Oak Ridge Today

ORNL: Toxic methylmercury-producing microbes more widespread than realized

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Microbes that live in rice paddies, northern peat bogs, and other previously unexpected environments are among the bacteria that can generate highly toxic methylmercury, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have learned.

This finding, published in Environmental Science and Technology, explains why deadly methylated mercury is produced in areas where the neurotoxin’s presence has puzzled researchers for decades. Methylmercury—the most dangerous form of mercury—damages the brain and immune system and is especially harmful to developing embryos. Certain bacteria transform inorganic mercury into toxic methylmercury. [Read more…]

NSPS names new general manager of DOE protective forces

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Michael Voce

Michael Voce

National Strategic Protective Services LLC, the security contractor for U.S. Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge, has a new general manager who will start Oct. 1.

Michael Voce will replace general manager Greg McDowell, whose resignation was announced in July.

NSPS, a joint venture of Triple Canopy Inc. and Securiguard Inc., provides protective force services to the East Tennessee Technology Park, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Joe L. Evins Federal Building. [Read more…]

ORAU names associate director of scientific, technical resource integration

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David Duncan

David Duncan

Oak Ridge Associated Universities has appointed David Duncan as associate director of its scientific and technical resource integration program.

In his new role, Duncan is responsible for managing research peer review activities that coordinate the use of independent, expert reviewers to evaluate proposals and scientific and technical information for a variety of federal and state funding agencies. Additionally, he is responsible for identifying viable options for new business development and for establishing and developing business networks and partnerships. [Read more…]

Lecture next week focuses on IAEA training program hosted at ORNL

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Michael Whitaker

Michael Whitaker

A lunchtime lecture next week will feature a discussion of a recent International Atomic Energy Agency training program that was hosted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Michael Whitaker, group leader of the ORNL International Safeguards Group in the Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, will lead the presentation.

The IAEA training program was for more than 40 nuclear safeguards professionals and regulatory officials representing more than 30 nations. They spent two weeks at ORNL to expand their knowledge for conducting their vital work around the world, a press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL-grown oxygen ‘sponge’ presents path to better catalysts, energy materials

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ORNL Oxygen Sponge

This schematic depicts a new ORNL-developed material that can easily absorb or shed oxygen atoms. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new oxygen “sponge” that can easily absorb or shed oxygen atoms at low temperatures. Materials with these novel characteristics would be useful in devices such as rechargeable batteries, sensors, gas converters, and fuel cells.

Materials containing atoms that can switch back and forth between multiple oxidation states are technologically important but very rare in nature, said ORNL’s Ho Nyung Lee, who led the international research team that published its findings in Nature Materials. [Read more…]

UT names nuclear materials expert as 13th UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

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Steve Zinkle

Steve Zinkle

KNOXVILLE—Steve Zinkle, an authority on the effect of radiation on materials in fission and fusion nuclear reactors, has been named the thirteenth University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.

Zinkle will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Materials, based in the department of nuclear engineering at UT with a complementary appointment in materials science and engineering. He begins at UT on Oct. 1. [Read more…]

Top neutron scientists named to positions at ORNL

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Neutron Sciences Directorate, or NScD, home organization for the Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor, has filled two high-level administrative positions with leaders in the neutron scattering field.

Rob McQueeney, recently with Iowa State University and Ames Laboratory, has been named NScD’s deputy associate laboratory director. Alan Tennant, currently with the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin in Germany, has been named chief scientist for the NScD. [Read more…]

Advanced Composites program ‘perfect fit’ for Roane State teacher

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Andy Pokelwaldt

Roane State’s Andy Pokelwaldt, right, works with instructor Josh Martin to set up a filament-winding machine used by students in the college’s composite materials courses. (Submitted photo)

As the leader of Roane State Community College’s Advanced Composites Employment accelerator, Andy Pokelwaldt can blend his experience as a military trainer, an educator, and a mentor.

“I enjoy teaching, and I understand what having skills in composite materials will mean in the marketplace,” Pokelwaldt said. “Learning about composite materials will make people more employable, and that’s what this job is all about.”

The ACE program, based at the Halcyon Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, provides three introductory courses in composite materials. People with two- or four-year degrees can take the courses at no cost because ACE is grant-funded. [Read more…]

UT-Battelle, ATLC home-building project receives labor award

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ORNL Volunteers and Horizon Award

Oak Ridge National Laboratory volunteers receive the Horizon Award from the Tennessee Labor Management Foundation. From left are Angela Gaylon, Dale McBee, Steve Jones, Mike Day, team captain Ann Weaver, and Jeff Reasor. (Submitted photo)

Team UT-Battelle’s all-volunteer project to build homes for Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties has earned the 2013 Horizon Award from the Tennessee Labor Management Foundation.

The award, which recognizes labor management partnerships that benefit the Tennessee community, will be presented to UT-Battelle and the Atomic Trades and Labor Council at the foundation’s summer conference in Nashville. UT-Battelle is the managing contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

‘One Earth, Our Choice’ concert, rally features ORNL scientist, Al Gore show

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One Earth Our Choice

A free concert and rally in Knoxville at noon Saturday features Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist Virginia Dale, right, and a new “Climate Reality” show by Al Gore. (Submitted image)

A free “One Earth, Our Choice” concert and rally today (Saturday) features an Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist who will discuss Tennessee’s changing climate and a presentation of Al Gore’s new show, “The Climate Reality Project.”

The concert and rally for climate action starts at noon at SEEED at 1617 Dandridge Ave. in Knoxville, a press release said.

It’s part of a weekend of events that includes climate activist Bill McKibben speaking at Oak Ridge High School on Sunday and at Thompson-Boling Arena on Monday. Organizers called it an “attention-getting weekend for climate action.” Those involved in today’s concert and rally include Secret City Sustainability, a student-led initiative in Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

ORNL superconducting wire yields unprecedented performance

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The ability to control nanoscale imperfections in superconducting wires results in materials with unparalleled and customized performance, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Applications for superconducting wires, which carry electricity without resistance when cooled to a critical temperature, include underground transmission cables, transformers, and large-scale motors and generators. But these applications require wires to operate under different temperature and magnetic field regimes. [Read more…]

ORNL finding goes beyond surface of oxide films

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Oxide Figure

This figure shows the spectroscopic measurement (current as a function of voltage) and this as a function of temperature. (Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry)

Better batteries, catalysts, electronic information storage and processing devices are among potential benefits of an unexpected discovery made by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists using samples isolated from the atmosphere.

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy lab learned that key surface properties of complex oxide films are unaffected by reduced levels of oxygen during fabrication—an unanticipated finding with possible implications for the design of functional complex oxides used in a variety of consumer products, said Zheng Gai, a member of DOE’s Center for Nanoscale Materials Sciences at ORNL.

The findings are detailed in a paper published in Nanoscale. [Read more…]