The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the East Tennessee Workforce Summit on Thursday, July 18 from 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. The one-day summit will feature employers, education providers and policy makers sharing their insights and vision into how technology, automation, and generational trends will change the very nature of work and alter the skills needed in the modern workforce. The gap between workforce needs and workforce supply will be discussed and strategies to bridge the gap will be identified during the full day of panel discussions and speakers. The event will be held at Pollard Technology Conference Center at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, 210 Badger Avenue.
Cost to attend is $129. Members of the Chamber may attend for $99. The educator rate is $49 and the student rate is $29. Millennium Partners will receive complimentary admission based on the level of sponsorship.
The summit sponsors are Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge Utility District and UCOR. Consolidated Nuclear Services is sponsoring the breakfast and Lindsey Wilson College is sponsoring the afternoon break.
Bill Fox, Director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Tennesse and Sharon Younger, President of Younger & Associates will be featured speakers at the summit.
Panelists who have confirmed their plans to participate include:
Employer Panel
• Ron Edmond, ORAU – Moderator
• Ken Rueter, President & CEO of UCOR
• Justin Holcombe, CEO of ZYP Coatings
• Scott Laska, Manager of SL Tennessee
• Jeremy Biggs, Chief Administrative Office or Methodist Medical Center
Eduation Provider Panel
• Dave Duncan, ORAU – Moderator
• Dr. Chris Whaley, President of Roane State Community College
• Dr. Bruce Borchers, Superintendent of Oak Ridge Schools
• Danice Turpin, President of Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Harriman
• Howard Hall, Professor with the University of Tennessee
• Andy Page, President & CEO of Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Policy Maker Panel
• Eric Abelquist, ORAU – Moderator
• Lt. Governor Randy McNally, State of Tennessee (invited)
• Senator Ken Yager, State of Tennessee (invited)
• Representative John Ragan, State of Tennessee
• Representative Kent Calfee, State of Tennessee
• Chelle Travis, Director of Workforce & Economic Development, Tennessee Higher Education Commission
• Jennie McCabe, Workforce Development Consultant, Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development
• Morgan Dent, Talent Program Manager, Launch Tennessee
To RSVP for the event and to see the up-to-date list of participating panelists, visit the Oak Ridge Chamber’s website: www.oakridgechamber.org, click on the Calendar link and then the “East Tennessee Workforce Summit” event on the calendar. Sponsorship opportunities are available, as well as exhibit space. Contact Greta Ownby at [email protected] or 865-483-1321 for additional information.
The Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce is Four-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce.
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Roane State alumnus shared experiences with environmental health technology students
UCOR Radiological Protection Manager Rodney Bauman, left, and Roane State graduate Brad Ross, the UCOR field radiological project manager, recently spoke to the college’s Environmental Health Technology class. (Submitted photo)
A Roane State Community College graduate returned to his alma mater and spoke to students in associate professor Dan Hyder’s Safety and Emergency Response class.
UCOR field radiological protection manager Brad Ross was joined by the contractor’s radiological protection manager, Rodney Bauman, for the talk at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus.
“They spoke to my class about the field of health physics,” Hyder said. “They discussed the risks associated with radiation, the different types of careers and working environments, the history of the field, the positives of working in health physics, and how to prepare for a career and obtain employment.”
Ross is a graduate of Roane State’s environmental health technology program, and he has worked more than 25 years in health physics in Oak Ridge, Hyder said. [Read more…]
Secret City Radio Show presents Robinella, Sarah Pirkle on Friday
The Secret City Radio Show on Friday will feature local singer/songwriter Robinella with special guests songwriter/fiddle player Sarah Pirkle and Giffin Vann.
The Secret City Radio Show will be broadcast live from the new American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge by East Tennessee’s WDVX 89.9 FM. The show is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Friday, May 10. You can also listen on 102.9 FM in Knoxville, at 93.9 FM in Seymour and Kodak, and online at WDVX.com.
Amber McBride of Oak Ridge National Laboratory will present some innovative bioscience technology that is preserving forests around the world, and UCOR will present the Clinch River Trail Alliance, a press release said.
[Read more…]Learn about Roane State’s new Chemical Engineering Technology program
Roane State Community College students taking chemical engineering technology course practice in the lab at the college’s Oak Ridge campus. An information session about the new program will be held on Thursday, March 28, 2019, from 5:30-7:00 p.m. at the Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Ave. (Submitted photo)
An information session about Roane State Community College’s new two-year Associate of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering Technology will be held on Thursday, March 28, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the college’s Oak Ridge campus, which is at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.
Check-in will be held in the lobby of the Goff Health Sciences and Technology Building. The event is free and open to the public, a press release said.
Established with the assistance of UCOR, CNS, Tate and Lyle, and additional partners, Roane State’s chemical engineering technology program trains students to work as chemical operators. A chemical operator monitors, controls, and troubleshoots automated chemical processes. [Read more…]
DOE needs more time for K-25 history projects
An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)
The U.S. Department of Energy is requesting more time to complete projects to commemorate the historic contributions of the former K-25 site in west Oak Ridge.
Built during World War II, the K-25 site helped enrich uranium for the first atomic bomb used in wartime as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project. The plant continued to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear power plants after the war, and those who have worked at the site have said it helped win the Cold War.
The history of the site will be honored by preserving the concrete slab of the former K-25 Building, building a Viewing Tower and replica Equipment Building on the south side of the building site, and opening a K-25 History Center on the second floor of the adjacent Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4.
A historical interpretation agreement was signed in August 2012. But it expires this August. And the roughly $20 million worth of projects won’t be complete by then.
DOE is making “good progress,” but “the reality is we need a little more time,” said Dave Adler, acting deputy manager for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Adler and Steve Cooke, K-25 preservation coordinator for DOE, briefly discussed the proposed amendment to the agreement during a Tuesday evening work session with the Oak Ridge City Council. [Read more…]
UCOR closed Tuesday due to weather
UCOR, the federal government’s cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, will be closed Tuesday because of the weather.
“Only essential personnel should report,” UCOR said in a post published on Twitter.
The closure applies to UCOR employees at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Y-12 National Security Complex, and “offsite locations,” UCOR said. [Read more…]
Crews start project to reduce maintenance, operations costs at Molten Salt Reactor
The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment building at Oak Ridge National Laboratory housed the reactor and offices for operating personnel. The facility was constructed in the 1950s for a nuclear aircraft project and was later expanded significantly and retrofitted to accommodate the MSRE. (Photo courtesy U.S. Department of Energy/Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Cleanup crews started a $4.7 million project this month to reduce maintenance and operations costs at the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment, which was shut down 50 years ago at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The project is expected to save nearly $25 million in costs, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said in an “EM Update” published Tuesday.
The cost-reduction project will relocate employees stationed at the decades-old facility. Personnel currently housed in the building will move to other site locations to help with other projects, the “EM Update” said.
The project is expected to enhance the facility’s electrical distribution, sump pump, fire suppression, and monitoring systems.
“Although it was shut down 50 years ago, certain systems within the reactor building have continued to operate to keep the facility safe and stable until it can be demolished,” said the “EM Update,” with the Oak Ridge story contributed by Mike Butler. [Read more…]
K-25 Equipment Building & Viewing Tower: Design complete, construction funding available
An image published in October 2017 shows the K-25 History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower at East Tennessee Technology Park in west Oak Ridge. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday evening, Jan. 11, 2019, if the design has changed. (Image courtesy U.S. Department of Energy)
The design is complete and funding is available for the construction of an Equipment Building and Viewing Tower that will help commemorate the history of the K-25 Building, once the world’s largest building under one roof.
K-25 was built in Oak Ridge during World War II to help enrich uranium for the Manhattan Project. That was a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons. During the war, Oak Ridge enriched the uranium for “Little Boy,” the first atomic bomb used in wartime. “Little Boy” was detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II.
After the war, the four-story, 44-acre K-25 Building and four other large buildings at the K-25 site continued to use a process known as gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for atomic weapons and commercial nuclear power plants. Officials say the K-25 site, which is in west Oak Ridge, helped win the Cold War.
After decades of use, the K-25 site was shut down in the mid-1980s, and as part of a cleanup effort in recent years, the five large gaseous diffusion buildings have been demolished. But the history of the K-25 building and the site will live on in a History Center on the second floor of Oak Ridge Fire Station Number 4, which is next to K-25’s concrete slab, and at the Equipment Building and Viewing Tower, which will be just west of the History Center.
The History Center, Equipment Building, and Viewing Tower will be on the south side of the former K-25 Building. The site is now known as Heritage Center or East Tennessee Technology Park. [Read more…]
State approves demolition of Biology Complex buildings at Y-12
Tennessee officials have approved the demolition of two large buildings—buildings 9207 and 9210—at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex, Y-12 announced in December 2018. (Photo courtesy Y-12)
Tennessee officials have approved the demolition of two large buildings at the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The Biology Complex once housed more people with doctorates than anywhere in the world, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE has said the men and women who worked there radically enhanced the world’s knowledge in biology, including the discovery of the Y chromosome.
Y-12 announced in December that the Tennessee Historical Commission had approved the demolition of the two buildings: Buildings 9207 and 9210. The buildings date back to the Manhattan Project, a top-secret federal program to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. Oak Ridge was part of that project.
The demolition work at the Biology Complex is being overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. [Read more…]
ETEC presents Muddy Boot, Young Professional awards
Three women received the Muddy Boot Award and Postma Young Professional Medals presented by the East Tennessee Economic Council at its annual awards luncheon on Friday, Dec. 14, 2018. Pictured above from left are Ashley Hartman Saunders, Naomi Asher, and Sherry Browder. (Photo courtesy ETEC)
Three women received the Muddy Boot Award and Postma Young Professional Medals presented by the East Tennessee Economic Council at its annual awards luncheon on Friday, December 14.
The Muddy Boot Award was created in the 1970s to honor individuals who have gone above the call of duty—like those who served the nation during the Manhattan Project—to make the community, the state of Tennessee, and the nation a better place to live and work, a press release said. More than 90 people have received the award. A full list of recipients and more information about the honor can be found on the ETEC website at www.eteconline.org.
Lawrence Young, founding president and chief executive officer of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, presented the Muddy Boot Award.
Sherry Browder, currently the re-industrialization manager for URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) at the East Tennessee Technology Park and a career environmental management specialist, was awarded the Muddy Boot Award for, among other activities, her work to transform the former gaseous diffusion site to an industrial asset in Oak Ridge and Roane County, the press release said. [Read more…]
Crews finish preparing site for Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12
Site preparation crews constructed two secant pile retaining walls to retain soils, control water seepage, and provide a deep, secure foundation for the water intake structure at the new Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo via DOE’s EM Update on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018)
The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that it has completed the site preparations for the construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The Mercury Treatment Facility will allow DOE to clean up and demolish several large Y-12 buildings that used mercury to separate lithium for use in nuclear weapons during the Cold War (in the 1950s and 1960s). It’s part of a large-scale cleanup and demolition project at Y-12 and an effort to reduce the amount of mercury in East Fork Poplar Creek, which flows through Oak Ridge.
DOE announced on Tuesday, December 4, that it had awarded a $91 million contract to build the Mercury Treatment Facility at Y-12. The contract, which could be in place for up to four years, was awarded to APTIM-North Wind Construction JV LLC.
DOE said early site preparation activities were started by other contractors in December 2017. A groundbreaking was held at the site in November 2017, and UCOR, DOE’s lead cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, began work at the treatment facility site with a subcontractor after the groundbreaking, the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management said in a story published Tuesday in an EM Update.
The Mercury Treatment Facility will have two components: a headworks facility and a treatment plant connected by a pipeline. The headworks facility will capture creek flow on the west end of Y-12, store excess stormwater collected during large rainfalls, remove grit, and pump water through the pipeline to the treatment plant on the east side of Y-12. The treated water will then flow into East Fork Poplar Creek. [Read more…]
DOE award recognizes UCOR safety performance
UCOR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter is pictured above at the K-25 History Center on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
URS|CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for outstanding safety performance in its role as lead cleanup contractor for the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge, a press release said.
UCOR received the DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star of Excellence at the VPP Participants Association national conference in Nashville. This is the second consecutive year UCOR has won the award, the press release said.
The Star of Excellence recognizes UCOR’s outstanding level of performance in meeting established safety and health goals, actively conducting outreach to others, and in achieving an injury and illness rate significantly below the average of similar businesses and operations, the release said.
“The work we perform every day is some of the most hazardous and challenging in the nation,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and chief executive officer. “As our work continues expanding to Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, we have continued our high level of safety performance despite having to tackle new challenges.” [Read more…]
