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Trump nominates ORNL national security leader to DOE nuclear nonproliferation job

Posted at 1:53 pm February 9, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Brent Park

Brent Park

 

President Donald J. Trump on Thursday nominated a national security leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to a nuclear nonproliferation job in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Brent K. Park is currently an associate laboratory director at ORNL, where he is responsible for national security programs.

Trump nominated him to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation in the Department of Energy. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: arms and export control, associate laboratory director, Brent K. Park, counterterrorism, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, DOE/NNSA Remote Sensing Laboratory, energy, Global Security Directorate, homeland security, Jeff W. Smith, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Nuclear Security Administration, national security, Nevada Test Site, nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear physicist, nuclear physics, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, President Donald J. Trump, Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, White House

Oak Ridge Schools hosts new Discovery Energy Camp this summer

Posted at 1:29 am April 21, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

This summer, Oak Ridge Schools will host the first Discovery Energy Camp for rising seventh- and eighth-grade students. This camp is open to students from Oak Ridge Schools or any other school as long as they meet the grade level requirement.

“Registration availability is limited, so please register soon!” a press release said.

During this camp, students will investigate how energy works and how small bursts of creativity can unlock huge potential for the future. This camp combines hands-on labs, engineering challenges, digital investigations, and more, the release said. It will be taught by Chris Layton, social studies teacher and STEM coach, and Chris Jaeger, Diversified Technology teacher, both from Jefferson Middle School. It will take place from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. from June 8-12 at Jefferson Middle School.

Registration is being accepted until May 1. The cost is $120 for the week. Applications are available on the Jefferson Middle School website at http://jefferson.ortn.edu/?PageName=LatestNews&Section=LatestNews&ItemID=395661&ISrc=School&Ity pe=News.

Filed Under: 2015, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Meetings and Events, Summer Camps, Top Stories Tagged With: Chris Jaeger, Chris Layton, Discovery Energy Camp, energy, Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge Schools, STEM

Alexander to chair Energy, Water Subcommittee, which oversees Oak Ridge funding

Posted at 2:33 pm January 20, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander has been elected chair of a Senate subcommittee that oversees funding for federal sites in Oak Ridge, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Nuclear Security Complex.

Alexander, who is a Tennessee Republican, was elected chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development by Senate Republicans on Tuesday, his office said in a press release.

“If we’re going to power our 21st-century economy, we need to pursue policies that don’t pick winners and losers in the marketplace, and that instead enable innovation in our free enterprise system,” Alexander said. “That means unleashing nuclear power and other sources of the cheap, clean, reliable energy we need. It also means using our taxpayer dollars wisely: by supporting government-sponsored research that leads to innovation and jobs, and by controlling the costs of big construction projects in Tennessee and across the country.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Appropriations Committee, energy, Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Energy and Water Appropriations, Energy and Water Subcommittee, Lamar Alexander, nuclear power, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Republicans, research, Senate, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Tennessee, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12, Pantex receive six NNSA Sustainability Awards in 2014

Posted at 1:21 am January 2, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (File photo/B&W Y-12)

 

The National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded six 2014 Sustainability Awards for innovation and excellence to the Pantex Plant and the Y-12 National Security Complex, both operated and managed by Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, or CNS, a press release said.

“The awards recognize exemplary individual and team performance in advancing sustainability objectives through innovative and effective programs and projects that increase energy, water and fleet efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gases, pollution, and waste,” the release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Pantex LLC, CNS, Consolidated Nuclear Security, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, energy, fleet efficiency, greenhouse gases, Jim Haynes, National Nuclear Security Administration, Pantex, pollution, sustainability, Sustainability Awards, waste, waste reduction, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex

ORNL’s Goyal elected fellow of National Academy of Inventors

Posted at 9:09 am December 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Amit Goyal

Amit Goyal

The National Academy of Inventors has elected Amit Goyal as a fellow. Goyal is a researcher at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The organization recognized Goyal for “having demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.”

The National Academy of Inventors was founded in 2010 with goals that include celebrating and encouraging inventors, enhancing awareness of technology and innovation, and communicating the work of its members to benefit society.

Goyal, a member of ORNL’s Materials Science and Technology Division, is an international leader in the field of energy and electronic materials, particularly high-temperature superconducting materials. He has more than 80 issued patents. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Amit Goyal, Battelle Distinguished Inventor, electronic materials, energy, fellow, high-temperature superconducting materials, inventor, Inventor of the Year, Materials Science and Engineering, Materials Science and Technology Division, mechanical and aerospace engineering, metallurgical engineering, National Academy of Inventors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, R&D Magazine R&D100 Award, U.S. Department of Energy

Orr confirmed as DOE under secretary for science, energy

Posted at 11:07 am December 4, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Franklin M. "Lynn" Orr Jr.

Franklin M. “Lynn” Orr Jr. (Photo courtesy Stanford University/Franklin Orr)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—More than a year after his nomination was announced, Franklin “Lynn” Orr has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the under secretary for science and energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Orr was confirmed Thursday.

As under secretary for science and energy, Orr will oversee all of DOE’s science research programs, including a majority of the national laboratories.

This position is part of the department’s s recent reorganization, which expanded the under secretary for science role to encompass both science and energy, a DOE press release said. Orr’s role will include oversight of research in the Offices of Science, Fossil Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Indian Energy, and the Technology Transfer Coordinator.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is an Office of Science lab. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Barack Obama, DOE, energy, Ernest Moniz, Franklin Orr, Lynn Orr, national labs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, science, science research, scientist, Stanford University, U.S. Department of Energy, under secretary for science and energy

Los Alamos National Lab director to give talk at UT on Oct. 1

Posted at 11:33 am September 26, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Charles McMillan

Charles McMillan

Charles F. McMillan, nuclear physicist and director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, will give the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy’s annual Distinguished Global Security Lecture on October 1 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

McMillan will speak on “The Timeline of Technology” at 5:30 p.m. in the Toyota Auditorium at the Baker Center, 1640 Cumberland Avenue. The event is free and open to the public.

McMillan’s lecture will look at how innovations from the previous century are being used to solve today’s national and global security, energy, and environmental issues. Then he’ll pose a question to policy makers: “Are we prepared for the policy needed in the 22nd century with the scientific and technical expertise we have today?” [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Baker Center, Charles F. McMillan, Distinguished Global Security Lecture, DOE, energy, environmental issues, global security, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Security LLC, Matt Murray, New Mexico, nuclear deterrent, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, science, technology, The Timeline of Technology, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, UT, UT-Battelle, weapons programs

Rubber meets the road with new ORNL carbon, battery technologies

Posted at 9:54 pm August 27, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Recycled Tire Battery Schematics

ORNL researchers’ goal is to scale up the recovery process and demonstrate applications as anodes for lithium-ion batteries in large-format pouch cells. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon black, a substance recovered from discarded tires, a team led by Parans Paranthaman and Amit Naskar is developing a better anode for lithium-ion batteries. An anode is a negatively charged electrode used as a host for storing lithium during charging.

The method, outlined in a paper published in the journal RSC Advances, has numerous advantages over conventional approaches to making anodes for lithium-ion batteries.

“Using waste tires for products such as energy storage is very attractive not only from the carbon materials recovery perspective but also for controlling environmental hazards caused by waste tire stock piles,” Paranthaman said.

The ORNL technique uses a proprietary pretreatment to recover pyrolytic carbon black material, which is similar to graphite but man-made. When used in anodes of lithium-ion batteries, researchers produced a small, laboratory-scale battery with a reversible capacity that is higher than what is possible with commercial graphite materials. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Amit Naskar, anode, battery, carbon black, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Craig Bridges, David Wood, Dipendu Saha, DOE, electric vehicles, energy, graphite, Jianlin Li, lithium ion batteries, Low-Cost Graphite Anodes For Lithium-Ion Batteries, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, Miaofang Chi, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Science, ORNL, Parans Paranthaman, pouch cells, recycled tires, RSC Advances, Sam Akato, Tailored Recovery of Carbons from Waste Tires for Enhanced Performance as Anodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries, Technology Innovation Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Yunchao Li, Zhonghe Bi

ORNL researchers Simpson, Snead, Tuskan named corporate fellows

Posted at 1:15 am June 30, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

ORNL Corporate Fellows Michael Simpson, Lance Snead, and Gerald Tuskan

Michael L. Simpson, Lance L. Snead, and Gerald A. Tuskan have been named corporate fellows of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Michael L. Simpson, Lance L. Snead, and Gerald A. Tuskan have been named corporate fellows of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Among the lab’s highest honors, the corporate fellow designation recognizes the researchers’ significant accomplishments and continuing leadership in their scientific, engineering, and technological fields. With their addition, the number of active corporate fellows at ORNL is now 29 researchers, a press release said.

“Our new corporate fellows—Mike, Lance, and Jerry—are recognized leaders in the fields of nanotechnology, materials research, and bioscience, respectively,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said. “Their careers represent the span of ORNL research from fundamental science to real-world technologies for the nation’s critical needs in energy and the environment.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Ceramic Society, American Institute for Medical and Biomedical Engineering, BATOCOM, Biosciences Division, carbon nanostructures, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, controlled synthesis, corporate fellows, energy, environment, Forest Biotechnologist of the Year, Gerald A. Tuskan, IEEE, Institute of Forest Biotechnology, Joint ORNL/UTK Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, Lance L. Snead, Manchester Metropolitan University, Materials Science and Technology Division, Michael L. Simpson, Nanofabrication Research Laboratory, noise biology, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, science, synthetic biology, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy

Energy policy professor, former ORNL manager to discuss sustainable energy

Posted at 8:22 am June 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Marilyn Brown

Marilyn Brown

The 17th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series opens on Thursday, June 26, featuring Professor Marilyn Brown, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Lab in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The title of her June 26 lecture is “Technologies and Policies for a Sustainable Energy Future.” It’s sponsored by Friends of ORNL. The event is free of charge and will be held at the American Museum of Science and Energy at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.

Before moving to Georgia Tech in 2006, Brown managed the Efficiency, Renewables, and Electric Grid Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She is also a board member of the Tennessee Valley Authority. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Community, Education, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: climate, Climate and Energy Policy Lab, climate change, Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series, energy, fossil fuels, Friends of ORNL, Georgia Institute of Technology, Marilyn Brown, Nobel Peace Prize, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, School of Public Policy, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, sustainable energy, Technologies and Policies for a Sustainable Energy Future, Tennessee Valley Authority

‘Atomic switcheroo’ explains origins of thin-film solar cell mystery

Posted at 10:40 am May 4, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Current Maps

Cross-sectional electron beam-induced current maps show the difference in cadmium telluride solar cells before (pictured above) and after (below) cadmium chloride treatment. The increased brightness after treatment indicates higher current collection at the grain boundaries. (Submitted photo)

Treating cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride improves their efficiency, but researchers have not fully understood why. Now, an atomic-scale examination of the thin-film solar cells led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory has answered this decades-long debate about the materials’ photovoltaic efficiency increase after treatment.

A research team from ORNL, the University of Toledo, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory used electron microscopy and computational simulations to explore the physical origins of the unexplained treatment process. The results are published in Physical Review Letters, or PRL.

Thin-film CdTe solar cells are considered a potential rival to silicon-based photovoltaic systems because of their theoretically low cost per power output and ease of fabrication. Their comparatively low historical efficiency in converting sunlight into energy, however, has limited the technology’s widespread use, especially for home systems. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Andrew Lupini, cadmium-chloride, cadmium-telluride, CdTe, cell efficiency, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Chen Li, chlorine, CNMS, DOE, energy, Grain-Boundary-Enhanced Carrier Collection in CdTe Solar Cells, Jonathan Poplawsky, Mark Oxley, Mowafak Al-Jassim, Naba Paudel, Nanoscale Science Research Centers, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL, NSRC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Ohio Research Scholar Program, ORNL, Physical Review Letters, PRL, Sarah Haigh, solar cell, Stephen Pennycook, sunlight, SunShot Initiative, tellurium, Timothy Pennycook, U.S. Department of Energy, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, University of Tennessee, University of Toledo, Vanderbilt University, Wanjian Yin, Yanfa Yan, Yelong Wu

Energy Secretary Moniz to give lecture on energy, environment at UT on Friday

Posted at 11:52 am April 21, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Ernest Moniz

Ernest Moniz

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz will give a lecture on energy and the environment at the University of Tennessee on Friday. It’s free and open to the public, a press release said.

Moniz will also talk about the U.S. Department of Energy and its activities in Tennessee, a press release said.

It’s the Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, and it’s scheduled from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the UT College of Law, Room 132. Overflow seating will be available in Room 135, and the event will be streamed live here.

The College of Law is at at 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. in Knoxville. Paid public parking will be available in the Volunteer Hall Garage. A map of campus is available at utk.edu/maps. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Museum of Science and Energy, Baker Center, Baker Distinguished Lecture on Energy and the Environment, College of Law, DOE, East Tennessee Technology Park, energy, Energy Secretary, environment, Ernest Moniz, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, Jimmy G. Cheek, Lamar Alexander, Matt Murray, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, UT, Y-12 National Security Complex

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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