Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridge High first in Tennessee Science Bowl, headed to D.C. in April

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Oak Ridge High School Tennessee Science Bowl Winners

From left to right are members of Oak Ridge High School’s Team 1:  Tina Wang, Albert Xue, Gaibo Zhang, Aram Bejnood, Bo Hyun Moon, and Coach Sharon Thomas. (Photo courtesy DOE)

ORHS team will compete in National Science Bowl

High school students from across Tennessee competed on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus, in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Tennessee Science Bowl competition. Fifty-five high school teams comprised of four students, and one alternate student, answered challenging mathematical problems and tested their knowledge in broad disciplines including chemistry, biology, earth and space science, physics, and energy.

Training for months after school, the student competitors committed hours of study to expanding and honing their mathematics and science knowledge and competition skills. And, all their work showed. Many of the competition rounds came down to the last nail-biting seconds before a winner emerged. However, in the end, Oak Ridge High’s Team 1 edged out their competitors, placing first.

Oak Ridge High School received a $1,000 cash prize, a first-place trophy, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the DOE National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., from April 24-28, when they will compete against other winning teams from around the nation. [Read more…]

Thompson-Boling lights brighter, more efficient; use ORNL foam

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Thompson-Boling LED Lighting

The SuperSport installation at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena. (Photo credit: LED North America)

KNOXVILLE—With the installation of LED fixtures, the Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville is one of the first in the world to feature lights that are smaller, brighter, and up to 85 percent more efficient than conventional arena metal halide lights.

The technology—developed and manufactured by Oak Ridge-based LED North America at the Tech 20/20 incubator facility in Oak Ridge, incorporating an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology, and installed by Knoxville-based Bandit Lites—is being “premiered” at the state’s research university inside the largest on-campus single-sport arena in the country.

The light-emitting diode fixtures use an ORNL-developed lightweight graphite foam that cools the LED, making them more efficient and reliable. This enables 90 400-watt LED fixtures to bathe the arena’s floor with 200 foot-candles per square foot, compared to the 130 foot-candles produced by the arena’s existing 110 1,100-watt fixtures.

LED North America’s SuperSport luminaires have the potential to revolutionize sports and entertainment venues worldwide. UT officials are looking forward to participating in this effort and to seeing the results—and the savings. [Read more…]

ORNL microscopy system delivers real-time view of battery electrochemistry

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ORNL Battery Electrochemistry

A new in situ transmission electron microscopy technique enabled ORNL researchers to image the snowflake-like growth of the solid electrolyte interphase from a working battery electrode. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Using a new microscopy method, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can image and measure electrochemical processes in batteries in real time and at nanoscale resolution.

Scientists at ORNL used a miniature electrochemical liquid cell that is placed in a transmission electron microscope to study an enigmatic phenomenon in lithium-ion batteries called the solid electrolyte interphase, or SEI, as described in a study published in Chemical Communications.

The SEI is a nanometer-scale film that forms on a battery’s negative electrode due to electrolyte decomposition. Scientists agree that the SEI’s formation and stability play key roles in controlling battery functionality. But after three decades of research in the battery field, details of the SEI’s dynamics, structure, and chemistry during electrochemical cycling are still debated, stemming from inherent difficulties in studying battery electrode materials in their native liquid environment.

“We’ve used this novel in situ method to understand the dynamics of how this layer forms and evolves during battery operation,” said Raymond Unocic, ORNL research and development staff scientist. [Read more…]

ORNL’s CASL, Westinghouse simulate neutron behavior in nuclear reactor core

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AP1000 Pressurized Water Reactor

CASL is developing and applying new modeling and simulation technology (Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications Core Simulator or VERA-CS) to resolve and predict the detailed neutron distribution of the power-generation reactor core residing in reactor vessels. (Image courtesy of Westinghouse)

Test run signals emergence of the next generation in nuclear power reactor analysis tools

Scientists and engineers developing more accurate approaches to analyzing nuclear power reactors have successfully tested a new suite of computer codes that closely model “neutronics”—the behavior of neutrons in a reactor core.

Technical staff at Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, supported by the research team at the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, or CASL, used the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications core simulator (VERA-CS) to analyze its AP1000 advanced pressurized water reactor. The testing focused on modeling the startup conditions of the AP1000 plant design. [Read more…]

ORNL, Ohio company work together on new large-scale 3-D printing system

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ORNL and Cincinnati Inc. CRADA

From left are David Danielson, DOE assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy; Johnny Moore; DOE site office manager, Andy Jamison, Cincinnati Inc. CEO; and U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann. (ORNL photo/Jason Richards)

Technology seeks to provide new capabilities for auto, aerospace, other U.S. industries

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is partnering with Cincinnati Inc., a manufacturer of high quality machine tools located in Harrison, Ohio, to develop a large-scale polymer additive manufacturing (3-D printing) system.

The partnership aims to accelerate the commercialization of a new additive manufacturing machine that can print large polymer parts faster and more cheaply than current technologies. The partnership agreement supports the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative to increase the efficiency of the U.S. manufacturing sector and ensure that innovative clean energy technologies continue to be developed in America.

ORNL is a DOE lab. [Read more…]

UT names bioenergy expert as 14th UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

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Art Ragauskas

Arthur Ragauskas

KNOXVILLE—Arthur Ragauskas, an authority in bioenergy, has been named the 14th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.

He will serve as Governor’s Chair for Biorefining, based in UT’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a complementary appointment in the UT Institute of Agriculture’s Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries.

He will also serve in the Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, Biosciences Division, at ORNL and as a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center, or BESC.

Ragauskas begins at UT on June 1. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Jack Fellows receives NCSE Lifetime Achievement Award

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Jack Fellows

Jack Fellows

The National Council for Science and the Environment has presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jack D. Fellows for his part in co-founding the U.S. Global Change Research Program, or USGCRP.

Fellows is director of ORNL’s Climate Change Science Institute at the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory.

The USGCRP consolidates global change research across 13 federal departments and agencies to advance research on climate change in the United States and use that knowledge to inform policy and the public. The program cooperates with organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [Read more…]

Former energy secretary compares global warming path to Russian roulette, with gun pointed at knee

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Steven Chu on Global Warming at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

During a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, former Energy Secretary Steven Chu compares global warming to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a kneecap.

Former Energy Secretary Steven Chu sounded an alarm about global warming during a visit to Oak Ridge last week, comparing the current path to Russian roulette, but with the gun pointed at a knee—and with more bullets added each decade.

“Every decade you put in a bullet and you pull the trigger,” said Chu, a Stanford University professor who won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1997. “After four or five more decades, it could be fully loaded.”

The longest-serving secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, Chu gave a lecture at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Wednesday.

The globe is warming, and we might not feel the full effect of the greenhouse gases emitted by humans for another half-century or more, after the ocean has been warmed, Chu said.

“We’re going to glide to a temperature that we’re not really sure about, but I can guarantee that it’s warmer than it is today because of that ocean,” Chu said. “The damage that we’ve done today will not be seen for at least 50 years.” [Read more…]

Information International wins major ORNL IT support contract

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Information International Associates

Pictured above is the headquarters of Information International Associates on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge.

Information International Associates has won a five-year contract worth up to $24 million to provide information technology support to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The contract includes a one-year base and four one-year options. IIa will lead a team that includes Science Applications International Corp. and other partners with special capabilities, including Qbase, CADRE5, and EMC2 Corp., a press release said.

The work will include application development, systems administration, cyber security, help desk support, and data center management.

 

[Read more…]

ORNL, Local Motors agree to pave way to world’s first 3-D printed vehicle

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Local Motors and ORNL on 3-D Printing

A new partnership between Local Motors and ORNL will explore vehicle design and construction using 3-D printing technologies. The project will make use of equipment at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, such as the large-scale additive manufacturing machine operated here by ORNL’s Peter LLoyd.

Local Motors Inc. and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed a new partnership to develop and deliver technology to produce the world’s first production 3-D printed vehicle.

The cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, between Local Motors and ORNL will explore ways to make vehicle construction more efficient—including by lower production time, costs, and part count—and raise standards for control, safety, aesthetics, and mechanical flexibility.

“The primary tool in this drive for efficiency is a combination of material science and cutting-edge advanced manufacturing techniques that are both additive and subtractive,” an ORNL press release said. ORNL is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory system.

“By invoking the principle of open-source, this partnership—and future efforts like it—will drive a true paradigm shift in hardware product development and automotive manufacturing technologies,” said Jay Rogers, co-founder and chief executive officers of Local Motors. “Just as exciting as the vision of delivering the first direct digital manufactured car is that we will be engaging future consumers to contribute and evangelize its creation. We are living in a time when speed to market trumps slow-going protectionism. Local Motors’ open development platform is what delivers this very speed.” [Read more…]

Free Science Saturdays offered in Knoxville by ORAU, ORNL

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ORAU and ORNL Science Saturdays

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays that will feature engaging science topics taught through interactive presentations and hands-on activities. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to bring students and scientists together through a weekly program called Science Saturdays. Students in grades 8-12, along with their parents, are invited for three Saturday morning presentations in February, when they will learn about a variety of engaging science topics through interactive presentations and hands-on activities.

“Science Saturdays provide a unique opportunity for students to have direct interaction with scientists from ORNL,” said Marie Westfall, interim associate director for ORAU’s Center for Science Education. “Through this program, we hope to excite students about the subject of science by introducing subjects and activities not found in their daily education.” [Read more…]

ORNL study advances quest for better superconducting materials

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Superconductivity Pan Defects

Minghu Pan’s image of “clover-like” atomic defects—an example is circled—that result in strong superconductivity. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Nearly 30 years after the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, many questions remain, but an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team is providing insight that could lead to better superconductors.

Their work, published in Physical Review Letters, examines the role of chemical dopants, which are essential to creating high-temperature superconductors—materials that conduct electricity without resistance. The role of dopants in superconductors is particularly mysterious as they introduce non-uniformity and disorder into the crystal structure, which increases resistivity in non-superconducting materials.

By gaining a better understanding of how and why chemical dopants alter the behavior of the original (parent) material, scientists believe they can design superconductors that work at higher temperatures. This would make them more practical for real-world wire applications because it would lessen the extreme cooling required for conventional superconducting material. Existing “high-temperature superconductors” operate at temperatures in the range of negative 135 degrees Celsius and below. [Read more…]