Oak Ridge Today

Personal computer inventor to join UT College of Engineering faculty

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Mark Dean

Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, will join the faculty of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville this fall. (Submitted photo)

KNOXVILLE—Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, will join the faculty of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville this fall.

Dean arrives at UT from IBM, where he most recently served as chief technology officer for IBM Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai.

He begins on Sept. 1 as the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. [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…]

Auditorium to be built at UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge

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University of Tennessee Arboretum Auditorium

University of Tennessee AgResearch on Tuesday announced that a new auditorium will be built at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge through a public-private partnership. A building design concept is pictured above. (Image courtesy of UT AgResearch)

A new auditorium that could be used for education will be built at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge through a public-private partnership, officials announced Tuesday.

The partnership includes UT AgResearch, a unit of the UT Institute of Agriculture; the UT Institute for Public Service; and the Rogers Group.

The auditorium was announced during a Tuesday morning breakfast at the Arboretum that was sponsored by the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. [Read more…]

Roane State student awarded full scholarship to Lincoln Memorial University

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Angela Loy and Roane State Scholarship

Lincoln Memorial University Director of Admissions Sherry McCreary, left, and Roane State President Chris Whaley, right, congratulate 2013 Lincoln Memorial University transfer scholarship recipient Angela Loy of Knoxville. (Submitted photo)

Angela Loy felt stuck.

She had a stable job with good pay, but Loy wanted a change, a chance to follow her passion for caring for others.

That feeling led her to Roane State Community College, and now she is on her way to Lincoln Memorial University on a full tuition scholarship as the recipient of the 2013 Lincoln Memorial University transfer scholarship. [Read more…]

Roane State fee deadline is Aug. 13 for registered students

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Roane State Community College Harriman Campus

Roane State Community College students who have registered for classes must pay their fees by Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 4:30 p.m. to keep their class schedules. (Photo courtesy RSCC)

Roane State Community College students who have registered for classes must pay their fees by Tuesday, Aug. 13, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time to keep their class schedules, a press release said.

Students can pay fees at www.roanestate.edu. They need to log in to RaiderNet and click “Your Account” to get started. [Read more…]

Nuclear goes Hollywood: New film sheds light on old debate

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Pandora's Promise Panel Discussion

Jeff Binder, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s associate lab director of nuclear science and engineering, answers an audience question during a panel discussion following a screening of “Pandora’s Promise” in Knoxville on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

By Scott Jones

About 300 people attended a showing of the new pro-nuclear film “Pandora’s Promise” and heard a panel discussion about nuclear energy on Saturday, including perspectives from Oak Ridge National Laboratory staff.

The lab worked with Regal Entertainment Group to bring the film to the Downtown West theater from July 19-25.

Few phrases carry the ideological weight of the words “nuclear power.” [Read more…]

Hoping to improve global security, UT launches Radiochemistry Center

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KNOXVILLE—Hypothetical scenario: A nuclear bomb is detonated in one of America’s most populated cities. Just as at a crime scene, the officials need to find the culprit.

Currently, the process of analyzing weapons debris to understand the performance or design of the device is painstakingly slow. But new research to be conducted at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville seeks to improve radiochemistry and nuclear forensics to enhance global security.

The new Radiochemistry Center of Excellence is being established through a $1.2 million grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration for the first year, with the potential for a total of $6 million for five years. The center will focus on research and education to advance UT and NNSA laboratories such as the nearby Y-12 National Security Complex, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The center will begin operating immediately. [Read more…]

Roane State open house will showcase advanced manufacturing programs

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Everyone is invited to learn how Roane State Community College’s advanced manufacturing programs can help their career at an open house on Tuesday, July 30, at the Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility at 214 Nave St. in Clinton.

The open house is scheduled from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Visitors are welcome to drop by anytime to learn more about the programs. Employers are also encouraged to attend to learn more about training opportunities for their employees. [Read more…]

Sign up today for wilderness first aid

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Roane State Community College’s Continuing Healthcare Education Department will host a wilderness first aid course at Oliver Springs High School.

The $125 course includes three sessions: July 30 from 6-9:30 p.m., Aug. 1 from 6-9:30 p.m., and Aug. 3 from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. [Read more…]

‘Pandora’s Promise’ comes to Knoxville; panel discussion planned Saturday

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“Pandora’s Promise,” a new film about environmentalists’ support of nuclear energy as a solution to global climate change, will be shown in a limited Knoxville engagement this week, starting today (Friday, July 19) and ending Thursday, a media advisory said.

A panel discussion at 8:45 p.m. Saturday will include representatives of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USEC, and the University of Tennessee. It will follow the 7 p.m. showing of the film. [Read more…]

Y-12 labs: Teachers watch frozen bananas snap, use bike to power light bulbs

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Teachers at Y-12 Labs

Daryl Smith, a Y-12 National Security Complex scientist, shows East Tennessee teachers that a balloon will shrink when dipped in liquid nitrogen during a “show and tell” laboratory on Friday.

In one room, bananas became brittle and snapped in clean lines after being dipped in super-cold liquid nitrogen.

In another room, teachers pedaling on a stationary bicycle with a generator attached learned it takes much more energy to power an incandescent light than compact fluorescent or LED bulbs.

The teachers were at the Y-12 National Security Complex on Friday for “show and tell” laboratories, learning experiments from Y-12 engineers and scientists that they could take back to their classrooms. It was part of the Innovation Valley’s Educators in the Workplace Lunch and Learn summer program. [Read more…]

UT names solar nanotechnology expert, ORNL deputy as Governor’s Chair

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Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Ramamoorthy Ramesh

KNOXVILLE—Ramamoorthy Ramesh, an authority in the physics of functional materials, has been named the 12th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. He has also been appointed as deputy director for science and technology at ORNL.

Ramesh will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nanomaterials Engineering, based in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He began on June 1. [Read more…]