Oak Ridge Today

Manhattan Project program: Bike with a ranger on Melton Lake Greenway on Sept. 24

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Manhattan Project National Historical Park Bike with a Ranger

You can join a National Park Service ranger for a bike ride down beautiful Melton Lake Greenway on Saturday, September 24, a press release said. (Submitted photo)

 

You can join a National Park Service ranger for a bike ride down beautiful Melton Lake Greenway on a Saturday in September, a press release said.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present the free program at 10 a.m. Saturday, September 24. The program will begin at Elza Gate Park, the former entry point to the once-secret city now known as Oak Ridge, and continue down Melton Lake Greenway. Rangers will stop several times along the bike ride to point out the rich history that is found within the Oak Ridge area, the press release said.

Elza Gate Park is located at 101 Oak Ridge Turnpike in east Oak Ridge, just east of Melton Lake Drive. Maps are available at the National Park desk in the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, or you can call (865) 576-6767. [Read more…]

Manhattan Project public program: Jackson Square, the city center, on Aug. 27

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Historic Jackson Square

Historic Jackson Square is pictured above. (Photo courtesy National Park Service)

 

Join a park ranger for a walk through Jackson Square. Manhattan Project National Historical Park will present a free program on Saturday morning, August 27, at 10 a.m. in Jackson Square in Oak Ridge. The program will begin in the upper parking lot of Jackson Square in front of the fountain.

During the program, park rangers will discuss how routine, tradition, and the comforts of home helped keep Oak Ridge residents focus on the mission and not their hardships, a press release said.

“We will walk to the Alexander Inn Guest House and the Chapel on the Hill during the program,” the release said.

Jackson Square is located three blocks north of the Oak Ridge Turnpike on Broadway Avenue.  If you need directions, maps are available at the National Park desk in the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge or you can call (865) 576-6767. [Read more…]

ORNL, Titan helping DOE supercomputers fight cancer

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its Titan supercomputer are helping the U.S. Department of Energy fight cancer through a national initiative called Cancer Moonshot.

U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wrote about the use of DOE supercomputers to fight cancer in an article posted on Medium.com on Friday.

“Cancer is a worldwide public health problem, and the second-leading cause of death in the United States,” Moniz said. “Although cancer mortality has declined in recent years, there is no one who hasn’t been touched by cancer personally. So when President Obama announced that Vice President Biden would lead the Cancer Moonshot during his State of the Union address and asked for all hands on deck, I was eager to join the Cancer Moonshot Task Force and lend the support of the Department of Energy and our 17 national laboratories.”

As part of the initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy is launching three pilot projects in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said. The projects will bring together nearly 100 cancer researchers, care providers, computer scientists, and engineers to apply the nation’s most advanced supercomputing capabilities to analyze data from preclinical models in cancer, cancer surveillance data, and molecular interaction data for RAS genes, McCorkle said. (About one third of all human cancers, including a high percentage of pancreatic, lung, and colorectal cancers, are driven by mutations in RAS genes, according to the National Cancer Institute.) [Read more…]

Manhattan Project Park program: Oak Ridge, past to present, at Alvin K. Bissell Park

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Bridge-in-A.K.-Bissell-Park

Alvin K. Bissell Park in Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

During a walk this month, the National Park Service will discuss how and why Oak Ridge was developed and how people were encouraged to stay during World War II. The free walk will be led by a ranger at Alvin K. Bissel Park at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 28.

The walk will begin at the Secret City Commemorative Walk, and it will end at the International Friendship Bell.

The walk will also feature Shigeko Uppuluri, who will discuss her role in bringing the Friendship Bell to Oak Ridge. She will discuss the history and meaning of the bell.

The Secret City Commemorative Walk is located at the end of the parking lot next to the Oak Ridge Public Library at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike, near the intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and South Tulane Avenue. [Read more…]

Learn about secrecy, security, spies at Turnpike Gatehouse on July 8

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The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

 

Learn about secrecy, security, and spies in a program presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge on Friday, July 8. The program will start at 3 p.m. July 8 at the Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse on the west end of town.

“The program will give visitors some insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project, with all the security, the need for secrecy, and the worry of spies,” a press release said.

It’s free and open to the public. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool if possible. The gatehouse is also at a trail head for the North Boundary Greenway, and visitors can go for a self-guided hike after the program.

Visitors that are taking the U.S. Department of Energy public tour are encouraged to attend the program after the tour. [Read more…]

Learn about secrecy, security, spies during Manhattan Project on Friday

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Turnpike Checking station

The Turnpike Gatehouse on Oak Ridge Turnpike in west Oak Ridge is pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

A program in west Oak Ridge on Friday, May 20, will give visitors some insight into what life was like in the city during the Manhattan Project with all the security, the need for secrecy, and the concern for spies, a press release said.

The program will be presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. It starts at 3 p.m. May 20 at the Turnpike Gatehouse, which is located at 2900 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Visitors that are taking the U.S. Department of Energy public tour are encouraged to attend the program after the tour, the press release said.

This program is free and open to the public. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool if possible. [Read more…]

Los Alamos Historical Society director to discuss Los Alamos, Manhattan Project on Tuesday

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Heather McClenahan at B Reactor

Heather McClenahan, executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society, is pictured above seated at the control panel for the “B” Reactor, part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Hanford, Washington. (Submitted photo)

 

The executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society will discuss Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge on Tuesday.

Heather McClenahan is the featured guest speaker at the May 2016 membership and public meeting of the Oak Ridge Heritage and Preservation Association. The meeting will star at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 3, at the Midtown Community Center at 103 Robertsville Road.

Her presentation is titled “Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project: 1.5 Million Years of History in One Hour.” [Read more…]

National Park Service, DOE have three meetings on Manhattan Project Park

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Oak-Ridge-Group-Manhattan-Project-National-Historical-Park-Signing-Nov-10-2015

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz shortly after they signed a memorandum of agreement and created the 409th park in the National Park System, the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The park was authorized by Congress in December 2014. The park will have three sites in Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The signing ceremony took place at the South Interior Building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2015. (NPS Photo by Anthony DeYoung)

 

First meeting on Monday, February 1

The National Park Service and the U.S. Department of Energy will have three public meetings in early February to solicit input on planning for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The meetings will be held at the three sites associated with the park: Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The public is encouraged to come to the meetings and meet with representatives of the NPS and the DOE to share their thoughts about the key stories and interpretive ideas related to the park.

Locally, there will be a public meeting held on Monday, February 1, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Eastern time) at Oak Ridge High School (in the Food Court) at 1450 Oak Ridge Turnpike. [Read more…]

Rescheduled: Learn about volunteering in the Manhattan Project National Park on Tuesday

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National-Park-Service-Employees

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016. National Park Service employees are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center on Tuesday.

The meeting was rescheduled from this past Thursday to this coming Tuesday (January 26) because of snow last week.

The information session on volunteer opportunities will be hosted by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park-Oak Ridge. It’s scheduled from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge.

The new park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, was formally established on November 10, 2015, in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony featured U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. [Read more…]

Council to receive briefing on Manhattan Project park from Park Service on Tuesday

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Niki-Nicholas-National-Park-Service

Niki Nicholas

The Oak Ridge City Council will receive a briefing on the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park on Tuesday.

The briefing by Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, will be during a Tuesday evening work session on January 21. It will follow a special 6 p.m. City Council meeting for boards and commissions elections in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building Courtroom. (See the work session agenda here. See the special meeting agenda here.)

There will also be an orientation session next week for those interested in volunteering for the new park, which includes Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Hanford, Washington; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. That orientation session starts at 10 a.m. Thursday, January 21, at the Midtown Community Center at 102 Robertsville Road. [Read more…]

Learn about volunteering in the Manhattan Project National Park on Thursday

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National-Park-Service-Employees

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016. National Park Service employees are pictured above. (Submitted photo)

 

You can learn more about volunteering for the new Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which includes Oak Ridge, during a meeting at the Midtown Community Center on Thursday.

The Manhattan Project National Historical Park-Oak Ridge will host a volunteer opportunities information session starting at 10 a.m. Thursday. It’s scheduled to last until 12 p.m.

The new park, which also includes Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, was formally established on November 10, 2015, in a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C. The signing ceremony featured U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The Manhattan Project was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II. [Read more…]

AMSE foundation, park superintendent create fund for Manhattan Project Park in Oak Ridge

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Wayne-Stevenson-AMSE-Niki-Nicholas-National-Park-Service

Wayne Stevenson, left, and Niki Nicholas sign an agreement to create a Friends of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge fund account. (Photo submitted by D. Ray Smith)

 

By D. Ray Smith

The American Museum of Science and Energy Foundation is pleased to partner with the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge by creating a fund in which tax-deductible contributions can be received to support the specific and defined needs of one of the nation’s newest national parks.

As you may know, funding for the new park will be somewhat limited, as is funding for all our nation’s national parks. The amount planned for Fiscal Year 2016 is $180,000, which will cover the salary requirements of a superintendent and will begin the master planning initiative necessary to begin effective operations of the national park at three sites: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Hanford, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

We, in Oak Ridge, are fortunate to have Niki Nicholas, superintendent of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and of the Obed Wild and Scenic River, as the person the National Park Service has selected to manage the Manhattan Project National Historical Park—Oak Ridge. Ms. Nicholas is a dedicated professional with substantial experience managing national park units. [Read more…]