Ramamoorthy Ramesh
Note: This story was updated at 3:40 p.m.
A new deputy director has been named at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Ramamoorthy Ramesh of the University of California in Berkeley will start as the lab’s deputy director for science and technology on June 1, ORNL Director Thom Mason announced in an e-mail to staff on Thursday.
Ramesh will replace Thomas Zacharia, who left in August to take a science and education foundation based in Doha, Qatar. [Read more…]
Gary R. Lownsdale of Plasan Carbon Composites, right, talks to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, center, near a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 hood at the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility on Tuesday as federal, University of Tennessee, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory officials listen.
A unique manufacturing plant in west Oak Ridge that started operating about six weeks ago can make 25 tons of carbon fiber each year. It’s material that could be used for prototype parts in products ranging from cars and airplanes to wind turbine blades and natural gas tanks.
The $35 million Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park is designed to “scale up” laboratory research on low-cost carbon fiber, make enough material to help industrial partners build prototype carbon-fiber composite parts, and develop a skilled manufacturing workforce.
Carbon fiber is strong and lightweight, but it is also expensive and that has limited its use.
Officials hope to use the 42,000-square-foot Carbon Fiber Technology Facility to change that. They want to make producing carbon fiber as cost-efficient as manufacturing steel or aluminum. [Read more…]
Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory will celebrate a unique carbon fiber facility on Tuesday morning.
DOE will also announce a new U.S. manufacturing initiative during the ceremony at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Horizon Center Business Park in west Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Chuck Spencer
Operating costs have already been cut by 7 percent at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and all employees are expected to report to work on Friday, even if automatic federal spending cuts go into effect at midnight.
The federal cuts could reduce lab funding by 5 percent to 8 percent, ORNL Director Thom Mason said. That could translate into $70 million to $100 million in funding cuts, depending upon how the reductions are allocated.
Meanwhile, at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the automatic spending cuts could lead to furloughs, or temporary layoffs. Democrats on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have said between 700 and 1,000 employees could be furloughed for up to six months.
But in a Feb. 14 message to employees, B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer did not say how many employees might be affected.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory will host its annual “Bridging the Gap” conference March 5-6. (Image courtesy of ORNL)
Several of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s most promising applied research and development capabilities will be in the spotlight March 5-6 as dozens of entrepreneurs, investors, and scientists gather at the lab’s third annual “Bridging the Gap” conference.
“This is a great opportunity for the region’s business community to receive capability briefings from some of the lab’s most dynamic researchers and to explore commercialization and collaboration opportunities,” said Tom Rogers, ORNL’s director of Industrial Partnerships and Economic Development.
Chuck Fleischmann
Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved it, the U.S. House passed legislation late Tuesday night to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff,” but seven Tennessee Republicans and one Democrat opposed it.
The bill, which now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature, averts income tax increases for most Americans and temporarily delays large across-the-board spending cuts to defense and domestic programs.
However, the Associated Press reported most Americans will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013 because the legislation did not renew a temporary 2 percent cut in the payroll tax. That reduction was worth about $1,000 to a worker making $50,000 a year.
U.S. senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both Tennessee Republicans, voted for the bill in the Senate, where it passed 89-8 early Tuesday morning. Alexander and Corker said the legislation, reached after weeks of negotiations between the White House and Congress, “rescues” 99 percent of Americans from a tax rate increase.
But all seven Tennessee Republicans in the U.S. House, including Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, voted against it. The vote in the House was 257-167.
ORNL’s newest supercomputer, Titan, seen here with associate lab director for computing and computational sciences Jeff Nichols, took the top spot in November’s Top500 rankings. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory regained the lead in high-performance computing, enjoyed record-setting recognition for its research, and became a showpiece for renewable energy technology during 2012.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science reciprocated with favorable marks in its annual appraisal of managing contractor UT-Battelle. DOE cited the laboratory’s operation of its scientific user facilities, its “delivery of impactful science,” and a successful workforce restructuring to reduce operating costs.
“The dedicated efforts of our laboratory staff in all phases of science and technology and operational support have resulted in an excellent record of delivering science to the nation in 2012,” said ORNL Director Thom Mason. “ORNL will continue to set the pace in research toward a clean and secure energy future.”
ORNL’s 2012 included achievements in both research and support.
The Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is now ranked as the world’s fastest. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)
The No. 1 ranking for the new Titan supercomputer, designating it as the most powerful in the world, was clearly appreciated in East Tennessee on Monday.
But even as they celebrated a return to the top spot, scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where the giant computer is based, said they are focused more on research than rankings.
“We love being No. 1,” said Bronson Messer, acting group leader for scientific computing at the National Center for Computational Science at ORNL. “It’s great recognition. But what really matters is what science will do with the machine.”
Oak Ridge National Laboratory raised more than $914,000 during its 2012 United Way campaign, chaired by Becky Verastegui, left, and Hurtis Hodges, center. Also pictured is ORNL Director Thom Mason. (ORNL photo by Jason Richards)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory raised more than $914,000 in its 2012 United Way campaign, which supports charitable agencies throughout the area.
ORNL United Way Campaign Chairman Hurtis Hodges said employees and retirees contributed more than $800,000 and UT-Battelle, the laboratory’s managing contractor, contributed a corporate gift of $100,000.
“The generosity of ORNL’s employees continues to make the laboratory one of the largest United Way contributors in East Tennessee,” ORNL Director Thom Mason said.
More than $25,000 was raised through special events that included a putting challenge, dunking booth, jewelry and book fairs, a cash mob, and a silent auction.
This year’s campaign focus shifted from concentrating on the total amount donated to increasing employee participation through payroll deduction, Hodges said. The strategy was in response to the loss of United Way givers in last year’s Voluntary Separation Program. The strategy worked, as ORNL saw a net gain of more than 300 new staff contributors and 41 new leadership givers, bringing the total number of staff signed up as United Way contributors to 2,004.
“Despite the economic challenges, ORNL still showed an increase in leadership givers and staff contributors,” Hodges said. “The increase in staff contributors emphasizes the importance laboratory employees place on the health of our community.”
Thom Mason
Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason will give an update on the lab during a Tuesday lecture at the American Museum of Science and Energy.
It’s the 15th Annual Dick Smyser Community Lecture Series, and the talk is sponsored by Friends of ORNL.
There will be a 6 p.m. reception on Tuesday, and the lecture starts at 6:30 p.m.
“This talk should be of interest to the general public, and high school science students and teachers are especially invited,” a press release said.
AMSE is located at 300 S. Tulane Ave. in Oak Ridge.
Second Harvest Food Bank Executive Director Elaine Streno accepts the first $20,000 installment of a $60,000 UT-Battelle donation from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason. (Photo submitted by ORNL)
UT-Battelle gave Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee $20,000 on Wednesday.
It’s the first part of a three-year, $60,000 donation to help the local nonprofit organization feed hungry East Tennessee residents, a press release said.
