Oak Ridge Today

FORNL talk about electrified infrastructure on Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Richard Raines, seen here testifying in 2017 before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on efforts to protect the electric grid and the nation’s energy providers from cybersecurity threats. (Submitted photo)

 

Richard A. Raines, director of the Electrification and Energy Infrastructures Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will talk about electrified infrastructure in the United States at noon Tuesday.

The virtual lecture will be to Friends of ORNL. Raines’ talk is titled “An Electrified U.S. Infrastructure Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges.”

He will address his division’s work with public and private partners to develop breakthroughs for the resilience and security of the electrical power grid, as well as to manage microgrid resources—solar power and battery energy storage—and smart home appliances to give homeowners precise control over their power supply and demand at a lower cost while ensuring reliable service, a press release said.

To view the virtual lecture, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link near the bottom of the page describing the lecture. Here is Raines’ summary of what he will talk about, according to a press release: [Read more…]

Hubbard named deputy for science, technology at ORNL

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Susan Hubbard has been named deputy for science and technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo credit: Berkeley Lab)

Susan Hubbard, an acclaimed scientific leader and researcher, has been named deputy for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her appointment will be effective March 1.

“Dr. Hubbard brings skilled and passionate leadership that will enable world-leading impact across our portfolio,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a press release. “She is a true champion of the DOE mission, the national laboratory system, and our responsibility to leverage powerful user facilities and multidisciplinary teams in the national interest.”

Hubbard joins ORNL from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she most recently served as associate laboratory director of Berkeley Lab’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Area, leading efforts to find solutions to sustainably meet the water, energy, critical mineral, environmental quality, and food needs of a growing population, the press release said. In addition to her current role, she is a senior scientist at Berkeley Lab and a full professor adjunct in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California at Berkeley.

“It is a profound honor and privilege to be named as the deputy for science and technology at ORNL,” Hubbard said. “ORNL has a stunning breadth, depth, and history of transformational fundamental science discoveries, technological advances, and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing our nation. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to help shape the lab’s future and its contributions to the DOE mission.”

[Read more…]

Granholm learns about ORNL wireless charging, seawater batteries

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, second from right, talks about the infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden and the Build Back Better Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives during a visit to GRID-C at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Also pictured from right are ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, whose district includes Oak Ridge; and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory shared their intriguing studies of wireless charging and seawater batteries, among other novel projects, with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm during a tour on Monday.

Granholm was in East Tennessee to highlight the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Congress and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, and the president’s Build Back Better agenda, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week but hasn’t been approved by the Senate yet.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, second from right, talks about the infrastructure bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden and the Build Back Better Act during a visit to GRID-C at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Also pictured from right are ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia; U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, whose district includes Oak Ridge; and Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory shared their intriguing studies of wireless charging and seawater batteries, among other novel projects, with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm during a tour on Monday.

Granholm was in East Tennessee to highlight the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Congress and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, and the president’s Build Back Better agenda, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week but hasn’t been approved by the Senate yet.

“These historic investments will accelerate the transition to a more resilient, clean energy powered future—bringing economic development and good-paying, local jobs,” the U.S. Department of Energy said in a press release.

The Biden administration has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent, compared to 2005 levels, by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

“Part of the legislation passed last week is a big step forward,” Granholm said.

Among other benefits, the ORNL projects are expected to help the United States transition to a carbon-free economy as countries around the world seek to reduce emissions, improve the use of batteries and renewable energy, and allow the nation to be less reliant on other countries for critical materials such as cobalt.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.

Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.

Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831.

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription.

Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Ten ORNL scientists among world’s most highly cited researchers

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Submitted photo)

Ten scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate. 
 
The annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their field through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. These researchers authored publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science citation index. 
 
“Researchers at ORNL are leading the advancement of scientific knowledge in multiple fields,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a press release. “This recognition demonstrates that the laboratory and our scientists are engaged in cutting-edge research and development to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.” 
 
The ORNL scientists listed are:

[Read more…]

Summit at ORNL still No. 2 supercomputer

Posted at
By Leave a Comment


The Summit supercomputer, an IBM system that is the world’s second-most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL)


 

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained the fastest system in the United States and the second-most powerful in the world in the biannual TOP500 list released Monday.

Fugaku in Kobe, Japan, remained No. 1, where it has been since June 2020. The 442-petaflop system has been at the top of the list four consecutive times.

Summit, an IBM system, was the world’s most powerful supercomputer from June 2018 to November 2019, when the U.S. Department of Energy had the two fastest systems in the world. DOE still has the second and third most powerful supercomputers, Summit at number two and Sierra at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California at number three.

Fugaku is installed at the Riken Center for Computational Science. It was co-developed by Riken and Fujitsu, and it has 7,630,848 cores. It is based on Fujitsu’s custom ARM A64FX processor, TOP500 said. Fugaku uses a Fujitsu interconnect known as Tofu D to transfer data between nodes.

TOP500 said Fugaku’s 442-petaflop performance on a benchmark test makes it three times as powerful as Summit, which has 2,414,592 cores. The TOP500 list uses a benchmark test to rank the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

The Summit supercomputer, an IBM system that is the world’s second-most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL)

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained the fastest system in the United States and the second-most powerful in the world in the biannual TOP500 list released Monday.

Fugaku in Kobe, Japan, remained No. 1, where it has been since June 2020. The 442-petaflop system has been at the top of the list four consecutive times.


The Summit supercomputer, an IBM system that is the world’s second-most powerful, is pictured above at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy Katie Bethea/ORNL)


 

The Summit supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory remained the fastest system in the United States and the second-most powerful in the world in the biannual TOP500 list released Monday.

Fugaku in Kobe, Japan, remained No. 1, where it has been since June 2020. The 442-petaflop system has been at the top of the list four consecutive times.

Summit, an IBM system, was the world’s most powerful supercomputer from June 2018 to November 2019, when the U.S. Department of Energy had the two fastest systems in the world. DOE still has the second and third most powerful supercomputers, Summit at number two and Sierra at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California at number three.

Fugaku is installed at the Riken Center for Computational Science. It was co-developed by Riken and Fujitsu, and it has 7,630,848 cores. It is based on Fujitsu’s custom ARM A64FX processor, TOP500 said. Fugaku uses a Fujitsu interconnect known as Tofu D to transfer data between nodes.

TOP500 said Fugaku’s 442-petaflop performance on a benchmark test makes it three times as powerful as Summit, which has 2,414,592 cores. The TOP500 list uses a benchmark test to rank the world’s most powerful supercomputers.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

General Fusion locating U.S. headquarters in Oak Ridge

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

General Fusion Corporation will locate its U.S. headquarters in Oak Ridge as the company advances plans for a commercial pilot plant, Tennessee officials and company executives announced Wednesday.

The headquarters decision was announced Wednesday by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe, and General Fusion Corporation executives.

General Fusion Corporation is based in Vancouver, Canada. The company says fusion could provide a carbon-free power source that would meet the growing global energy demand while fighting climate change.

The U.S.-based subsidiary of General Fusion Incorporated will initially invest $539,000 and create 20 new jobs in Anderson County during the next five years, a press release said. It’s the first private fusion company to establish an office in Tennessee, General Fusion said. The new headquarters in Oak Ridge will be near Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a science and energy lab that is home to the U.S. ITER program. ITER is an experimental fusion device being built in southern France through an international collaboration and planned to be the first such device to produce net energy.

In Oak Ridge, General Fusion said it will collaborate with “world-leading fusion scientists and tap into key engineering talent.”

[Read more…]

ORNL’s top 10 tech transfer successes topic of FORNL talk

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mike Paulus

 

Mike Paulus, director of technology transfer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will talk about ORNL’s top 10 technology commercialization successes during a talk next week.

The talk is scheduled for noon Tuesday, November 9, to Friends of ORNL.

The virtual lecture is open to the public. To watch it online, click on the talk title on the homepage of the www.fornl.org website and click on the Zoom link at the top of the page describing the lecture. Here is Paulus’s summary of what he will talk about.

“From high-temperature alloys to biomaterials to solid-state batteries, ORNL innovations have made a difference in the marketplace,” Paulus said. “Since the 1980s, ORNL has transferred technologies to the private sector through its technology transfer office. My talk will review ORNL’s top 10 commercialization successes and look at a few recently licensed technologies with the potential for future success.” [Read more…]

DOE: Feds must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 22

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Joe L. Evins Federal Building is pictured above in Oak Ridge on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The executive order issued by President Joe Biden in September requires federal employees to be fully vaccinated by November 22, the U.S. Department of Energy said. DOE said 84 percent of the department’s federal workforce was, at the time, fully vaccinated.

To comply with the November 22 deadline, DOE’s employees must complete their vaccinations by November 8. This would apply to the first Johnson & Johnson shot, a one-shot vaccine, or the second Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech shots, both two-shot vaccines. People aren’t considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after the final dose of a vaccine.

The U.S. Department of Energy notified its staff of the vaccine requirement on Tuesday last week.

“Protecting your health and safety is our top priority,” DOE told its staff. “To help ensure this, President Biden issued an executive order requiring all federal employees to be fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021. This applies to all federal employees regardless of remote, telework, or onsite reporting status, except in limited circumstances in which an employee may be exempt due to a legally required accommodation.”

[Read more…]

UCOR requiring COVID vaccinations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

UCOR is requiring its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The requirement applies to all of its nearly 2,000 employees, and it is a condition of employment, the company said Tuesday.

The vaccination requirement was announced by UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter on August 26.

The company, an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs, is the U.S. Department of Energy’s lead environmental cleanup contractor on the Oak Ridge Reservation, and it has an award-winning safety record, the company said. Rueter said that the decision to require the vaccine was in line with the company’s commitment to safety and its culture of caring.

[Read more…]

Roane State grad now at ORNL, researching how to thwart vehicular cyberattacks

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Sam Hollifield (Submitted photo)

By Bob Fowler

Roane State staff writer

This Roane State Community College graduate now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researching what he told an interviewer is “the cat-and-mouse game that is modern cybersecurity.”

Specifically, Samuel Hollifield Jr. is looking into ways to defend vehicles’ computer systems from being hacked. He’s a cybersecurity hardware engineer. “Never in my life would I think I’d have a job defending automotive networks,” he said.

His education at Roane State played a huge role in his career path, Hollifield said. “It sounds like a cliché, but Roane State, it changed my life,” he said. “I’m a huge cheerleader.”

A Kentucky native, Hollifield initially attended a community college there but had to withdraw as his late father’s health declined. Employed in the coal-mining industry and afflicted with black lung disease, his father died at age 56.

[Read more…]

ORNL will require COVID-19 vaccinations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

The main entrance at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo courtesy ORNL)


  Oak Ridge National Laboratory will require all staff members to have a current COVID-19 vaccination by October 15, and new employees will be required to provide proof that they have been vaccinated.

UT-Battelle LLC, which manages the laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, decided to require vaccinations after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, August 23.

The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today. Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here. Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here: Basic

Pro

Temporary

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!

Lecture to discuss ORNL work for NASA’s space nuclear thermal propulsion program

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Thomas Harrison

Thomas Harrison, a group leader at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will give an overview this evening of the work that ORNL performs for NASA’s space nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) program, a press release said.

ORNL performs research on materials, fuels, instrumentation and control components and techniques, and systems analysis, all of which are vital to the successful deployment of NTP, the press release said. Harrison will also describe some of the challenges facing the technology and the methods that ORNL researchers are using to overcome them.

Harrison is currently the Advanced Nuclear System Safety and Licensing Group Leader at ORNL, the press release said. [Read more…]