Oak Ridge Today

Greener, cheaper fuel possible thanks to ORNL-UT breakthrough

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Michael Hu

Michael Hu

KNOXVILLE—Sticker shock at the gas pump could soon be a thing of the past thanks to research being conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Among the key components in processing fuels, particularly bio-friendly ones, are the membranes that aid in the process of separating unwanted compositions such as water from the fuel or hydrocarbon from aqueous phase.

“We can help wallets and help profits at the same time,” said Michael Hu, a joint faculty member of ORNL and the College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. “If we can improve that separation process it will mean a reduction in cost to make, a reduction in cost to supply, and a reduction in cost to buy.”

The breakthrough technology being brought to life by the research team combines nanotextured pores with superhydrophobic or superhydrophillic—or, in plain terms, super water-repulsing and water-attracting—substances. [Read more…]

UT College of Engineering also taking part in White House Maker Faire

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Submitted

KNOXVILLE—Responding to President Barack Obama’s call to empower America’s students and entrepreneurs to invent the future, the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee is Knoxville is participating in today’s National Day of Making, held in conjunction with the first White House Maker Faire.

Referred to as the “maker movement,” there has been a surge of innovation in recent years as laser tools, 3-D printers, and software previously unavailable outside of laboratory settings have found their way into the hands of average citizens, who are leading the next wave of breakthroughs.

Geared toward inspiring what the White House calls a “renaissance in American manufacturing,” the fair is designed to highlight those Americans who have found new ways to embrace changing technology and techniques shaping modern economies, workforces, and education, with the Day of Making serving to kick off the effort. [Read more…]

UT camp to spark interest in STEM, showcase public transit systems

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—The Center for Transportation Research will give area high school students a behind-the-scenes look at public transit in Knoxville and Atlanta when it hosts its first Transit Camp July 29-31 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the camp is designed to spark interest in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—and to showcase focus areas, such as public transit, that might not readily come to mind when engineering and technology are discussed.

“The goal of this camp is to expose area students to the types of transit careers available, as well as becoming more aware of the reach of transit,” according to Tammy Enix from CTR.

Through the camp, the center—part of the College of Engineering at UT—will help students learn about how modern transportation systems rely on everything from designers and graphic artists to planners and maintenance officials. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge nuclear engineering student earns scholarship award at UT

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—Nuclear engineering students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville were recently awarded a number of scholarships, with Oak Ridge’s Mikah Rust among them.

Rust, who was named the Junior/Senior Undergraduate Scholarship winner, joins three other students from the College of Engineering’s Department of Nuclear Engineering who were recognized:

  • Alyxandria Wszolek, a sophomore from Madison, Mississippi, won the Operations and Power Division Scholarship;
  • Travis Labossiere-Hickman, a junior from Brush Creek, Tennessee, won the Raymond DiSalvo Memorial Scholarship; and
  • Colton Oldham, from Hurricane, West Virginia, won the Sophomore Undergraduate Scholarship. [Read more…]

UT nuclear engineering students awarded scholarships, fellowships through DOE program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

One undergraduate scholarship goes to Oak Ridge student

KNOXVILLE—Several University of Tennessee students in the College of Engineering’s Department of Nuclear Engineering in Knoxville received a nice start to the summer as Nuclear Energy University Programs announced its most recent award recipients, with UT netting nine undergraduate scholarships and three graduate fellowships.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Integrated University Program, undergraduate winners receive a $5,000 scholarship, while the graduate fellowship winners receive $50,000 annually over three years, as well as $5,000 toward summer internships at national laboratories or other approved locations.

The undergraduates include Mikah Rust of Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Thinner, flexible tablets, TVs possible through UT research, visiting ORNL scientist

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

David Mandrus, Stephen Pennycook, and Jiaqing Yen

David Mandrus, Stephen Pennycook, and Jiaqiang Yan, from left, recently helped in a Vanderbilt-led project that could result in paper-thin, flexible tablets and TVs. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Researchers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville recently garnered national attention for their part in a study that could lead to the development of tablets, televisions, and mobile devices the width of a piece of paper.

First published in Nature, the article details how researchers have been able to create wires only three atoms wide using an electron beam.

The lead researcher on the project was Vanderbilt Ph.D. student Junhao Lin, who was a visiting scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory at the time.

Through the ORNL connection, UT’s Stephen Pennycook, David Mandrus, and Jiaqiang Yan—all of the College of Engineering’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering—got involved. [Read more…]

DOE looks to UT’s Dongarra for input on computing advances

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jack Dongarra

Jack Dongarra

KNOXVILLE—The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a report through its Office of Science detailing the Top 10 research challenges in reaching the level of exascale computing, once again calling on Jack Dongarra at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, a press release said.

Dongarra—a distinguished professor in the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, director of the Innovative Computing Laboratory and one of five National Academy of Engineering members at UT—has long been at the forefront of exascale computing, or computing at roughly a thousand times the capability of recent supercomputers.

An icon in his field, Dongarra is a lead author of the Top500, a list he helped start in 1993 to measure the world’s fastest computers as well as numerous software packages for high-performance computing. [Read more…]

UT, ORNL, NASA, TVA help robotic ‘football’ kick off this week

Posted at
By 1 Comment

FIRST Robotics' Aerial Assist

This image shows what a game of FIRST Robotics’ Aerial Assist, a football-like game played by robots, might look like. (Photo courtesy University of Tennessee)

KNOXVILLE—Football season is still months away, but those needing a quick fix before fall can get a chance to see a version of the game played by competitors functioning like well-oiled machines.

The FIRST Robotics Competition Smoky Mountain Regional returns to the Knoxville Convention Center March 26-29, and is centered around a game featuring strong elements from football and soccer called Aerial Assist.

The idea behind Aerial Assist is that the 50 teams at the competition—from as far away as St. Louis and as close as the L&N STEM Academy across World’s Fair Park—will each build a robot capable of throwing, kicking, or running with a round ball with the goal of scoring a goal at each end of a field, or one capable of playing defense.

The University of Tennessee’s College of Engineering in Knoxville helps sponsor the event along with various technology and industry organizations such as NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

DOE report co-chaired by UT professor calls for renewed focus on high-end math research

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jack Dongarra

Jack Dongarra

Professor also ORNL researcher, co-author of Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers

KNOXVILLE—The U.S. Department of Energy recently released a report co-chaired by Jack Dongarra, a distinguished professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, in which he stresses the importance of prioritizing research into high-end mathematics to help keep the United States on the cutting edge of computing.

“Exascale computing (capable of one quintillion floating point operations per second) will enable us to solve problems in ways that are not feasible today and will result in significant scientific breakthroughs,” said Dongarra, of UT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “However, the transition to exascale poses numerous scientific and technological challenges.”

Dongarra, one of five National Academy of Engineering members on the faculty of UT’s College of Engineering, said that increased funding for the development of new models and ways of gathering data is key to unlocking a number of those challenges. [Read more…]

Fifth in nation: UT graduate program in nuclear engineering

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The graduate program in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville has risen to fifth place among all universities in the country, according to the 2015 U.S. News and World Report graduate rankings released last week.

Nuclear engineering ranked sixth in the nation in last year’s list. In a press release, the University of Tennessee said it’s one of the college’s fastest growing graduate programs.

The College of Engineering’s overall graduate program also climbed to 36th among all public universities, moving up three spots since last year, the UT press release said. [Read more…]

UT part of $140 million White House advanced manufacturing initiative

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Suresh Babu

Suresh Babu

KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee in Knoxville will be part of a national effort, announced Tuesday by President Barack Obama, that could lead to more fuel-efficient cars and decreased costs for ships and aircraft.

Suresh Babu, UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing, and a team of faculty will help lead UT’s research effort in the $140 million Detroit-based institute, called the Lightweight and Modern Metals Manufacturing Innovation, or LM3I—one of two institutes announced Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Defense-funded facility pairs together aluminum, titanium, and high-strength steel manufacturers with universities and laboratories pioneering new technology development and research for consumer products and defense capabilities. [Read more…]

UT hosts top nuclear engineering students, who meet Oak Ridge reps

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

KNOXVILLE—Some of the best and brightest undergraduate students from around the United States gathered at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville recently for the chance to meet top experts in the field of nuclear engineering, including representatives from federal sites in Oak Ridge.

“This area really is the birthplace of a lot of activities related to nuclear engineering,” said Wesley Hines, head of UT’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, which sponsors the annual event. “Some of these kids don’t realize all of the nuclear-related opportunities that exist here until they do this program. What we hope to achieve is to let people see all that is possible, all that is already in place when they come here.”

The sessions gave prospective graduate students a chance to mingle with some of the biggest names in nuclear research and energy, including from the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the UCOR facilities at the East Tennessee Technology Park, and Tennessee Valley Authority, as well as with UT faculty and students.  [Read more…]