Oak Ridge Today

ORNL superconducting wire yields unprecedented performance

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The ability to control nanoscale imperfections in superconducting wires results in materials with unparalleled and customized performance, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Applications for superconducting wires, which carry electricity without resistance when cooled to a critical temperature, include underground transmission cables, transformers, and large-scale motors and generators. But these applications require wires to operate under different temperature and magnetic field regimes. [Read more…]

ORNL finding goes beyond surface of oxide films

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Oxide Figure

This figure shows the spectroscopic measurement (current as a function of voltage) and this as a function of temperature. (Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry)

Better batteries, catalysts, electronic information storage and processing devices are among potential benefits of an unexpected discovery made by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists using samples isolated from the atmosphere.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy lab learned that key surface properties of complex oxide films are unaffected by reduced levels of oxygen during fabrication—an unanticipated finding with possible implications for the design of functional complex oxides used in a variety of consumer products, said Zheng Gai, a member of DOE’s Center for Nanoscale Materials Sciences at ORNL.

The findings are detailed in a paper published in Nanoscale. [Read more…]

Former UPF project manager remembered as talented engineer, gifted leader

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Phillip "Phil" W. Schuetz

Phillip “Phil” W. Schuetz

Phil Schuetz, a former project manager for the multi-billion dollar Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, died Saturday, officials said.

No formal funeral service will be held, but at Schuetz’s request, a celebration of life is being planned for September, Y-12 officials said.

“I was saddened to hear of the passing of Phil Schuetz,” UPF Federal Project Director John Eschenberg said in a Monday statement. “I was honored to work with him for many years at three different sites. He set the example of professionalism for us all with an incredible work ethic and his infectious spirit. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.” [Read more…]

Tuesday lecture features leader in high-performance computing at ORNL

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Jeff Nichols

Jeff Nichols

A leader in high-performance computing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of Friends of ORNL.

Jeff Nichols is associate laboratory director for ORNL’s Computing and Computational Sciences Directorate. Nichols leads the laboratory’s advanced high-performance computing in priority areas such as climate change, nuclear energy, fusion energy, nanotechnology, and biotechnology, a press release said. [Read more…]

Picture: DOE director of economic impact, diversity visits ORNL

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Dot Harris at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

From left, Dot Harris, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, and Michael Colbert, deputy director of DOE’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, listen as Research Alliance in Math and Science student Darius Degraffenried presents his research. (Photo by ORNL’s Jason Richards)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Dot Harris, director of the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory Thursday and Friday.

Harris spoke at the Research Alliance in Math and Science banquet Thursday evening, and she attended a RAMS poster session that preceded the dinner.

Her agenda also included visits to ORNL’s supercomputing facilities, Spallation Neutron Source, the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility, and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, as well as discussions on the lab’s education, outreach, partnerships, and small business programs. [Read more…]

Sirens to sound Aug. 14 for Y-12 emergency management exercise

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Emergency response personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration and B&W Y-12, along with federal, state, and local emergency management personnel, will conduct an emergency management exercise Aug. 14 at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

During this exercise, the public warning sirens around Y-12 will sound. People in the vicinity of Y-12 may hear the sirens on the morning of Aug. 14. Remember, this siren sounding is only part of the exercise. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency will also initiate an Emergency Alert System test message over participating radio stations. [Read more…]

CROET recognizes TDEC, contractor performance on Impact Services cleanup

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IMPACT Services Waste

The last of more than one million pounds of low-level radioactive waste at the former IMPACT Services site at Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge was scheduled to be shipped out at the end of June.

The board of directors of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee honored Roger Fenner, consultant to the director of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Judy Hardt, senior project manager for Science Applications International Corp., for their leadership and success in closing out some 1.2 million pounds of radioactive waste left after Impact Services LLC declared bankruptcy in May 2012, a press release said.

Fenner and Hardt led the team of professionals that successfully closed out a performance bond required by TDEC as part of a state radiological materials license held by Impact Services, a lessee of CROET at East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 site), at the time of bankruptcy. TDEC contracted SAIC to return to the waste generators and clean up the waste, the press release said. [Read more…]

Guest column: Y-12 wants to have best security in nation’s nuclear weapons enterprise

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Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Note: This is a copy of a message that B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Chuck Spencer sent to employees July 25 regarding the one-year anniversary of the July 28, 2012, security breach at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

General Manager’s Message: One-Year Anniversary of Security Event

One year ago this coming Sunday (July 28), three individuals trespassed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, damaged government property, and interfered with our ongoing national defense operations. While the security breach was unacceptable, the intruders did not come close to accessing any nuclear materials. Since that time, B&W Y-12 has worked closely with the National Nuclear Security Administration to make numerous changes in security and operations. I want to thank each and every one of you for your role in those improvements. I also want to highlight those improvements specifically and talk a little about our path forward. [Read more…]

Y-12 repairs roll-up door that failed to close during fire alarm at HEUMF

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Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility

Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (Photo courtesy of NNSA/B&W Y-12)

Workers have repaired a roll-up door that failed to close when a fire alarm system was activated at a high-security uranium storage building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in May.

“The fire alarms were activated due to smoke from a belt of a fan with a failed bearing, but there was no fire,” the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a May 24 report. “The signal to the door closure device should cause a cable to release, allowing the door to close, but this did not occur because permanent deformation (kinks) in the cable caused it to knot when tension was released.” [Read more…]

Buchanan elected fellow of American Chemical Society

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher A.C. Buchanan III has been elected a fellow of the American Chemical Society.

Buchanan, a member of ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division, was recognized for his contributions to the fundamental understanding of the thermochemical transformations of fossil and renewable fuels. [Read more…]

Shewairy named to top administrative position at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office

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John Shewairy

John Shewairy

John C. Shewairy has been named assistant manager for administration for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office.

In this position, Shewairy is responsible for advising the ORO manager in the determination, approval, and execution of the policies, plans, and programs governing ORO administrative functions, a press release said. He serves as the principal administrative and operating official of the organization, managing a staff of about 50 employees for ORO’s administrative programs including federal and contractor human resources, public affairs, and facilities information and reservation management. He also maintains liaison and working relationships with other federal agencies and state and local governments. [Read more…]

President Obama nominates UT alumnus to key nuclear post on DNFSB

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Ken Mossman

Ken Mossman

KNOXVILLE—President Barack Obama recently nominated University of Tennessee alumnus Kenneth L. Mossman to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

Now a professor of health physics at Arizona State University, Mossman is an expert in radiation health and safety. He received his master’s degree in 1970 and doctorate in 1973, both in radiation biology, from UT and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Arts and Sciences. He established the Ken and Blair Mossman Professorship in Biomedicine, currently held by Associate Dean and Professor Cynthia Peterson.

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is a five-member executive branch agency with safety oversight of all U.S. nuclear weapons facilities. Its mission is to identify potential threats to public health and safety at the U.S. Department of Energy’s defense nuclear facilities and to make safety recommendations to the secretary of energy and to the president. Among other things, the DNFSB issues weekly reports on Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex. [Read more…]