Oak Ridge Today

ORNL invites companies to connect with lab at ‘Explore ORNL’ 

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory will open its doors July 14-15 for its “Explore ORNL” conference designed to introduce the region’s business community to the lab’s world-class research and development facilities and expertise, a press release said.

“Explore ORNL is an outreach event that provides companies both large and small with a unique opportunity to learn about collaboration possibilities,” said Tom Rogers, ORNL’s director of Industrial Partnerships and Economic Development.

Representatives from companies such as Boeing, Cummins, Local Motors, Ten-Tec, Dresser-Rand, and Eagle Bend Manufacturing will speak about their experiences in working with ORNL experts to overcome technical challenges and develop new products. [Read more…]

INCITE grants awarded to 59 computational research projects

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced 59 scientific projects that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers, including the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, pictured above. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science announced 59 projects, promising to accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, that will share nearly six billion core hours on two of America’s fastest supercomputers dedicated to open science. Their work will advance knowledge in critical areas from sustainable energy technologies to the environmental consequences of energy use.

The allocations come from the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE, program. Through it, the world’s most advanced computational research projects from academia, government, and industry are given access to DOE’s leadership computing facilities at Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories. [Read more…]

Budget cuts cause concern in research community, including at ORNL

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Thom Mason

Thom Mason

The budget deal that Congress approved earlier this month to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling kept in place automatic budget cuts known as sequestration.

But those across-the-board cuts are causing concern in the scientific community, including at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In August, ORNL Director Thom Mason said the lab had been, up to that point, mostly immune from the cuts because of steps that UT-Battelle, the managing and operating contractor, had already taken to cut costs, including through workforce restructuring, reduced staff and overhead budgets, and benefit changes.

“We’ve just been doing everything we can to prepare for lean budgets,” Mason said. [Read more…]

Two ORNL researchers, two joint faculty receive DOE early career awards

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DOE Early Career Awards

Pictured from top left, clockwise, are Valentino Cooper, Gaute Hagen, Matthias Schindler, and Jason Hayward. They are 2013 awardees in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program. (Submitted photo)

Materials science and physics research led by early career Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists received a boost this week from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science Early Career Research Program.

The program, now in its fourth year, is designed to bolster the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers during crucial early career years when many scientists do their most formative work. This year’s 61 awardees were selected from a pool of 770 university- and national laboratory-based applicants.

“This highly competitive program is a well-deserved recognition for early-career scientists who are launching their own research programs,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said. “We are delighted that four of this year’s awards are going to researchers associated with ORNL.” [Read more…]

ORNL researchers receive professional society honors

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Carol Wood

Carol Wood

A.C. Buchanan

A.C. Buchanan III

Three researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory have received appointments and honors from their respective professional societies.

ORNL’s Carol Wood has been elected to a four-year term on the board of directors of the American Board of Toxicology. She is a senior research staff member in the Environmental Sciences Division at ORNL.

Wood was elected from more than 40 nominees. Ernest McConnell, president of ToxPath Inc., a former board member who served as president of the ABT board from 1987 to 1988, nominated her for the award. [Read more…]

ORNL’s Smith, Sokolov elected AAAS fellows

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Sean Campbell Smith and Alexei Sokolov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers Sean Campbell Smith (left) and Alexei Sokolov, have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

Two researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory—Sean Campbell Smith and Alexei Sokolov—have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Fellow is the highest honor bestowed by the AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.

Smith, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, came to ORNL in 2011 from the University of Queensland in Australia, where he was the director of the Centre for Computational Molecular Science. He was cited by his AAAS peers for “distinguished contributions to the field of computational and theoretical chemistry, including fundamental advances in unimolecular rate theory and exploration of novel functionalities in nanomaterials.”

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ORNL electron microscopy unlocks graphene potential

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Silicon Atoms in Graphene

The atomic resolution Z-contrast images show individual silicon atoms bonded differently in graphene. (Photo by ORNL)

Electron microscopy at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is providing unprecedented views of the individual atoms in graphene, offering scientists a chance to unlock the material’s full potential for uses from engine combustion to consumer electronics.

Graphene crystals were first isolated in 2004. They are two-dimensional (one-atom in thickness), harder than diamonds and far stronger than steel, providing unprecedented stiffness and electrical and thermal properties. By viewing the atomic and bonding configurations of individual graphene atoms, scientists are able to suggest ways to optimize materials so they are better suited for specific applications.

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