Oak Ridge Today

Secretary’s Honor Awards recognize ORNL employees

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks at the Secretary’s Honor Awards Ceremony, which was presented virtually. (Photo credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory employees received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in January for their work on projects related to computer tools and classified information, a new alloy, and the production of plutonium-238 and special components for the Mars Perseverance rover.

The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation, a press release said. More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received awards.

“The Department of Energy’s core mission—promoting scientific discovery, maintaining the nuclear deterrent, and remediating environmental harms—have never been more important,” Granholm said. “Our role in tackling the climate emergency and ensuring America’s continued security and prosperity is absolutely critical, and it could not be done without the dedicated and diverse team of world-class scientists, engineers, policy experts, and mission support personnel employed at our headquarters, fields sites, and laboratories across the country.”

The teams and ORNL employees named in achievement awards include:

[Read more…]

Plutonium-238 produced at ORNL helps restores ability to power NASA space missions

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

ORNL-Plutonium-238

By producing 50 grams of plutonium-238, Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have demonstrated the nation’s ability to provide a valuable energy source for deep space missions. (Photo by ORNL)

 

With the production of 50 grams of plutonium-238, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have restored a U.S. capability dormant for nearly 30 years and set the course to provide power for NASA and other missions.

Plutonium-238 produces heat as it decays, and it can be used in systems that power spacecraft instruments. The new sample, which is in the same oxide powder form used to manufacture heat sources for power systems, represents the first end-to-end demonstration of a plutonium-238 production capability in the United States since the Savannah River Plant in South Carolina ceased production of the material in the late 1980s.

Researchers will analyze the sample for chemical purity and plutonium-238 content, then verify production efficiency models and determine whether adjustments need to be made before scaling up the process.

“Once we automate and scale up the process, the nation will have a long-range capability to produce radioisotope power systems such as those used by NASA for deep space exploration,” said Bob Wham, who leads the project for the lab’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division. [Read more…]