News

Bob Eby Selected as Vice Chair of State Board of Education

During their first quarterly meeting of 2019, members of the State Board of Education re-elected Ms. Lillian Hartgrove as board chair and selected Mr. Bob Eby as vice-chair to serve a two-year term. Mr. Eby first joined the State Board of Education in April 2018 following his appointment to the board by Governor Bill Haslam in February. He brings with him a 43-year career, including 16 years of experience on the Oak Ridge Board of Education where he served as chairman from 1991 to 1995 and vice-chairman from 2009 to 2018.
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White House Fact Sheet: President is Accelerating America’s Leadership in Artificial Intelligence

President Trump launched his American AI Initiative that directs Federal agencies to prioritize investments in research and development of AI. The Initiative focuses Federal Government resources toward developing AI technology and ensuring that the next great AI inventions are made in the United States.
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Behind the scenes at Local Motors and its 3-D printing technology

3-D printers appear to be the future of the automotive industry, here at Local Motors.  "The future is here - it's digital manufacturing of mass-produced vehicles,” says Dr. Maximillian Heres of Local Motors.  Beginning this summer, Knox County will officially join the auto making family, but not in the traditional sense. “We're revolutionizing the mobility industry with a 3-D printed autonomous shuttle.. The Olli 2.0,” Heres said. 
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Hearne Joins ORNL as Director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences

DOE's ORNLhas named Sean Hearne director of the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences. The center is a DOE Office of Science User Facility that brings world-leading resources and capabilities to the nanoscience research community. National and international researchers benefit from CNMS expertise in nanomaterials synthesis and nanofabrication to develop new materials, as well as from state-of-the-art imaging, characterization, and microscopy equipment used to explore material properties at the nanoscale.
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Tennessee gains auto sector momentum as industry faces global headwinds

The recent headlines surrounding the global auto sector describe restructuring, layoffs, turmoil and declining profits: Ford is dismantling jobs and plants in Europe, GM is making sweeping cost cuts by ceasing production at five North American plants and discontinuing several car models.  But in Tennessee, there has been a wave of good news. General Motors this month revealed its newest addition to its Spring Hill plant: the seven-seat Cadillac XT6. The Detroit-based automaker is investing nearly $300 million in Tennessee to produce the SUV and adding 200 new positions. In Chattanooga, Volkswagen plans to invest $800 million and hire another 1,000 workers to produce the company’s first electric vehicle.
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How smart machines are ‘learning’ to fight cancer in Alabama

Science needed enough data to seek patterns that could be useful. So, how is it working? One way is scientists are now thinking in terms of the molecular patterns that patients’ cancers have. They are beginning to see cancer as different in each patient, because of the differences in that patient’s genes. Patterns of similarity can still emerge from enough data and computing power, but a breast cancer patient might have the same underlying gene changes as a patient with ovarian cancer. “It might tell us what the best drugs might be for that patient at that time to get,” Lasseigne said. Processing this much data – terrabytes of it – means big investments in computers. Research institutes like HudsonAlpha make those investments. It also means crossing disciplines. Biologists work today with mathematicians and computer programs.
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Tennessee community colleges are making strides and reforming fastest in the nation | Opinion

Tennessee’s community colleges have been at the forefront of nationwide reforms for a decade, including innovations that help students navigate academic programs and ensure that these programs prepare them for the workforce. These efforts were recognized last year by Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, which reported that the College System of Tennessee is “probably furthest along in implementing ... reforms of any community college system in the country.” The study recognized the significant improvements in student momentum toward completion and the “multiyear, whole-college transformations” that have occurred across our community colleges.
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Science Policy Legislation of the 115th Congress

Over the past two years, Congress passed legislation updating and endorsing a wide range of federal R&D activities, including marquee bills focused on quantum information science, energy research, weather forecasting, and hazard preparedness. During the 115th Congress, lawmakers advanced a variety of science policy bills, ushering many of them into law. Two minor bills designed to promote women’s participation in STEM fields were among the first bills that President Trump signedafter taking office. And, as part of a flurry of activity as the Congress came to a close in December, it passed several significant bills pertaining to science and STEM education.
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DOE Announces Notice of Intent to Issue a Funding Opportunity Establishing a Cybersecurity Institute for Energy Efficient Manufacturing

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced their intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute: Cybersecurity in Energy Efficient Manufacturing." This FOA establishes a new Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute (referred to as the “Institute”) to develop technologies that will advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, energy efficiency, and innovation. This Institute, the sixth one established by the Department of Energy, focuses on Cybersecurity in Manufacturing – understanding the evolving cybersecurity threats to greater energy efficiency in manufacturing industries, developing new cybersecurity technologies and methods, and sharing information and expertise to the broader community of U.S. manufacturers. 
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Environmental Research Provides Key Insights for Mercury Cleanup

Through support from DOE’s OREM, researchers at ORNL Aquatic Ecological Laboratory are advancing the understanding of mercury’s impact on fish, wildlife, and streams. For more than 70 years, scientists at this DOE Office of Science national laboratory have been at the forefront of environmental research and discovery, including leading some of the longest-running studies of small streams in the world. Now, they have partnered with OREM to conduct remediation research, including assessments of remedial performance and ecosystem recovery. They also support EM’s goal of developing new technologies and remedial solutions for future mercury cleanup in soil, sediments, and creeks.
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