I still love my country…even though I can’t go be a marshal now, I can still go do something that would be a good service to my country.”

Barely two years later, his successful recovery is a testament to his personal will and determination. This self-proclaimed techie now envisions a career for himself in what he calls the “future of manufacturing,” which is additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Through this pioneering program offered by the Energy Department’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Pellissippi State Community College, and ORNL, Grabianowski is receiving the training needed to make his career goals a reality and prepare him to succeed in the additive manufacturing world.

“Where this industry is going to boom is right here in Oak Ridge,” Grabianowski said, “and the best engineers in the field are available through this program to teach me.” [Read more…]

Honors: ORNL retiree receives top national award from Women in Nuclear

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Peggy Emmett ORNL Researcher

Peggy Emmett (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory retired researcher Peggy Emmett is the recipient of the 2014 U.S. Women in Nuclear Leadership Award, the organization’s highest honor. The award caps a 51-year distinguished career for Emmett, who was recently recognized at a ceremony in Boston.

The award is in recognition of a U.S. WIN member who has made significant contributions and demonstrated leadership in the organization’s three core values: supporting an environment in nuclear energy and nuclear technologies in which both women and men are able to succeed; providing a network through which women in these fields can further their professional development; and providing an organized association through which the public is informed about nuclear energy and nuclear technologies.

Members of the award committee noted Emmett’s contributions to the education of the next generation and encouragement of STEM careers as evidenced by her creation of the SHADES program as well as numerous other activities. SHADES, a statewide project initiated in 1991, is a series of math and science programs for middle school-age girls and their math and science teachers. The program’s goal is to show girls that the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are fun and interesting and provide excellent career opportunities. [Read more…]

Greener, cheaper fuel possible thanks to ORNL-UT breakthrough

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Michael Hu

Michael Hu

KNOXVILLE—Sticker shock at the gas pump could soon be a thing of the past thanks to research being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Among the key components in processing fuels, particularly bio-friendly ones, are the membranes that aid in the process of separating unwanted compositions such as water from the fuel or hydrocarbon from aqueous phase.

“We can help wallets and help profits at the same time,” said Michael Hu, a joint faculty member of ORNL and the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “If we can improve that separation process it will mean a reduction in cost to make, a reduction in cost to supply, and a reduction in cost to buy.”

The breakthrough technology being brought to life by the research team combines nanotextured pores with superhydrophobic or superhydrophillic—or, in plain terms, super water-repulsing and water-attracting—substances. [Read more…]

Five ORNL scientists rated among world’s most influential

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Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Five Oak Ridge National Laboratory physicists, including Deputy for Science and Technology Ramamoorthy Ramesh, have been named by Thomson Reuters as some of the best and brightest of our time.

The list consists of scientists whose work has been most frequently cited by peers as identified by Thomson Reuters platforms. Citation data was divided into two categories—2002-2012 and 2012-2013—with the latter labeled “hot papers,” ranking in the top 0.1 percent by citations in their field. Seventeen researchers earned this distinction while some 3,200 were included in the second section of the ranking with citations ranking in the top 1 percent for their field and year of publication.

Ramesh, who was actually listed in two categories—physics and materials science—was named to his position at ORNL in June 2013 after serving as the Plato Malozemoff Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, with a joint appointment as a faculty senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He holds a doctorate in materials science from the University of California, Berkeley, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2011 in recognition of his contributions to the science and technology of functional complex oxide materials. [Read more…]

ORNL cancels accent class after negative reaction

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Information from WYSH Radio

After an overwhelmingly negative reaction from employees, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has decided to drop a class that teaches how to minimize a southern accent. Officials said that some employees had requested the class, and the laboratory’s human resources department decided to open it up to all 4,000 employees.

To advertise the class, HR sent an email that implied there was something wrong with southern accents. Officials have since admitted that the email came across completely wrong and apologized for the miscommunication.

ORNL offers these accent classes frequently because English is a second language for many of its employees.

Spotlight: Nobel laureate visits ORNL for distinguished lecture series

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Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Delivers ORNL Lecture

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan delivers his lecture in the Iran Thomas Auditorium at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source on Monday. (Photos by Jason Richards/ORNL)

 

Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is visiting Oak Ridge National Laboratory this week (Monday and Tuesday) as part of the lab’s Eugene P. Wigner Distinguished Lecture Series in Science, Technology, and Policy.

Ramakrishnan’s talk on Monday morning was titled “How Antibiotics Block the Ribosome, the Cell’s Protein Factory.” He discussed his research on ribosome structure that earned him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. More information on his background is available here.

His visit will include small group discussions with senior researchers, early career scientists, and postdoctoral fellows, as well as tours of the lab’s research facilities, ORNL said. [Read more…]

Community considers future of AMSE as Congress debates Manhattan Project park

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David Moore and Mark Watson

During Thursday’s community meeting at AMSE, David Moore, left, said a few words about his background after being introduced by Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, right. (Photos by Sara Wise)

 

The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation teamed up with the City of Oak Ridge on Thursday to host the first of four community meetings meant to allow the community to have some input into the future of the museum, and how it might fit into the proposed Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

The first meeting was at the museum on Thursday night. It began with presentations that focused on providing information to help audience members make informed suggestions about the museum.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Communication Director David Keim was among those who made presentations. He said that the museum attracted 71,500 visitors in 2013 and received $1.6 million in federal funding.

Keim explained why AMSE’s contract with Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. was allowed to run out June 30. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Knoxville mayor tours ORNL’s manufacturing demonstration facility

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Madeline Rogero at Manufacturing Demonstration Facility

Foreground, from left, ORNL’s Ryan Dehoff shows 3-D printed parts to Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, accompanied by ORNL Director Thom Mason and Craig Blue, director of ORNL’s advanced manufacturing program and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

 

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero recently visited the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Rogero had been invited to participate as a “Maker Mayor” at the June 18 White House Maker Faire. Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan also attended.

When Roger returned, she asked ORNL for more information on additive manufacturing, the lab said.

The tour of the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility gave Rogero an overview of the facility and the research underway there.

Students, teachers come to Oak Ridge for summer science learning, fun

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ARC, ORAU, and ORNL Summer High School Institute

Participants of the 2014 ARC/ORNL/ORAU High School Institute. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

 

While the majority of young students were using their break from school to enjoy nice weather and a variety of summer activities, 34 exceptional high school students along with 13 teachers from across 12 Appalachian states chose to spend two weeks of their summer vacation participating in a hands-on institute focused on math, science, and technology.

The Appalachian Regional Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities hosted the 25th annual High School Summer and Math-Science-Technology Institute from July 7-18, during which the students and teachers worked on cutting-edge science projects with mentors at ORNL and participated in a variety of East Tennessee tours and activities.

Students were nominated by their state governor and chosen to participate in the program by ARC. They were selected based on their potential to excel in math and science, to continue in higher learning, and to influence others in their communities as the leaders of tomorrow.

Since 2000, the program has provided a total of 542 students and 223 teachers with in-lab learning experiences at one of the nation’s premier national laboratories. In addition, they have had the opportunity to visit some of the area’s most popular educational and recreational attractions. [Read more…]