Oak Ridge Today

Experts launch advanced composites institute announced by Obama, led by UT

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Craig Blue, David Danielson, and David Millhorn

Pictured above are Craig Blue, IACMI CEO; David Danielson assistant secretary, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy; and David Millhorn, executive vice president for the University of Tennessee System and president of the UT Research Foundation. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

ORNL a founding partner

Hundreds of composites experts from industry, government, and academia gathered at the Knoxville Convention Center on Wednesday for the launch of the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI.

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among IACMI’s founding research partners.

A signing ceremony between the U.S. Department of Energy and IACMI representatives marked the official start of business for the newly established institute, which was announced in January by President Barack Obama.

IACMI will work with industry to reduce technical risk and develop a robust supply chain for advanced composite materials in automotive components, wind turbines, and compressed gas storage applications. Funded with $70 million in federal funds and more than $180 million in nonfederal funds, IACMI will focus on making advanced fiber-reinforced polymer composites less expensive and less energy-intensive, helping give America’s resurging manufacturing sector a more competitive edge in the global economy. [Read more…]

Guest column: President Obama’s manufacturing announcement—what it means for UT, ORNL, East Tennessee

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Jimmy Cheek and Martin Keller and Shelby Cobra

University of Tennessee Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, right, stands with Martin Keller, associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in front of a Shelby Cobra printed as a collaboration between ORNL and UT personnel. The car served as a highlight of President Obama’s visit to the area on Friday. (Photo courtesy UT) 

 

KNOXVILLE—President Obama’s announcement on Friday that the University of Tennessee in Knoxville would be the lead institution in a $259 million advanced composites manufacturing project known as the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, was met with applause, but also a few questions.

Many wondered what advanced composites manufacturing really means, why the UT-led consortium was selected, and what the impact for the area might be.

Here are some answers.

What is IACMI?

IACMI is the newest federally funded institute for manufacturing innovation. Its focus is on advancing innovation in the manufacturing of composites used in automobiles, wind turbines, and compressed gas storage tanks. [Read more…]

Featured at Obama speech, Sleek SuperTruck saves fuel, money

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David Koeberlein SuperTruck Cummins Engine

David Koeberlein, director of advanced engineering for Cummins and principal investigator on the SuperTruck project, says the prototype tractor-trailer uses exhaust heat that would otherwise be wasted to help power the crankshaft. (All photos courtesy ORNL/Genevieve Martin unless indicated otherwise)

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

Tractor-trailer prototype uses probe developed by ORNL for better gas mileage, cleaner exhaust

It’s a sleek, aerodynamic freight-hauling machine. With its wide tires, rounded edges, and body parts that hug the ground, this million-dollar prototype looks like it could be at home on a race track.

It’s already achieved celebrity status, serving as the backdrop for President Barack Obama during a February speech on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards.

But the SuperTruck is more likely to end up hauling meat and potatoes from Boise to Boston.

SuperTruck at ORNL

The fuel-efficient SuperTruck, the result of a four-year collaboration between the trucking industry and the federal government, made a pit stop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Tuesday.

Still, researchers have reason to celebrate. On Tuesday, they said the high-tech tractor-trailer has increased fuel efficiency by 75 percent. Fully loaded, the SuperTruck can drive 10.7 miles on a gallon of gas. That compares to an industry average of 5.8 to 6.5 miles per gallon.

“This is a really big deal,” said Claus Daniel, deputy director of sustainable transportation projects at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the SuperTruck made a pit stop on Tuesday.

It’s the result of a collaboration between the trucking industry and the U.S. Department of Energy. It’s not clear how soon the new technologies tested in the Cummins/Peterbilt tractor-trailer, which was built in Denton, Texas, will show up on the nation’s highways. [Read more…]

Intel funding for UT will develop codes, open computing center at joint UT-ORNL institute

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Joint Institute for Computational Sciences

The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

KNOXVILLE—Imagine going to the doctor and the doctor peering into your genetic code to determine the best medicine to treat what ails you.

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has received funding from computer chip maker Intel to develop computer codes to make personalized medicine like this and other transformative scientific discoveries possible.

The funding will open an Intel Parallel Computing Center at the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, or JICS, at UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Parallel computing, used in supercomputers, is a form of computation in which many calculations are carried out simultaneously. The focus of the center will be to take supercomputing to the next level to meet scientific computing demands. Today’s research faces limitations due to the amount of data, time, and energy it takes to run calculations. [Read more…]