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With shutdown looming, DOE expects to keep operating for now

Posted at 12:45 pm September 30, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

U.S. Department of Energy Forrestal Building

With a potential government shutdown looming, U.S. Department of Energy employees are expected to continue working unless there is a lapse in appropriations and all available money is spent. Pictured above is DOE’s Forrestal Building in Washington, D.C. (Photo courtesy DOE)

Although a federal government shutdown is looming, the U.S. Department of Energy expects federal employees to continue reporting for work unless there is a lapse in appropriations and all available money is spent.

“Each component of DOE will continue to operate until prior year balances for funding of federal employees is exhausted,” DOE said in a guide posted on its website. “Their operations under those circumstances will be somewhat modified. For example, travel will generally be curtailed. DOE has some limited transfer and reprogramming authority, which may enable DOE to extend the number of days of funding available in some limited cases.”

The guide said operations will stop once prior-year balances have been spent at most DOE facilities. There would be exceptions for functions related to the safety of human life and protection of property. [Read more…]

Filed Under: East Tennessee Technology Park, Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Office, Office of Scientific and Technical Information, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: appropriations, Barack Obama, Congress, Democrats, DOE, federal employees, funding, furloughs, government shutdown, health care law, House, medical isotope, National Nuclear Security Administration, naval reactors, non-proliferation, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Republicans, Senate, shutdown, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, UT-Battelle

ORNL employees to work Tuesday even if federal government shuts down

Posted at 2:01 pm September 27, 2013
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Thom Mason

Thom Mason

It’s still not clear if Congress will pass a budget and keep the government open past midnight Monday, but UT-Battelle employees should report to work Tuesday even if the government shuts down, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason said.

Mason addressed the potential government shutdown in a message on staff cuts that he sent to employees Thursday morning.

Mason said ORNL has enough funding to continue operations even if federal employees have to stop work on Oct. 1. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories Tagged With: Barack Obama, budget, government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, spending bill, Thom Mason

Fiscal prudence requires ORNL to prepare for smaller budgets, director says

Posted at 5:14 pm September 26, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Thom Mason

Thom Mason

Many budget questions remain unresolved heading into the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 and there could be another $100 million drop in funding, so Oak Ridge National Laboratory is implementing plans to further reduce overhead spending and opening a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce by up to 475 jobs, Director Thom Mason said Thursday.

Employees can apply for the Voluntary Separation Program, or VSP, from Oct. 1 to Nov. 14. Those employees who are accepted will leave the payroll by Dec. 31.

Lab officials emphasized that they hope the number of staff cuts is smaller than 475. ORNL has about 4,400 to 4,500 employees. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: budget, fiscal prudence, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Thom Mason, workforce reduction

UT-Battelle builds second home for ADFAC

Posted at 12:00 pm September 24, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ADFAC UT-Battelle Home

Annie Cacheiro, right, executive director of Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, and Thom Mason, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, speak at a dedication for a home built by volunteers on Jay Lane.

Volunteers from UT-Battelle have completed their second home in two years for ADFAC, a nonprofit agency that helps low-income residents.

Officials and volunteers celebrated last week with a ceremony at the new single-story, two-bedroom home on Jay Lane.

“It’s a blessing,” said Emily Mitchell, 24, the new homeowner. “I know I couldn’t do it on my own.”

Mitchell, who has a two-year-old daughter, now lives on Van Hicks Place. She is the family self-sufficiency coordinator for the Oak Ridge Housing Authority. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Nonprofits, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories Tagged With: ADFAC, Affordable Housing Program, Ann Weaver, Annie Cacheiro, Bronzie Harris, Emily Mitchell, home, Jay Lane, Kahla Gentry, Oak Ridge Housing Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Team UT-Battelle, Thom Mason, UT-Battelle

Nazarewicz, Sumpter, Wullschleger named UT-Battelle Corporate Fellows

Posted at 11:09 am July 31, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

UT-Battelle Corporate Fellows

From left are Witold Nazarewicz, Bobby Sumpter, and Stan Wullschleger. (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

Witold Nazarewicz, Bobby Sumpter, and Stan Wullschleger of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been selected as 2013 UT-Battelle Corporate Fellows.

The rank of corporate fellow—among the lab’s highest honors—recognizes the researchers’ significant accomplishments and continuing leadership in their scientific, engineering, and technological fields. The addition of Nazarewicz, Sumpter and Wullschleger brings the number of active corporate fellows at ORNL to 33 researchers. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories Tagged With: Bobby Sumpter, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, climate science, computational chemistry, Computer Science and Mathematics Division, environmental science, Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility, materials science, Nanomaterials Theory Institute, Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments Arctic, NGEE, nuclear physics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Physics Division, Stan Wullschleger, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, UT-Battelle Corporate Fellows, Warsaw University, Witold Nazarewicz

Picture: Rep. Jim Cooper tours ORNL

Posted at 3:43 pm July 30, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper Visits ORNL

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, left, and Johnny Moore, center, site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, escort U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Democrat from Tennessee’s Fifth District, on a tour of ORNL. (ORNL/Genevieve Martin)

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, a Nashville Democrat from Tennessee’s Fifth Congressional District, toured Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Saturday.

Cooper was joined by his Chief of Staff Lisa Quigley as well as Helen Hardin. The group also spent time at the Y-12 National Security Complex before visiting the laboratory.

While at the lab, ORNL Director Thom Mason and Johnny Moore, site office manager for the U.S. Department of Energy, escorted the congressman on a driving tour of campus followed by a tour of the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source. They later joined ORNL Associate Lab Director for Global Security Brent Park for discussions on the lab’s national security programs, the lab said in a statement. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Photos, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Brent Park, congressman, House Armed Services Committee, Jim Cooper, Johnny Moore, Lisa Quigley, national security, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Spallation Neutron Source, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex

Picture: NNSA’s acting administrator visits ORNL

Posted at 12:25 pm July 28, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Bruce Held Visits ORNL

From left are Brent Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s associate laboratory director of global security; Johnny Moore, the U.S. Department of Energy’s site office manager at ORNL; Bruce Held, acting under secretary for nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration; and ORNL director Thom Mason in the lobby of Building 5300 at ORNL. (Photo by ORNL’s Jason Richards)

Bruce Held, acting under secretary for nuclear security and administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration, visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Thursday for a brief discussion with ORNL Director Thom Mason; Johnny Moore, the U.S. Department of Energy’s site office manager at ORNL; and Brent Park, ORNL’s associate laboratory director of global security.

Filed Under: National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Photos, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Brent Park, Bruce Held, Johnny Moore, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy

UT names solar nanotechnology expert, ORNL deputy as Governor’s Chair

Posted at 12:05 pm July 8, 2013
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Ramamoorthy Ramesh

Ramamoorthy Ramesh

KNOXVILLE—Ramamoorthy Ramesh, an authority in the physics of functional materials, has been named the 12th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair. He has also been appointed as deputy director for science and technology at ORNL.

Ramesh will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nanomaterials Engineering, based in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He began on June 1. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ferroelectric Random Access Memories, functional materials, Governor's Chair for Nanomaterials Engineering, Humboldt Senior Scientist Prize, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Academy of Engineering, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, physics, Ramamoorthy Ramesh, science, Solar Energy Technologies Program, SunShot Initiative, technology, thin film technology, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, UC Berkeley, University of California, University of Tennessee, University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair, UT

TVC Summit next week includes House majority leader

Posted at 6:15 pm May 22, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor

Submitted

Business, community, and political leaders and senior decision-makers will convene at the 2013 Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit next week to discuss issues that are critical to the economic engine of the Tennessee Valley, a press release said.

Hosted by Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the two-day meeting themed “Securing America’s Future” will focus on energy and environment, innovation and entrepreneurism, public and private partnerships, and advanced manufacturing, the release said.

The Summit will be held at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s New Hope Center in Oak Ridge on May 29-30. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Business, Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, Andy Page, Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs, Bill Johnson, Bob Raines, Chuck Fleischmann, DOE, DOE Oak Ridge Office, economy, energy, entrepreneurship, environment, Eric Cantor, House Majority Leader, innovation, John Morris, Lamar Alexander, Mark Whitney, National Nuclear Security Administration, Neile Miller, NNSA, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pete Lyons, Phil Roe, public/private partnerships, Randall T. Kempner, Securing America’s Future, Tech 20/20, Tennessee Valley, Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit, Thom Mason, TVA, U.S. Department of Energy

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

Posted at 12:10 pm May 10, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

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…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: computation, DOE, Early Career Research Program, Gaute Hagen, hadronic parity violation, Jason Hayward, materials science, Materials Science and Technology Division, Matthias Schindler, neutron imaging, neutron scattering, nuclear decay, Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, perovskite oxide, physics, Physics Division, researchers, scientists, SNS, Spallation Neutron Source, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of South Carolina, University of Tennessee, Valentino Cooper

Oak Ridge Education Foundation donates $81,000 to city schools

Posted at 4:00 pm May 1, 2013
By Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation Leave a Comment

Deirdre Barrett and ORPSEF Foundation

Deirdre Barrett, right, is pictured above with Alice Feldman, Linda Young, Anne Garcia Garland, and Margaret Gottshall. (Submitted photos)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation presented a check for $81,000 to the Oak Ridge Schools at the Foundation’s award ceremony Friday evening. The funds will be used to provide a variety of educational materials in each of the city’s seven public schools.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director and Foundation Chair Thom Mason told an audience of more than 150 attending the event that the gift was part of the Foundation’s “Making a Critical Difference” campaign that provides teachers small grants for teaching tools not available in the city’s education budget. Mason said that, since the program began in 2004, the Foundation has awarded a total of more than $408,000 to dozens of teachers in every grade. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Education, K-12, Nonprofits, Top Stories, Uncategorized Tagged With: awards ceremony, Cathy Toth, Deirdre Barrett, grants, Lila Metcalf, Making a Critical Difference, Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, Oak Ridge Schools, Thom Mason

ORNL’s Richard Haire receives American Chemical Society’s Seaborg Award

Posted at 8:40 pm April 14, 2013
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

Retired Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher and UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow Richard Haire has received the 2013 Glenn T. Seaborg Award by the American Chemical Society. The Seaborg Award is one of the top recognitions in the field of nuclear chemistry.

Known for his forefront, fundamental studies of the actinide family of elements, Haire, while at ORNL, concentrated on the transplutonium elements produced in the U.S. Department of Energy research reactor, the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR. He developed novel experimental techniques and emphasized the use of systematic comparisons, which focused on the role of electron configurations in the chemistry and physics of these elements. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: actinide, American Chemical Society, einsteinium, fermium, Glenn T. Seaborg Award, HFIR, High Flux Isotope Reactor, John Gibson, nuclear chemistry, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, researcher, Richard Haire, Thom Mason, transplutonium, transplutonium elements, U.S. Department of Energy, UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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