Oak Ridge Today

Top White House official confirmed as DOE deputy secretary

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Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Photo courtesy Stanford University)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday, September 18, as the U.S. Department of Energy’s deputy secretary.

“Liz’s confirmation comes at a historic time in our nation’s energy evolution,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “She joins us with deep expertise in the department’s nuclear security mission, including both nuclear weapons and countering proliferation. Her extensive public service and recent responsibilities on the White House national security team position her to contribute to the department’s energy and security missions in a major way, both domestically and internationally. I thank the Senate for their attention to Liz’s nomination, and look forward to working closely with her as a key, trusted colleague.”

President Barack Obama nominated Sherwood-Randall in July.

As deputy secretary, Sherwood-Randall will support Moniz in the management and operation of the Department of Energy. [Read more…]

Fleischmann touts record, Appropriations seat; Wamp willing to work across aisle

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U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

They’ve battled over negative ads, political endorsements, special interest money, and the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann, the two-term incumbent, touts his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and, important to Oak Ridge, the Energy and Water Subcommittee.

Meanwhile, Weston Wamp, his challenger, has suggested a willingness to work across party lines to “move the country forward.”

The two men face off in a in two-man battle in the Republican primary on Thursday. It’s in part a rematch of the three-man GOP primary in Tennessee’s Third District in 2012, when Wamp and Scotty Mayfield lost to Fleischmann. [Read more…]

ORNL wins eight R&D 100s

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Jun Qu ORNL R&D 100 Award

Jun Qu displays a flask of the ionic liquid anti-wear additives for fuel-efficient engine lubricants, one of ORNL’s eight 2104 R&D 100 Award winners. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received eight R&D 100 awards, presented by R&D Magazine in recognition of the year’s top technological innovations.

“These awards recognize the tremendous value of our national labs,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “Research and development at the national labs continues to help our nation address its energy challenges and pursue the scientific and technological innovations necessary to remain globally competitive.”

The eight awards bring ORNL’s total of R&D 100 awards to 187 since their inception in 1963. This year, ORNL scientists and engineers received awards for the following technologies: [Read more…]

President Obama nominates defense aide for DOE deputy secretary

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Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall (Photo courtesy Stanford University)

President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a presidential aide and national security official, to become deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would replace Daniel Poneman, who is stepping down from the No. 2 job this fall after five years.

Sherwood-Randall currently serves as special assistant to the president and White House coordinator for defense policy, countering weapons of mass destruction, and arms control, a position she has held since 2013. She served as special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council from 2009 to 2013.

The New York Times reported that Sherwood-Randall, 54, would bring a background in nuclear weapons and nonproliferation strategy to the department, which has split responsibilities for energy strategy and the country’s weapons and counter-proliferation work. It would be her third job in the Obama administration.

Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

The newspaper said Sherwood-Randall oversaw the effort to get chemical weapons out of Syria and the development of the administration’s policy for dealing with the nuclear arsenal.

Poneman has been U.S. deputy secretary of energy since May 2009, and he also served as chief operating officer under former Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Poneman has been focused on nuclear safety and proliferation, among other issues, the Times said. He briefly served as acting secretary in 2013 before the confirmation of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. [Read more…]

Mayor Beehan to report on recent trip to Washington, D.C.

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Tom Beehan, Madeline Rogero with Local Motors at White House Maker Faire

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, right, and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, center, are pictured above with Local Motors at the Maker Faire at the White House in June. (Submitted photos)

 

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero recently went to Washington, D.C., to attend the Maker Faire.

During that first-ever event, President Barack Obama celebrated innovators, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers of all ages from across the country. The Maker Faire featured new and innovative projects, inventions, and designs, and technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and easy-to-use design software.

Beehan will discuss his trip during a Thursday, July 10, meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. That meeting starts at 7 p.m. July 10 at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road.

Tom Beehan at White House Podium

Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan standing near the podium that President Barack Obama uses when he speaks.

Besides the Maker Faire, Beehan also met with elected officials and was involved in numerous interactions where he expressed the desires of the city of Oak Ridge, an ORHPA press release said.

“He also assured our nation’s leaders of our intent to continue serving our nation in the special role that Oak Ridge holds,” the release said. “His meeting with the Secretary of Energy, Dr. Ernest Moniz, was of special significance to us. He will present some of the details of that conversation.” [Read more…]

Guest column: ECA highlights local government’s role with Energy Secretary Moniz

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ECA Board and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz

From left to right are Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson, Los Alamos County Councilor Fran Berting, Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, ECA Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg, Secretary Ernest Moniz, Aiken County Council Member Chuck Smith, Kennewick Mayor Steve Young, SRSCRO Executive Director Rick McLeod, Los Alamos County Administrator Brian Bosshardt, and ECA Deputy Executive Director Allison Finelli. (Submitted photo)

 

On June 23, the Energy Communities Alliance Executive Board met with U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz to highlight the importance of the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup, national security, nuclear energy, and waste management missions. The ECA Executive Board, including Chair and Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan, and other elected local government officials also stressed the importance of regular communication and partnership between DOE and the local governments that are adjacent to DOE facilities. Secretary Moniz agreed that working with local governments is important to the success of DOE.

Earlier in the day, the ECA Executive Board also met with National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Frank Klotz, Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Dave Huizenga, and other DOE and administration officials, as well as congressional staff.

Mayor Beehan stated that local governments can be DOE’s asset for gaining support for missions and for infrastructure development at the sites, but in order for that to occur, local governments must be involved in decision-making. Mayor Beehan also stressed the importance of land transfer to local communities. [Read more…]

ORNL awarded two Energy Frontier Research Centers

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David Wesolowski and Yanwen Zhang

Pictured above are David Wesolowski, left, director of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport Center; and Yanwen Zhang, director of the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution Center. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will be home to two Energy Frontier Research Centers announced this week by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The Department of Energy awarded a total of $100 million to 32 EFRC projects to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build the 21st-century energy economy. 

“Today, we are mobilizing some of our most talented scientists to join forces and pursue the discoveries and breakthroughs that will lay the foundation for our nation’s energy future,” Secretary Moniz said. “The funding we’re announcing today will help fuel scientific and technological innovation.”

The two ORNL EFRCs are a renewal of the Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures, and Transport (FIRST) Center, which is led by David Wesolowski, and a new award to the Energy Dissipation to Defect Evolution (EDDE) Center, led by Yanwen Zhang.

ORNL scientists also partnered on successful proposals to lay the groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, electrical energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, materials and chemistry by design, biosciences, and extreme environments. Those proposals include three new projects (led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, the State University of New York–Stony Brook, and Pennsylvania State University) and three renewals (led by Washington University in St. Louis, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology). [Read more…]

DOE, ORNL report estimates more than 65 gigawatts of hydropower

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Energy Department report finds major potential to increase clean, sustainable U.S. hydropower

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday released a renewable energy resource assessment detailing the potential to develop new electric power generation in waterways across the United States. The report estimates that there are more than 65 gigawatts (GW) of potential new hydropower development across more than three million U.S. rivers and streams. That’s nearly equivalent to the current U.S. hydropower capacity, a press release said.

The release said the findings demonstrate one of the ways the United States can further diversify its energy portfolio with sustainable and clean domestic power generation.

“The United States has tremendous untapped clean energy resources and responsible development will help pave the way to a cleaner, more sustainable and diverse energy portfolio,” Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said. “As the Energy Department works with industry, universities, and state and local governments to advance innovative hydropower technologies, the resource assessment released today provides unparalleled insight into new hydropower opportunities throughout the country.” [Read more…]

Mason to brief feds on UPF alternatives report today

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Ernest Moniz, Lamar Alexander, Thom Mason, Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Cheek at University of Tennessee

From left are UT President Joe DiPietro, Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, and ORNL Director Thom Mason.

Note: This story was last updated at 2:30 p.m.

KNOXVILLE—Federal officials have expressed concerns about increasing cost projections and delayed construction dates for a new Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a so-called Red Team has drafted an alternative approach that could keep the project at $6.5 billion or less—and help workers get out of the aging Building 9212 at Y-12 by 2025.

Thom Mason, the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, chaired the Red Team, and he is expected to brief federal officials in Washington, D.C., today (Monday) on the team’s report. The report will then go to Congress, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a media briefing at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center at the University of Tennessee on Friday.

Among the questions that could be answered are which old production buildings at Y-12 should be replaced and which can be refurbished. Y-12 was built to enrich uranium as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during World War II as the United States raced to beat Germany to build the world’s first atomic weapons. [Read more…]

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

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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…]

Retired Air Force general sworn in as NNSA administrator

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Frank Klotz, Nancy Klotz, and Ernest Moniz at NNSA Swearing-in Ceremony

NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz, his wife Nancy Klotz, and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at a swearing-in ceremony on Thursday. (Photos courtesy NNSANews)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz swore in Frank G. Klotz as the U.S. Department of Energy’s undersecretary for nuclear security and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration in a private ceremony on Thursday afternoon. Klotz was joined by his wife Nancy and Acting Administrator Bruce Held.

“I am very pleased that Gen. Klotz has now been sworn in as the fourth undersecretary of nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Admiration,” Moniz said. “With his years of service to our country, his vision for NNSA’s nuclear security programs, and his dedication to supporting the men and women of the organization, I am confident Gen. Klotz will bring strong leadership and management to this critical Department of Energy mission. I look forward to working closely with Frank in support of the President’s nuclear security priorities.”

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is an NNSA site. The NNSA is a separate agency within DOE.

Klotz is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general. He is the former commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, a position he held from 2009 to 2011. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 8. [Read more…]

ORNL’s John Wagner receives E.O. Lawrence Award

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John Wagner

John Wagner is a 2013 recipient of the Department of Energy’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher John Wagner has been named a 2013 recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award for his work in advancing computer, information, and knowledge sciences.

Wagner, a nuclear engineer who serves as national technical director for DOE’s Nuclear Fuels Storage and Transportation Planning Project, was recognized for his leadership in the field of computational radiation transport.

“The Lawrence Award recipients announced today have made significant contributions to the national, economic and energy security of the United States—strengthening U.S. leadership in discovery and innovation,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “I congratulate the winners and thank them for their work on behalf of the Department of Energy and the nation.” [Read more…]