Joan Cronan
Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee women’s athletic director emeritus and consultant and adviser to the chancellor, will be the keynote speaker at a women’s workshop in March.
The 2013 Oak Ridge Women’s Workshop is co-sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Federal Women’s Program and the Federally Employed Women Oak Ridge Chapter.
Sarah Hillyer in Baghdad, Iraq (Submitted photo)
Sarah Hillyer, co-founder of Sport 4 Peace, will be the guest speaker at the Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge annual Committee of 100 luncheon on Feb. 15 at New Hope Center, 602 Scarboro Road, Oak Ridge.
The annual luncheon honors a select group of women who each contribute $100 or more to help address the growth and development of girls through programs offered at Girls Inc. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 15. Girls Inc. invites women of the community to join the committee. To become a member of the Committee of 100 and attend the luncheon, contact Carol Mullane, executive director of Girls Inc. of Oak Ridge, at (865) 482-4475.
By identifying two genes required for transforming inorganic into organic mercury, which is far more toxic, scientists today have taken a significant step toward protecting human health.
The question of how methylmercury, an organic form of mercury, is produced by natural processes in the environment has stumped scientists for decades, but a team led by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has solved the puzzle. Results of the study, published in the journal Science, provide the genetic basis for this process, known as microbial mercury methylation, and have far-reaching implications.
KNOXVILLE—The U.S. and Tennessee economies continue to dig their way out from the Great Recession, but they will be digging at a slower pace this year than last.
The debate over the nation’s debt ceiling, the looming risk of sequestration of federal spending, and the payroll tax increase contribute to the slowdown in predicted gains, according to the forecast in the 2013 Economic Report to the Governor of the State of Tennessee, released today.
The study, prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research, or CBER, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, predicts the trajectory of the state and national economies by examining many economic and fiscal factors and trends.
KNOXVILLE—The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, consistently delivers an affordable, high quality education and offers plenty of opportunities to engage its students, according to the Princeton Review’s 2013 Best Value survey.
UT was ranked today among the top 75 public colleges and universities in the Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges for 2013” edition. The ranking compares 30 data points of public and private schools that include cost, financial aid, and other student and academic metrics. The top colleges and universities were selected from more than 650 institutions.
Scott E. Schlarbaum
Scott E. Schlarbaum, a professor of forest genetics at the University of Tennessee, will address the question, “Why All the Concern About Climate Change? Forests in the Future Will be Very Different With or Without Climate Change” on Thursday, Feb. 7.
The lecture will be in the City Room at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge at 7 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.
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.
From extreme drought to super storms, many wonder what the future holds for the climate of the eastern United States. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville does away with the guessing.
Results show the region will be hotter and wetter.
Joshua Fu, a civil and environmental engineering professor, and Yang Gao, a graduate research assistant, developed precise scales of cities that act as a climate crystal ball, seeing high-resolution climate changes almost 50 years into the future.
The study found that heat waves will become more severe in most regions of the eastern United States and that both the Northeast and Southeast will see a drastic increase in precipitation.
She was Oak Ridge preschool principal for 12 years and assistant interim superintendent for eight months, and now Marian Phillips has been offered a new job at the University of Tennessee.
She will start at UT on Jan. 7. She will be leaving Oak Ridge shortly after Superintendent Tom Bailey, who is retiring at the end of the year.
Phillips became assistant interim superintendent after Ken Green left in May.
Tony Mezzacappa
Tony Mezzacappa, a leader in the field of astrophysics and supernova science, has been named director of the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Mezzacappa is a world leader in computational astrophysics and a pioneer in the field of supernova science. He is a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and group leader for theoretical physics in the Physics Division at ORNL.
He is also a joint professor in the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy. With this new position, Mezzacappa will become the department’s Newton W. and Wilma C. Thomas Endowed Chair in Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics.
Joan Cronan
Joan Cronan, University of Tennessee women’s athletic director emeritus, will be the speaker at the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge holiday brunch on Sunday, Dec. 2.
“Under the vision and direction of Cronan, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols have garnered a reputation as one of the most visible and respected programs throughout the nation,” a press release said.
Brunch reservations are due by Monday, Nov. 26. They can be made by calling Maryann Mulvenon at (865) 482-3153.
James Andress of Oak Ridge High School was one of 10 students who won a $4,000 annual scholarship to the University of Tennessee in an Oct. 25 math contest.
The UT-Pro2Serve Math Contest featured almost 600 students from 47 high schools.
Other scholarship winners included three students from Farragut High School in Knoxville—Melissa Yu, Alexander Selwitz, and Hyungdon Joo—and students in Brentwood, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Hendersonville, and Memphis.
The press release said the contest had two parts. All participants took a multiple-choice test on algebra and geometry called the Fundamental Exams of Remarkable Mathematical Ability and Talent (FERMAT I).
The five top scorers received a plaque. Andress was one of the top scorers. Lam Tran of Farragut High School was also a winner.
Students with the top 50 scores on the FERMAT I moved on to the FERMAT II, which included eight essay questions requiring creative and original thinking. All exams were hand-graded by faculty members from UT’s Department of Mathematics.
The second part of the contest was the Math Bowl, a double-elimination team competition. Sixty-four high school teams competed head-to-head to be the fastest to answer 10 math questions correctly, the press release said.
The contest was presented by the UT College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Mathematics and UT alumnus Barry Goss and his technical and engineering company Professional Project Services Inc., more commonly known as Pro2Serve.
