News

Report Analyzes State Entrepreneurial Landscape

Launch Tennessee, the state’s public-private partnership fostering entrepreneurship, released a new report yesterday in conjunction with TEConomy Partners, a global leader in research, analysis and strategy for innovation-based economic development. Titled “Analyzing Tennessee’s Entrepreneurial Landscape,” the study was designed to determine barriers to start-up activity and offer policy recommendations that leverage opportunities aligned with Launch Tennessee’s mission of making Tennessee a more friendly state for start-ups.
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ORNL Story Tips – February 2019

ORNL's February Story Tips include articles on: Commuting, Modeling/Mapping Arctic vegetation, Neutrons--Fueling better power, and Materials--Quelling corrosion.
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A Storied Russian Lab is Trying to Push the Periodic Table Past its Limits

From certain angles, the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions here looks more like an auto repair shop than a legendary scientific institute. Scientists in dirty blue smocks walk around while an oil pump thumps out a techno beat. Tables are strewn with bolts and cleaning fluids, including a vodka bottle half full of ethanol. And spare parts are everywhere—bins, shelves, whole walls full of metal whatsits in all manner of disrepair.
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AMSE: Japanese Tradition in Flight 

Long before mechanical flight changed the shape of travel, wind was harnessed, allowing humanities’ imagination to soar across the heavens upon the wings of a kite. Historians state that mid-first century cultural exchange brought the kite to Japan from mainland China.  Since this introduction, Japanese culture has embraced, innovated, and revered these wind-driven marvels. 
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Pellissippi State Announces Two New Buildings on Two Campuses

Pellissippi State Community College announced its largest expansion since the college’s opening in 1974, including two new buildings on two of their campuses. A new math and science building will be built on the Hardin Valley campus, with construction starting at the end of this spring semester. A workforce development center will be built on the Blount County campus, with construction starting at the end of 2019. Both buildings are scheduled to open in fall 2021.
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Idaho National Laboratory to Benefit from Nuclear Innovation Legislation Signed into Law by President

President Trump signed into law S.512, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, or NEIMA. Championed by Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, the legislation will make needed reforms to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and require the commission to establish a licensing framework for next-generation advanced reactors.
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Facial Recognition will Allow Brands to ‘Go Beyond Cambridge Analytica’

Economist tells ad industry of ever-invasive methods that brands can use to target consumers. She explained how advertising’s future is rooted in ever-more sophisticated methods of data collection and interpretation for brands. Without naming specific brands or how they were regulated, she gave examples of cameras inside TVs that scan viewers' reactions, sensors in clothing that track how often you wear certain items and shoes that can use walking data to determine how healthy a person is.
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As Local Water Costs Mount, TN Envir. Commissioner Seeks More Loan Funds

State environmental officials asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee for more funding to repair and upgrade municipal water and sewer infrastructure on Tuesday. At a budget hearing, Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers requested a nearly 50 percent increase in the amount the state loans to local utilities. The request comes as small towns across Tennessee and other states struggle to maintain their aging drinking water and wastewater systems. Without the required maintenance, old pipes can burst, sewage can back up and cities can't grow.
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Removal of Portals Another Step in Progress at Oak Ridge ETTP

They once served as gateways to a secret site that helped end World War II. Now, EM and cleanup contractor UCOR are demolishing the portals that once controlled access to the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant — literally and symbolically removing the barriers to the site’s future state.
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Oak Ridge EM Contractor Earns 97% of Fee for Yearlong Period

North Wind Solutions, which operates EM Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center, earned nearly $383,000, or 97 percent of the available fee for the performance evaluation period of Oct. 27, 2017 through Oct. 26, 2018, according to a recently released fee determination letter. OREM gave North Wind a “high confidence” rating for its cost and schedule performance and “excellent” rating for its technical performance for waste processing operation.
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