Oak Ridge Today

ORAU seeks applicants for Extreme Classroom Makeover

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ORAU Extreme Classroom Makeover

Oak Ridge Associated Universities will have its Extreme Classroom Makeover for the sixth year. Teachers who are interested in participating and within 50 miles of Oak Ridge must file an intent to apply by Sept. 13. (Image courtesy ORAU)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities announced on Wednesday that it will have its Extreme Classroom Makeover for the sixth year.

The makeover will be awarded to one lucky school teacher, a press release said. The award provides $25,000 worth of the latest educational technologies, training, and/or support. Teachers interested in competing must file their intent to apply no later than Sept. 13. [Read more…]

ORAU named a Best Diversity Company by readers of Diversity/Careers magazine

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Oak Ridge Associated Universities Building MC-100

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has been named a Best Diversity Company for 2013 by the readers of Diversity/Careers magazine. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

Organization receives the honor for four consecutive years

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has been named a Best Diversity Company for 2013 by the readers of Diversity/Careers magazine. ORAU was one of only four organizations to be ranked as a diversity leader in the “research” category and one of 94 organizations to be ranked highest overall.

“Over the years, ORAU has evolved from an organization of people who accept diversity into one that embraces it,” said ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page. “Not only have we embraced a culture of diversity in the workplace, but we have extended that commitment into all facets of our business operations including significant minority and female participation in our science education programs, targeted small business subcontracting partnerships, and community-based outreach.” [Read more…]

ORNL’s Feldman elected fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers

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Matt Feldman of Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME.

He was elected for his outstanding engineering achievements, a press release said. AMSE fellows are peer-nominated and chosen by the ASME board of governors.

Feldman works in the Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division at ORNL.

Y-12 protesters work to change nuclear policy, prevent another Hiroshima

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OREPA Peace Cranes at Y-12

Sharon O’Hara-Bruce of Lake Orion, Mich., ties a peace crane to a fence set up in front of the Y-12 National Security during a Tuesday morning ceremony recalling the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, near the end of World War II.

A few dozen demonstrators from across the eastern United States gathered near the Y-12 National Security Complex on Tuesday morning to remember the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, near the end of World War II 68 years ago.

Some traveled hundreds of miles by bicycle and car to get to Oak Ridge, where they questioned the nation’s current energy policy and preparations for nuclear war. Four riders arrived after a 458-mile, nine-day “Bikes Not Bombs” trip from Cincinnati to Oak Ridge.

“It’s consciousness-raising and concern for the priorities of our society,” said Tim Kraus of Cincinnati, part of the support group for the “Bikes Not Bombs” trip, which was organized by Footprints for Peace. “What we’re doing is not sustainable.” [Read more…]

ORNL research reveals new challenges for mercury cleanup

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Mercury Cycle

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are learning more about the microbial processes
that convert elemental mercury into methylmercury. (Submitted image)

More forms of mercury can be converted to deadly methylmercury than previously thought, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Geoscience. The discovery provides scientists with another piece of the mercury puzzle, bringing them one step closer to understanding the challenges associated with mercury cleanup.

Earlier this year, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered two key genes that are essential for microbes to convert oxidized mercury to methylmercury, a neurotoxin that can penetrate skin and at high doses affect brain and muscle tissue, causing paralysis and brain damage.

The discovery of how methylmercury is formed answered a question that had stumped scientists for decades, and the findings published this week build on that breakthrough. [Read more…]

Tuesday morning ceremony near Y-12 recalls Hiroshima bombing

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OREPA Protest at Y-12 National Security Complex

A Tuesday morning ceremony in front of the Y-12 National Security Complex will recall the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. Y-12 enriched uranium for the bomb. Pictured above are protesters at last year’s annual event.

A Tuesday morning ceremony near the Y-12 National Security Complex will recall the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, during World War II, organizers said.

The annual event at the front of Y-12 includes a Names and Remembrance Ceremony. It’s sponsored by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance.

Organizers say they will “raise voices in solidarity with survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima who say, ‘Never Again!’” [Read more…]

Wisconsin professor, former Nuclear Society president to discuss need for nuclear power in U.S.

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Michael Corradini

Michael L. Corradini

The 16th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series continues on Tuesday, Aug. 13, featuring Professor Michael L. Corradini, director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute and past president of the American Nuclear Society. He will discuss “The Need for Nuclear Power in the U.S.”

The event is sponsored by Friends of ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory). It’s free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge. A reception for the speaker starts at 5:30 p.m. (snacks will be served) in the museum lobby, and his lecture starts at 6:30 p.m. This talk should be of interest to the general public. [Read more…]

UCOR celebrates two years in Oak Ridge

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Leo Sain at K-25

Leo Sain, president and project manager for cleanup contractor UCOR, near the east wing of the mostly demolished K-25 Building, built to enrich uranium during World War II and also used during the Cold War.

It’s been two years since UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, started working in the Secret City.

UCOR president Leo Sain celebrated with an Aug. 1 letter to employees that thanked them but also issued a reminder and challenge. Read the letter here.

Sain said he is very proud of the workforce—he called the company’s performance spectacular—and said work has been done safely, under budget, and ahead of schedule.

“At the end of two years, we’re one of the safest sites in the U.S. Department of Energy complex,” Sain said. “The credit for that goes entirely to you, the workforce, for staying focused on your work through all the distractions and changing hazards that come with the tasks we perform.” [Read more…]

Water tower at East Tennessee Technology Park demolished

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K-25 Water Tower Demolition

The K-1206-F Fire Water Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park—the former K-25 site—before it was demolished Saturday. (Submitted photo)

One of the most iconic structures at East Tennessee Technology Park—the checkerboard water tower that has dominated the site’s skyline for 55 years—has been demolished.

UCOR and its subcontracting partners brought down the 382-foot-tall tower on Saturday through a controlled explosive demolition that sent the structure toppling into an empty field.

Officially called the K-1206-F Fire Water Tower, the 400,000-gallon structure was designed and built by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company in 1958 to service the site’s fire protection system. It operated until June 3, when the valves were turned off. It was drained, disconnected, and permanently taken out of service on July 15. [Read more…]

DOE summer bus tours end Aug. 30

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DOE Public Bus Tour

This year’s public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s facilities in Oak Ridge end on Aug. 30. (Photo courtesy DOE/Lynn Freeny)

The public bus tours of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facilities end Aug. 30. It’s the last day of the 2013 season.

The tours include stops at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and East Tennessee Technology Park, and they provide historical commentary on the transformation of the Oak Ridge Reservation during the past 65 years.

So far this season, 1,148 visitors from 43 states have participated in the summer tour, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Jubin receives Robert E. Wilson Award from AIChE

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Robert Jubin

Robert Jubin

Robert Jubin of Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received the 2013 Robert E. Wilson Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, or AIChE.

The AIChE recognized Jubin’s contributions in the areas of nuclear fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste treatment, and his chemical engineering achievements in the nuclear industry.

Jubin works in ORNL’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division.

ASTM International cites ORNL’s Sokolov

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Mikhail Sokolov

Mikhail Sokolov

Mikhail Sokolov of Oak Ridge National Laboratory has received the Award of Merit from the American Society for Testing and Materials International. The award includes the honorary title of fellow and is ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual offerings to standards activities.

Sokolov was honored for his contributions to successful symposia on nuclear technology and applications and for his work on transition range fracture toughness standards. [Read more…]