Oak Ridge Today

UT, Y-12 chemical sensing technology wins national R&D100 award

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Michael-Sepaniak

Michael Sepaniak

A low-cost chemical sensor invented by a University of Tennessee chemistry professor in partnership with the Y-12 National Security Complex has been recognized by R&D Magazine as a top technology product in the marketplace, a press release said.

The invention, the product of UT Chemistry Professor Michael Sepaniak and collaborators at Y-12, was selected this weekend for the 2015 R&D100 Award—known in the field as the “Oscars of innovation.” The award recognizes the top 100 technology projects of the year and honors the inventors.

ChIMES (Chemical Identification by Magneto-Elastic Sensing) is a new low-cost passive chemical sensing technology. The sensors are based on a set of target response materials that expand in the presence of a target. The expanding volume puts stress on materials, changing their magnetic properties so they can be detected wirelessly. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Titan still No. 2 as China triples Top500 supercomputers

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was once ranked as the world’s most powerful supercomputer, but it has since been ranked number two. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

 

The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained at number two on a list of the world’s top 500 supercomputers released Monday. China tripled the number of its systems on the semiannual Top500 list, while the number of systems in the United States fell to the lowest point since the list was created in 1993.

The Tianhe-2 supercomputer in China again maintained the number one spot on the list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. It’s the sixth consecutive time Tianhe-2 has been the top supercomputer. The system was developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology.

Titan was once the most powerful supercomputer.

The 46th edition of the twice-yearly TOP500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers was released Monday. [Read more…]

Family of Hannah Morris has receiving of friends, celebration of life on Sunday

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Hannah Kopp Morris

Hannah Kopp Morris

The family of Hannah Kopp Morris, a 20-year-old Oak Ridger who died after an accident in Pennsylvania on Thursday, will have a receiving of friends and celebration of Hannah’s life in Oak Ridge on Sunday.

Morris was a junior at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She was fatally injured when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle while crossing North Main street in Meadville at about 10:44 p.m. Thursday, according to the Meadville Tribune newspaper.

Morris, a neuroscience major, was taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment, but was pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m. Friday, the newspaper reported. Her death was ruled accidental due to multiple blunt force trauma. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has annual Owl Prowl on Saturday

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UTAS Owl Prowl

Katie Cottrell, right, and Kathy Strunk are pictured at an earlier Owl Prowl at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

The Owl Prowl, one of the most popular events offered at the University of Tennessee Arboretum, will again be sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society on Saturday, October 24. It’s at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue (Highway 62) in Oak Ridge.

Presented by the Clinch River Raptor Center, Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell will bring live owls for display and will give information about their natural history, a press release said.

The Raptor Center was started by John Byrd 30 years ago at Clinton Middle School. So far, 2,000 birds have come to the Raptor Center to be rehabilitated. Strunk and Cottrell have shared the responsibility as co-directors of the Raptor Center for more than 25 years, and they have given hundreds of programs in East Tennessee on birds of prey, the press release said. [Read more…]

Memphis detective to speak here on sex trafficking

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Barbara Tolbert

Barbara Tolbert

By Carolyn Krause

Human trafficking—forcing people into sex acts or labor against their will—is a growing threat to children, students, and young adults worldwide. It’s present throughout Tennessee and our nation, regardless of economic, social, or racial background.

Teens who run away from abusive homes and those enticed to leave “good” homes by promises of a fun job or an exciting time may become victims of sex trafficking. Other youths are “rented out” as prostitutes or sold into sex slavery by their own parents, especially those addicted to drugs or challenged by economic stress.

Some 300,000 American kids are estimated to be victims, or at risk of becoming victims, of the multibillion-dollar sex trafficking industry. [Read more…]

Tuition equality in Tennessee higher education to be discussed Tuesday

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Eben Cathey

Eben Cathey

Tuition equality in Tennessee higher education will be discussed during a lunchtime meeting Tuesday.

Eben Cathey, advocacy manager of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, or TIRRC, will give a presentation on tuition equality for undocumented students at Lunch with the League at noon Tuesday, October 20, the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, a press release said. The church is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Cathey will discuss current legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly that would grant undocumented students the opportunity to pay in-state tuition at public colleges. Currently, undocumented students in Tennessee must pay out-of-state tuition at public universities, even if they have lived in Tennessee for most of their lives, the press release said. [Read more…]

Sign up for Oct. 17 ACT Prep Workshop at Roane State’s Roane County campus

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

The main Roane State Community College campus in Harriman. The college also has a branch campus in Oak Ridge.

Students will learn hidden rules of the ACT during an ACT Prep Workshop on Saturday, October 17, presented by Roane State and SailAway Learning at the college’s Roane County campus in Harriman.

Seating is limited. Register soon.

Students will learn valuable test-taking tips and receive helpful review materials. According to data from SailAway Learning, 60 percent of those who took the workshop improved their overall score by at least one point.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, October 17, from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Roane County campus, 276 Patton Lane in Harriman. The cost is $55.

The $55 non-refundable fee is payable at registration. To register, go to roanestate.edu/ACTworkshop or call (865) 481-2031.

UT, ORNL host academic-industry meeting on national lab partnerships

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will host more than 200 university leaders and heads of industry this week at the 21st General Meeting of the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership. UIDP21 will be held October 13-16 at the Hilton Downtown Knoxville and the ORNL campus.

UIDP21, an organization of 140 universities and companies, brings people from academia and industry together to have tactical conversations about innovation and research and development, a press release said.

Given the collaborative research and development relationship UT and ORNL enjoy, the focus of the Knoxville meeting is university-industry-national laboratory partnerships, the release said. Attendees will hear from speakers from seven of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratories, professors, and administrators from several prominent universities, and industry leaders. [Read more…]

Can a robot have a mind? Learn more Tuesday

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On Tuesday, October 13, Friends of ORNL will have a lunch meeting and an interesting program. This month, Bruce MacLennan of the University of Tennessee Electrical and Computer Science Department in Knoxville will speak on the topic “Can a Robot Have a Mind?”

This meeting is open to the public.

The meeting location in Oak Ridge will be at the UT Resource Center (the white-colored building at 1201 Oak Ridge Turnpike (State Highway 95) between Taco Bell and Applebee’s at the intersection of the Turnpike and Rutgers Avenue. Use the canopy entrance at the southwest (back) corner of the building.

The lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., and the presentation is at noon.

High school seniors: Get help with your Tennessee Promise application

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RSCC Coffey McNally Building Oak Ridge

The Coffey/McNally Building is pictured at the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State Community College is hosting four evening sessions to help students sign up for the Tennessee Promise and complete their college applications.

Sessions will be held on the following dates:

  • October 8—Roane County campus, Room O-201, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
  • October 19—Oak Ridge campus, Goff-118, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
  • October 26—Roane County campus, Room, T-306B, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
  • October 26—Oak Ridge campus, Goff-118, 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.

The sessions are designed to encourage students to enroll in Tennessee Promise, Governor Bill Haslam’s program to provide two years of community college or technical school tuition-free. Tennessee Promise is part of the Drive to 55 initiative to increase the number of Tennesseans with some form of postsecondary credential, such as a college degree or technical certificate.

The deadline to apply for the Tennessee Promise is November 2.

For more information, contact Karry Hamby at hambykl@roanestate.edu or (865) 882-4555.

Artists ‘chalk the walks’ Saturday for scholarships for Roane State students

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Blue Phantom

A sidewalk chalk painting from the 2014 Street Painting Festival. (Submitted photo)

 

The 16th annual Oak Ridge Street Painting Festival is drawing near—it will be held from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, October 3 (rain day on Sunday), at the Oak Ridge Campus, Roane State Community College.

Dozens of artists will be brushing up on their skills as they bring colorful faces and scenes to concrete sidewalk squares using free art supplies. Would-be Rembrandts will “paint” with chalk the squares that sponsors “purchase” by writing checks.

You, too, can write a check to the Roane State Foundation to fund scholarships for RSCC students. These students have been out of high school for a few years and are not eligible for Tennessee Promise scholarships.

The public is invited to this free festival organized by the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge in conjunction with Roane State. [Read more…]

Roane State invites public to Manufacturing Day in Clinton on Friday

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Roane State Manufacturing Day Open House Oct. 2, 2015

Roane State Community College will host an open house at its Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility as part of Manufacturing Day on Friday, October  2.

The event will last from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the facility, which is at 214 Nave Street in Clinton. The public is invited to visit the facility and learn more about Roane State courses in mechatronics and injection molding.

Representatives from area manufacturers will be at the facility to discuss job opportunities in manufacturing, and Roane State staff will demonstrate equipment used in its mechatronics and injection molding programs. [Read more…]