Oak Ridge Today

DOE transfers former machine shop property to CROET

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DOE Land Transfer at ETTP to CROET

From left during Wednesday’s land transfer ceremony are U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann; Mark Whitney, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management; Lawrence Young, CROET president and CEO; and David Klaus, DOE’s deputy undersecretary for management and performance.

 

Roughly 25 acres of land that once housed a machine shop and supporting buildings at Heritage Center has been transferred to an economic development organization that finds new uses for former federal property.

The property transfer from the U.S. Department of Energy to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee was celebrated in a Wednesday afternoon ceremony. It’s the 12th transfer from DOE to CROET, and the two dozen acres were signed over to CROET for private-sector use.

Among the speakers at Wednesday’s ceremony were U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, a Republican whose district includes Oak Ridge, and David Klaus, DOE’s deputy undersecretary for management and performance.

“The reindustrialization program in Oak Ridge has not only been an economic development catalyst for the region, it is saving tax payers millions of dollars as the federal government transfers underutilized assets to the private sector,” Fleischmann said.

The transfers of the parcels, officially known as ED-11 and ED-12, have been in the works for at least a few years. Lawrence Young, CROET president and chief executive officer, said there will some infrastructure improvements to make the property ready for development. Part of the property once housed Building 1401, an old machine shop that has now been demolished. [Read more…]

DOE to transfer 25 acres to CROET

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Heritage Center

The main entrance to the Heritage Center, the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge, is pictured above. (Photo courtesy CROET)

The U.S. Department of Energy will transfer 25 acres at East Tennessee Technology Park’s Heritage Center to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, and officials have planned a Wednesday afternoon ceremony.

The speakers will include Mark Whitney, manager of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, and Lawrence Young, CROET president and chief executive officer.

Special guests will include U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann and David Klaus, DOE deputy undersecretary for management and performance.

UCOR awards 33 mini-grants for local school projects

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, pictured in front of part of the former K-25 Building, which is now demolished, in January 2013.

The federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge last week announced 33 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program in East Tennessee.

One of UCOR’s primary objectives is to support and encourage education initiatives, a press release said. The Mini-Grant Program was designed to recognize and support excellence in teaching by providing funds to assist classroom teachers for specific projects or curricula, focusing primarily on science, technology, engineering, and math, the release said..

UCOR is a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge LLC.

“Our Mini-Grant Program provides a unique way for teachers to enhance their students’ educational experiences,” said Leo Sain, UCOR president and project manager. “The hands-on projects funded by our program give students a greater insight into today’s science and technology in fun and exciting ways.”

The successful teachers, schools, and proposed projects are: [Read more…]

‘Double-duty’ electrolyte enables new chemistry for longer-lived batteries

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ORNL Battery Chemistry

When ORNL researchers incorporated a solid lithium thiophosphate electrolyte into a lithium-carbon fluoride battery, the device generated a 26 percent higher capacity than what would be its theoretical maximum if each component acted independently. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new and unconventional battery chemistry aimed at producing batteries that last longer than previously thought possible.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, ORNL researchers challenged a long-held assumption that a battery’s three main components—the positive cathode, negative anode, and ion-conducting electrolyte—can play only one role in the device.

The electrolyte in the team’s new battery design has dual functions: It serves not only as an ion conductor but also as a cathode supplement. This cooperative chemistry, enabled by the use of an ORNL-developed solid electrolyte, delivers an extra boost to the battery’s capacity, and extends the lifespan of the device.

“This bi-functional electrolyte revolutionizes the concept of conventional batteries and opens a new avenue for the design of batteries with unprecedented energy density,” said ORNL’s Chengdu Liang. [Read more…]

Whitney, cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, takes new job at DOE

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Mark Whitney

Mark Whitney

Mark Whitney, manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management for the U.S. Department of Energy, has accepted a new job as a principal deputy assistant secretary in Washington, D.C.

The official start date for the new position is May 18. Whitney, who has led cleanup work at the three federal sites in Oak Ridge, will be principal deputy assistant secretary for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. The change was announced Thursday by Acting Assistant Secretary Dave Huizenga.

Whitney’s appointment as assistant manager for environmental management in Oak Ridge was announced about two years ago. [Read more…]

Field work complete, cleanup projects used $751 million in Recovery Act funding

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Building K-33

Building K-33 at the East Tennessee Technology Park, also known as the former K-25 site, before demolition. (DOE photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m.

The field work is complete on 27 cleanup projects at three federal sites in Oak Ridge that used $751 million in Recovery Act funds.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, or EM, announced the end of the field work on Thursday.

“We’re done knocking down buildings and with all the work in the field,” said Mike Koentop, executive officer in Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. “We have paperwork left to do to close out projects.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as the Recovery Act or stimulus bill, was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February 2009. It was meant to help stimulate an economic recovery during the depths of the Great Recession, and it was intended to address long-neglected infrastructure projects and programs.

In Oak Ridge, the Recovery Act funding paid for several demolition projects such as the demolition of the 1.4-million-square-foot K-33 Building at the East Tennessee Technology Park and other projects ranging from mercury reduction at the Y-12 National Security Complex to transuranic waste processing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Urban design leader named newest UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

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Phil Enquist

Phil Enquist

KNOXVILLE—Philip Enquist, partner in charge of urban design and planning and leader of the City Design Practice at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, has been named the 16th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill is one of the world’s leading urban planning, architecture, and engineering firms, a press release said.

Enquist and a select research team will serve as Governor’s Chair for High Performance Energy Practices in Urban Environments and will be affiliated with and administer projects through the UT College of Architecture and Design.

The Governor’s Chair team will be a research partnership among many designers at the firm who specialize in sustainable urbanism and high-performance buildings. Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill’s City Design Practice is the world’s most highly awarded urban planning group.

The contract between ORNL, UT, and the design firm is pending, the press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge senior Andrew Skipper earns UT-Battelle scholarship

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Andrew Skipper and Thom Mason

Andrew Skipper, left, the 2014 UT-Battelle Scholarship winner, is congratulated by ORNL Director Thom Mason. (Submitted photo)

Andrew Skipper, a senior at Oak Ridge High School, is the recipient of the 2014 UT-Battelle Scholarship to the University of Tennessee.

The four-year, $20,000 scholarship is presented annually to a graduating senior who plans to study science, engineering, or mathematics at UT and whose mother or father works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Andrew is the son of David and Maria Skipper. David Skipper works in ORNL’s Environmental Protection and Waste Services Division, and Maria Skipper works in ORNL’s Business Management Services Division. His grandmother, Margie Skipper, worked in ORNL’s Laboratory Protection Division for many years prior to her retirement in 1999.

Andrew’s goal at UT is to pursue a bachelor’s degree in chemical and biomolecular engineering before enrolling in graduate or medical school. [Read more…]

Workers prepare K-31 Building for demolition

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K-31 Transite Panel Removal

Workers begin removing transite paneling from the outside of the K-31 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park. (DOE Photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Preparing the building for demolition, workers on Tuesday began removing transite paneling from the outside of the K-31 Building at East Tennessee Technology Park.

The former gaseous diffusion building, which is about 1.5 million square feet, was once used to produce enriched uranium for defense and commercial purposes. It was permanently shut down in 1987.

UCOR, a partnership between URS and CH2M Oak Ridge, is preparing the building for demolition, which is scheduled for later this year. Approximately 10,000 transite panels are expected to be removed during the next several months, a press release said. These panels are removed ahead of demolition because they contain asbestos and must be handled and treated with separate hazard abatement crews. [Read more…]

FORNL has third talk on international thermonuclear project on Tuesday

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Graeme Murdoch

Graeme Murdoch

Friends of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will have its third talk on the U.S. ITER project on Tuesday. ITER is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, and it will be constructed at Cadarache, France, and is expected to be completed within 10 years.

The Friends of ORNL lecture starts at noon Tuesday at the University of Tennessee Resource Center. It will feature Graeme Murdoch, who will discuss U.S. ITER non-nuclear systems.

“The United States has joined with China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, and Russia to construct and operate ITER, a full-scale, 500 megawatt experimental fusion device,” a press release said. “U.S. Contributions to ITER include hardware (with supporting research and development and design), personnel (U.S. engineers and scientists) to the ITER site in Cadarache, and cash contributions to the ITER organization. US-supplied hardware includes magnets, blankets, diagnostics, tritium processing, ion cyclotron and electron cyclotron heating and current drive systems, pellet fueling, and more conventional systems such as cooling water and electrical power systems.”

ITER is a large-scale project that presents many engineering challenges, the press release said. [Read more…]

DOE explores options for enriched uranium technology for national security

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American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center

The American Centrifuge Technology Manufacturing Center in south Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Photos courtesy USEC)

USEC, UT-Battelle to preserve centrifuge enrichment capabilities on interim basis

USEC and UT-Battelle have signed a $33.7 million, five-month contract to continue operating centrifuges and conducting research and development activities on a uranium enrichment project deemed important for national security and possible commercial use.

The agreement with UT-Battelle, which manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was signed May 1. The five-month term ends Sept. 30. The new agreement includes options for two six-month extensions valued at about $41.7 million each. The total price of the contract with the options is roughly $117 million.

USEC, which is now an ORNL subcontractor, previously performed research, development, and demonstration work on the project, the American Centrifuge Project, under an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy that had been in place since June 12, 2012. That cost-sharing agreement expired April 30. [Read more…]

Society of Automotive Engineers honors Storey, Wagner, Sluder

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Robert Wagner, John Storey, and Scott Sluder

The Society of Automotive Engineers has honored ORNL researchers, from left, Robert Wagner, John Storey, and Scott Sluder. (Submitted photo)

Three researchers from the Fuels, Engines, and Emissions Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory received major awards at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress.

John Storey was elected an SAE Fellow. The fellowship is the highest level of SAE membership, honoring significant contributions to the automotive field.

Storey was recognized for pioneering new techniques in the characterization of particulate matter and exhaust emissions and for leading a critical sub-committee for the diesel fuel sulfur rule. SAE International also recognized Storey for multiple contributions to the development of lean exhaust emissions control. [Read more…]