Oak Ridge Today

Looking ahead: SNS users visit to discuss next-generation target station at ORNL

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SNS-Second-Target-Station

More than 200 scientists from around the world met from October 27 to 29 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide input on the scientific instruments that would be installed at a proposed Second Target Station, or STS, at the Spallation Neutron Source, which is pictured above. (Aerial photo and overlay by ORNL)

 

More than 200 scientists from around the world met from October 27 to 29 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide input on the scientific instruments that would be installed at a proposed Second Target Station, or STS, at the Spallation Neutron Source.

The workshop—which was organized by ORNL’s Neutron Sciences Directorate and drew researchers from 56 universities, research institutions, and other national laboratories—aimed to define the capabilities needed to ensure the next-generation neutron source meets the biggest science challenges.

The Spallation Neutron Source is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that provides the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world for scientific research and industrial development. [Read more…]

Four ORNL researchers elected fellows of American Physical Society

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Jaime Fernandez-Baca

Jaime Fernandez-Baca (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Four researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society, one of the nation’s top professional organizations for scientists.

Jaime Fernandez-Baca, Sergei Kalinin, Mark Lumsden, and Thomas Maier were selected for the honor by the APS Council of Representatives. They will be formally recognized at the APS’s March meeting.

Fernandez-Baca, a distinguished research staff member in the Quantum Condensed Matter Division in ORNL’s Neutron Science Directorate, was recognized by the APS Division of Materials Physics “for seminal neutron scattering studies of magnetic materials, especially the spin and lattice dynamics of colossal magnetoresistive manganites.”

Fernandez-Baca’s research is performed mainly at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, where he is the lead for the Triple Axis Spectroscopy group. His expertise is in the study of the magnetic ordering and spin dynamics of complex oxides and related alloys using neutron scattering techniques.

He was the recipient of the International Atomic Energy Agency fellowship, the DOE Office of Science Outstanding Mentor Award (2008), and the Neutron Scattering Society of America Distinguished Service Award (2014). [Read more…]

Record funding in federal budget could help Oak Ridge, senator says

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Lamar-Alexander-Warren-Gooch-Terry-Frank-Nov-20-2015

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, at a brief press conference with Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch, center, and Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday, Nov. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The federal budget expected to be complete by mid-December should have record funding, and the money could help Oak Ridge in areas ranging from mercury and Cold War cleanup to scientific research and the proposed Uranium Processing Facility, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander said Friday.

The Oak Ridge area now receives about $3 billion per year in federal funding, and the level will be increased although he doesn’t have a number yet, said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

Alexander held a brief press conference at the Oak Ridge Municipal Building on Friday.

He said the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science, which provided $1.4 billion to Oak Ridge National Laboratory this year, will have a record level of funding. [Read more…]

ORNL: Neutrons find ‘missing’ magnetism of plutonium

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Doug Abernathy and Marc Janoschek

Doug Abernathy, left, ARCS instrument scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Marc Janoschek, Los Alamos National Laboratory, prepare their sample for experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Groundbreaking work at two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has confirmed plutonium’s magnetism, which scientists have long theorized but have never been able to experimentally observe. The advances that enabled the discovery hold great promise for materials, energy, and computing applications.

Plutonium was first produced in 1940, and its unstable nucleus allows it to undergo fission, making it useful for nuclear fuels as well as for nuclear weapons. Much less known, however, is that the electronic cloud surrounding the plutonium nucleus is equally unstable and makes plutonium the most electronically complex element in the periodic table, with intriguingly intricate properties for a simple elemental metal.

While conventional theories have successfully explained plutonium’s complex structural properties, they also predict that plutonium should order magnetically. This is in stark contrast with experiments, which had found no evidence for magnetic order in plutonium. [Read more…]

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…]

AMSE opens three new science-themed interactive exhibits

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Space exploration, supercomputing, and neutron science are featured in three new hands-on exhibits at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.

The exhibits showcase national science topics with local ties to research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Bringing more of the modern lab into AMSE enhances our mission,” said AMSE director David Moore. “In addition to learning about our past, we hope visitors enjoy learning about the fascinating scope of research ongoing at ORNL.” [Read more…]

Four ORNL scientists selected for early career research funding

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ORNL Scientists Early Career Research

Projects by, from left, ORNL researchers Christian Engelmann, Cory Hauck, Katharine Page, and Chad Parish have been selected for DOE Early Career funding. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Four researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are among 44 scientists selected by DOE’s Office of Science to receive funding under the department’s Early Career Research Program.

The grants, which are intended to support researchers during their crucial early career years, are at least $500,000 per year for national lab researchers to cover year-round salary plus research expenses over a planned five years.

ORNL’s winners fall within three major Office of Science program offices: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) and Fusion Energy Sciences (FES). Following are ORNL’s selectees and brief descriptions of their projects. [Read more…]

Regional firms receive ORNL’s 2015 Small Business Impact Awards

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ORNL Small Business Impact Awards

ORNL Small Business Impact Award winners, pictured, left to right: Jeremy Shoop, City-State LLC; T.J. Kocak and Roger Claiborne, Pellissippi Investors LLC; Cindy and Michael Hollander, Innovative Design Inc.; Vicki Dyer and Wendi Arnold, Scientific Sales Inc.; Elizabeth Vacanti, ORNL; Beau Scherer, Scientific Sales Inc.; Barry Stephenson, Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc); Gabe Beck, City State LLC; Debbie Pohanka, Scientific Sales Inc.; and Brittany Voigt, Innovative Design LLC. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory recognized local and regional companies with annual Small Business Impact Awards on March 27 at the weekly meeting of the East Tennessee Economic Council in Oak Ridge.

The companies were honored in categories emphasizing their specific capabilities.

The Above and Beyond Award went to the small business Pellissippi Investors LLC. The company is the landlord for ORNL’s National Transportation Resource Centers I and II, which house several highly advanced research laboratories. Pellissippi Investors was instrumental in ensuring that tenant improvements to the facilities were executed properly despite demanding research schedules and tight budgets.

The Innovator Award was given to Materials and Chemistry Laboratory, or MCLinc. This commercial applied research firm is a small business located in Oak Ridge. MCLinc developed a unique method used for the analysis of filters from the cooling system at the Spallation Neutron Source, despite a challenging analytical scenario. [Read more…]

Materials science duo advances next wave of alloys; work conducted at ORNL, UT

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Louis Santodonato

Louis Santodonato

Peter Liaw

Peter Liaw

KNOXVILLE—High-entropy alloys—substances constructed with equivalent quantities of five or more metals—might hold the key to future manufacturing and construction, and two researchers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville could help pave the way.

Doctoral candidate Louis Santodonato, along with his adviser Professor Peter Liaw, both in materials science, did an extensive study into this class of materials, which are considerably lighter and less prone to fracture, corrosion, and oxidation than conventional alloys.

The pair used various methods to observe and model the atomic mixing behavior of high-entropy alloys, work that was picked up by the prestigious journal Nature Communications. [Read more…]

Avisco, a DOE contractor, to wind down operations after 30 years

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Avisco Inc. Logo

Avisco, a long-term U.S. Department of Energy contractor based in Oak Ridge, has announced a plan to phase out of their existing contracts and eventually close the company after 30 years of operations.

In a Tuesday press release, company owner Avis A. Phillips said she decided it was time to wind down Avisco after long discussions with her family.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed all the years we’ve worked with a terrific group of clients and a wonderful team of employees,” Phillips said. “It’s the association with our great staff that makes this decision particularly difficult. I can never thank them enough.” [Read more…]

Knox commissioner, SNS manager to speak at MLK Breakfast in Atomic City

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Sam McKenzie

Sam McKenzie

Knox County Commissioner Sam McKenzie will be the featured speaker at the 27th annual Martin Luther King Fellowship Breakfast.

The breakfast has been organized by the Atomic City Sportsmen. Everyone is welcome to attend. It’s scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Monday, January 19, at the Oak Valley Baptist Church at 194 Hampton Road in Oak Ridge. The breakfast was previously held at the East Tennessee Family Services Building. [Read more…]

Paul Langan to lead ORNL’s Neutron Sciences Directorate

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Paul Langan

Paul Langan

Paul Langan, a senior scientist and distinguished research staff member at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named ORNL’s associate laboratory director for neutron sciences.

Langan will lead the laboratory’s neutron science activities, which include two leading DOE Office of Science user facilities for neutron scattering analysis: the Spallation Neutron Source, or SNS, and the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR.

“As associate laboratory director, Paul will further broaden our role in neutron sciences globally, expand our instrument capabilities, and prepare for a second target station at the SNS,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said in a press release. [Read more…]