Bill Haslam
Gov. Bill Haslam will be in Oak Ridge on Friday morning to discuss the U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program and how it is enabling economic development in East Tennessee.
The government will meet with officials at the East Tennessee Technology Park and will also meet with reporters.
After more than one year and three protests, a team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. will no longer oppose the transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, pictured above, and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.
Note: This story was last updated at 8:43 a.m. March 20.
After more than one year and three protests, a team led by the Babcock and Wilcox Co. will no longer oppose the transition to a new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.
The team, Nuclear Production Partners LLC, had challenged the National Nuclear Security Administration’s decision to award the consolidated contract to another team, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS. That decision was first announced in January 2013 and reaffirmed in November. The contract could be worth $22.8 billion during a 10-year period.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office denied the third and final protest by Nuclear Production Partners LLC, or NP2, on Feb. 27, but it wasn’t clear if the B&W-led team might continue to challenge the contract award. The case could have been appealed to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C.
In the meantime, federal officials and CNS said they had started the four-month transition to CNS at Y-12 and Pantex. The transition had originally been scheduled to be complete by May 2013, but it had been delayed by protests. Among other things, the protests had led the NNSA to seek additional cost savings information from the three bidding teams. [Read more…]
The Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) leads a recent tour of the REAC/TS facility with a radiologic technology class from Roane State Community College. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
Submitted
A former REAC/TS participant and current professor at Roane State Community recently led a radiologic technology class on a tour of REAC/TS.
REAC/TS is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education facility managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities for the U.S. Department of Energy with the mission to strengthen the medical response to radiological and nuclear incidents. REAC/TS provides 24/7 medical support and deployment to provide emergency medical consultation for incidents involving radioactive materials and ionizing radiation worldwide. REAC/TS also conducts ongoing research into the biological effects of radiation and provides continuing medical education for healthcare providers.
Pictured above from left are nurse/paramedic Rob Beauchamp from the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS); Julie Hall, right, Roane State Community College radiologic technology program director and assistant professor, and one of her students, Drew Campbell, back. Hall is a former student of the Roane State Radiologic Program who went to REAC/TS as a student for assistance in her research and studies.
The American Museum of Science and Energy on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge is pictured above.
The American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge will celebrate its 65th birthday on Wednesday, and the public is invited.
The birthday celebration starts at 2 p.m. in the AMSE lobby.
AMSE, originally named the American Museum of Atomic Energy, shares its birthday opening on March 19, 1949, with the gate opening of the 1940s Secret City of Oak Ridge and the birth of twin girls (Madeleine Leigh and Amanda Anne) to Bill and Audrey Tewes. On the 16th birthday of the Tewes twins, AMSE’s mechanical hands held their birthday cake. Madeleine Leigh will attend the AMSE 65th birthday. Bill Tewes, who came to Oak Ridge with the Special Engineer Detachment in the 1940s, has been a strong supporter of AMSE. [Read more…]
Six East Tennessee companies doing business with Oak Ridge National Laboratory received 2014 ORNL Small Business Impact Awards from the laboratory Friday morning at a meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council.
“This is the first time the awards have gone exclusively to regional companies,” ORNL Deputy Director for Operations Jeff Smith said. “Recognizing these firms at ETEC highlights their importance to the economic development of the region, as well as their contribution to our laboratory operations.”
The companies were recognized by ORNL’s Small Business Programs Office in categories emphasizing their specific capabilities and contributions. [Read more…]
White House science adviser John Holdren, right, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason are pictured above. (ORNL photo/Jason Richards)
John Holdren, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, delivered the fourth talk of the Eugene P. Wigner Distinguished Lecture Series in Science, Technology, and Policy on Thursday at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The lecture series started in November at in the Iran Thomas Auditorium at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. Other speakers have included former Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Y-12 apprentice graduate Jessica Griffen receives congratulations on achieving her journeyman status as an electrician from husband Gabriel and their four-month-old daughter Berkley. (Photos courtesy B&W Y-12)
The apprentice program at the Y-12 National Security Complex recently celebrated its third graduating class as 27 participants gained their journeyman status. The program was restarted in 2008 after an almost 30-year hiatus, a press release said.
Each graduate spent three to four years with a journeyman and attended between 144 and 246 hours of classroom training each year on his or her own time, usually in the evenings at local union halls.
“This program is a great way to transfer knowledge from our highly skilled workers to the new work force,” said National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office Manager Steve Erhart. “The apprenticeship program has positioned Y-12 for the long-term to ensure our future production capabilities.” [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Associated Universities recently welcomed The City College of New York, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Temple University, and University of Colorado at Boulder as its newest sponsoring institutions. They were welcomed during the 69th annual meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions, held in Oak Ridge. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center upgraded its membership to sponsoring institution.
“We’re honored to have these four institutions join our growing university consortium,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page. “The research and education capabilities of these universities strengthen the value of our consortium.”
ORAU has 114 members in more than 31 states ranging from Florida to Idaho and Pennsylvania to Nevada, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and England. According to the National Science Foundation Federal R&D Expenditures rankings, 44 ORAU member institutions are in the Top 100 universities. ORAU was formed 67 years ago under the auspices of the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies and originally consisted of 14 southern schools. [Read more…]
Heather Cloar, a U.S. Department of Energy employee in Oak Ridge, was named as a member of this year’s 40 Under 40.
By Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management
Earlier this year, the Greater Knoxville Business Journal compiled a list of East Tennessee’s top rising business and community leaders under the age of 40. The 2014 listing featured Heather Cloar, a contracting officer with the Energy Department in Oak Ridge.
Specifically, Heather, an Energy Department employee since 2002, is the federal official responsible for administering the $2.2 billion environmental cleanup contract with URS-CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, or UCOR. She is responsible for reviewing and approving all contract actions and guaranteeing that the contract remains aligned with EM’s priorities. She also certifies that the contractor’s work is performed in a cost-efficient manner to ensure the best value for American taxpayers. As a testament to her watchful oversight and frequent interaction with contractor leadership, UCOR completed the department’s largest-ever demolition project one year ahead of schedule and approximately $300 million under the current budget.
“Heather is making sure we are getting the best deal for the taxpayers under the contract and making sure the contract stays on schedule,” said Karen Shears, chief of the special acquisitions branch for DOE’s procurement and contracts division. “She’s got excellent judgment and great leadership skills, which is something you need because you interact with so many stakeholders.” [Read more…]
TEMA realigns boundaries to improve response
The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will issue revised emergency sectors for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Reservation on Wednesday. These sectors, labeled A-Y, determine which areas should take action if an event occurs at one of DOE’s sites locally. The new sector boundaries have improved correlation with roads, waterways, and recognizable landmarks.
“Knowing their emergency sectors will help residents better understand what to do when directed to take action by state or local emergency officials. Instructions pertaining to their safety will be issued by sector,” said Jim Bassham, TEMA director. “Periodic updates to emergency plans, like these changes, are part of TEMA’s normal review process.”
DOE and TEMA have been partners in a public information campaign aimed at the more than 50,000 people that live or work within a five-mile radius of Oak Ridge’s three main sites: the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and East Tennessee Technology Park. An updated version of a joint publication, “What to do if an emergency occurs on the Oak Ridge Reservation,” will be available on March 12. The booklet will be on DOE’s website for area residents to read and reference at http://science.energy.gov/isc/emergency-information/. [Read more…]
This graphical representation shows the layers of the 2-D LED and how it emits light. (Image courtesy University of Washington)
SEATTLE—University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics, thanks in part to a breakthrough by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows.
“We are able to make the thinnest-possible LEDs, only three atoms thick yet mechanically strong,” said Xiaodong Xu, a UW assistant professor in materials science and engineering and in physics. “Such thin and foldable LEDs are critical for future portable and integrated electronic devices.”
Most consumer electronics use three-dimensional LEDs, but they are up to 20 times thicker than the LEDs being developed. [Read more…]
In Oak Ridge, USEC workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing for the American Centrifuge Project. (Photos courtesy USEC)
The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and financial restructuring plan that USEC Inc. announced last week will not affect daily operations in Oak Ridge or the American Centrifuge Project, a company spokesman said Monday.
The bankruptcy filing and financial plan are a restructuring of the balance sheet of the parent company, USEC Inc., spokesman Paul Jacobson said. He said the company is trying to strengthen its balance sheet and be a stronger sponsor of the American Centrifuge Project, a “next-generation” U.S. uranium enrichment technology. USEC Inc. is a global energy company that is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
The company currently has 304 people working on the centrifuge program in Tennessee. In Oak Ridge, workers take part in centrifuge operations, testing, and manufacturing.
“This plan for restructuring our debt and equity will have no effect on our employees, who will continue to receive paychecks and benefits in the ordinary course,” Jacobson said. “As we have communicated to our employees previously, some employees will be impacted by several ongoing initiatives that are unrelated to the restructuring.” [Read more…]
