Oak Ridge Today

CNS donates $10,000 to Oak Ridge High School NJROTC

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Oak Ridge High School Principal Garfield Adams, Cmdr. Keith Klemm, Y-12 Site Manager and retired Capt. Gene Sievers, and Chief Ryan Nicholls at a recent ceremony where Consolidated Nuclear Security provided a $10,000 donation to support the Navy Junior ROTC program’s continued excellence. (Photo provided by Oak Ridge High School.)

The Oak Ridge High School Navy Junior ROTC began four years ago with a donation from Consolidated Nuclear Security. As the first class of seniors who have been with the program all four years graduates, CNS is making another significant donation to the program, a press release said.

On May 19, parents and NJROTC community partners attended a ceremony at Oak Ridge High School to celebrate the cadets’ accomplishments. During the ceremony, Y-12 Site Manager and retired U.S. Navy Captain Gene Sievers announced a $10,000 CNS donation for continued support of the program. Other organizations provided scholarships and awards to the cadets, the press release said.

“It’s vitally important to support programs like this in schools,” Sievers said. “Providing these students with a way to explore military careers and leadership while still in high school can significantly affect their career trajectory.”

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NASA selects ORAU for postdoc program

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

NASA has selected Oak Ridge Associated Universities to provide the agency with administrative support and coordination of research opportunities between NASA’s mission directorates and centers across the agency.

The NASA Postdoctoral Program 2 (NPP-2) contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a maximum potential value of approximately $129.7 million. The one-year base performance period begins September 9, 2021, and it is followed by four one-year options, which would end September 8, 2026, NASA said in a press release.

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ORAU awards 35 research grants, $175K to junior faculty

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU has awarded competitive research grants totaling $175,000 to 35 junior faculty from its member institutions. The annual grants are made through the company’s Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program that provides funds to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty, a press release said.

The recipients, each of whom is in the first two years of a tenure track position, will receive $5,000 in seed money for the 2021-2022 academic year to enhance their research during the early stages of their careers. Each recipient’s institution matches the ORAU award with an additional $5,000, making the total prize worth $10,000 for each winner, the press release said. Winners may use the grants to purchase equipment, continue research, or travel to professional meetings and conferences.

Since the program’s inception, ORAU has awarded 804 grants totaling about $4 million, the press release said. Including the matching funds from member institutions, ORAU has facilitated grants worth more than $8 million, the release said.

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Y-12 deploys system to counter unauthorized drones

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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)

The Y-12 National Security Complex has deployed a system to counter unauthorized drones. Y-12 produces parts for nuclear weapons and stores highly enriched uranium, among other guarded national security missions.

Oak Ridge Today reported in November 2018 that Y-12 was one of four sites housing special nuclear materials where the National Nuclear Security Administration was deploying systems to counter drones. Deployed by the Office of Defense Nuclear Security, the systems have the capability to detect, identify, track, and intercept unsanctioned and suspicious drones, the NNSA said in 2018. At that time, one system had already been deployed at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

The NNSA announced in a press release Monday that the system to counter unauthorized drones had been deployed at Y-12. The Y-12 system is intended to detect, identify, and track potentially malicious threats posed by drones, the NNSA said.

“The National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office (NPO) is announcing this deployment and the airspace restriction to the public to minimize the threat of unauthorized UAS (unmanned aircraft system) flights over Y-12,” said Teresa Robbins, NPO manager. “This will enhance our ability to effectively protect this vital national security facility.”

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FORNL talk Tuesday about manufacturing innovation

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Craig Blue

 

A Tuesday talk will focus on manufacturing innovation in the Oak Ridge area.

The featured speaker will be Craig Blue, manager of the Advanced Manufacturing Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He will present information about the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility model, science and technology breakthroughs, and quantitative impacts, a press release said. His talk is titled “ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility: Driving a Manufacturing Innovation Ecosystem.

Tuesday’s monthly meeting of Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be virtual, or online. It is open to the public, and it is scheduled to start at noon Tuesday, June 8. [Read more…]

International fusion energy project to be discussed

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David Rasmussen

 

An international fusion energy project that involves Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be discussed in an online meeting on Wednesday, May 19.

The featured speaker will be David Rasmussen, the leader of the technical integration of the U.S. contributions to the international fusion project, which is under construction in France and known as ITER.

Rasmussen’s areas of responsibility have included the ITER plasma heating and fueling systems, a press release said. He has been a plasma research scientist at ORNL since 1981. He has more than 35 years of fusion and plasma science experience in diagnostic measurements and the technology development needed for magnetic confinement fusion and other plasma technology applications, the release said. Rasmussen received a Ph.D. in applied science, specializing in plasma physics, from the University of California at Davis in 1981 where his graduate work was a study of inertial laser fusion wave plasma interactions.

The May 19 talk is hosted by ORION, an amateur science and astronomy club based in Oak Ridge. The talk is scheduled to begin on Zoom at 7 p.m. May 19, and it is open to the public. If you are interested in joining, the Zoom meeting ID is 885 2873 5960, and the passcode is 716689. Alternatively, you can follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88528735960?pwd=KzY4bnBHcjlhTzg3L3pOcjY0TFovUT09. [Read more…]

Teresa Robbins named NNSA Production Office field office manager

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Teresa Robbins

NPO serves as the federal oversight organization for the Pantex Plant and Y-12 National Security Complex

The National Nuclear Security Administration has named Teresa M. Robbins as field office manager for the NNSA Production Office, or NPO. NPO serves as the federal oversight organization for the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

Robbins served as NPO deputy manager for the past six years, and she has more than 29 years of experience in nuclear facility operations, engineering, safety analysis, maintenance, and risk analysis at U.S. Department of Energy sites.

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New fire station, emergency operations center being built at Y-12

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A new fire station is being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Above, NNSA, Consolidated Nuclear Security, and Y-12 Fire Station leaders toss the first shovels of dirt for the new fire station on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. (Photo by Y-12)

A new fire station and emergency operations center are being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

They are pilot projects designed to streamline the efficiency and delivery of specific construction projects under $50 million, the National Nuclear Security Administration said in a press release.

The NNSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Y-12 managing and operating contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security had a groundbreaking ceremony for the fire station on Tuesday. A few blocks away, the emergency operations center (EOC) is already under construction.

The fire station replaces one built in 1947, and the EOC will be the home of the site’s operations center, which is currently located in a World War II-era building. “Together, these new facilities will replace two outdated buildings and enhance our emergency response capabilities,” said Gene Sievers, Y-12 site manager.

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Demolition work at ORNL radioisotope lab could be complete this spring

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A view of the demolition of a hot cell inside a protective cover at the former Radioisotope Development Lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy UCOR)

Demolition work at a former radioisotope laboratory in Oak Ridge could be complete this spring.

The U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and UCOR announced earlier this year that UCOR, a contractor, had begun removing the two remaining structures at the former Radioisotope Development Lab at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“This project launches our next phase of major demolition and cleanup at ORNL,” said Nathan Felosi, OREM’s portfolio federal project director for ORNL. “Our work is eliminating contaminated structures, like this one, that are on DOE’s list of high-risk facilities and clearing space for future research missions.”

Known as “hot cells,” the structures being demolished are heavily shielded concrete rooms that provided researchers protection from highly radioactive material during the years the laboratory was operational, a press release said.

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National Park Service asks for public comments about Manhattan Project Park

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An undated aerial photo posted online by the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management shows the former K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building, in west Oak Ridge. The building has been demolished, but its history is being preserved, including at the new K-25 History Center.

The National Park Service is asking for public comments about the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The comments are being sought as the Park Service prepares an interpretive plan for park programming, exhibits, and media, a press release said. The goal is to capture many different experiences and perspectives.

Discussions with the public are being organized by theme and region. The discussions focused on regions concentrate on the areas around the three Manhattan Project park locations: Hanford, Washington; Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Because of COVID-19, all events will be held virtually (online), the press release said.

The public meetings are Tuesday to Thursday this week. Here is the schedule:

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ORAU will support COVID-19 communications for CDC Office of Minority Health & Health Equity

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU was recently awarded a contract by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office of Minority Health and Health Equity (OMHHE) to provide technical communications support to the office and three COVID-19 award recipients.

ORAU will advise the development of awardee health communication plans and materials targeting limited English proficiency audiences, such as Hispanic or Asian/Pacific Islander populations, as well as help increase the communications capacity of OMHHE to respond to COVID-19 in these and other high-risk communities, a press release said. [Read more…]

Virtual talks on Weinberg and his archived papers on Apr. 20

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Alvin Weinberg, front center, with Senator John F. Kennedy, front left, at an Oak Ridge National Laboratory research reactor. (Submitted photo)


“A Tribute to Alvin Weinberg,” including information on the new online database of his scientific publications and other documents, will be presented virtually to the public from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 20 (Weinberg’s birth anniversary).

The presentation, via Zoom, is sponsored by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge and Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“The purpose of this public online event is to honor Alvin Weinberg’s legacy and to celebrate the preservation and digitization of his papers,” said Rhonda Bogard, who led the digitization of the papers, most of which were initially donated to the Children’s Museum in 1986. [Read more…]