News

Founder of Mouse House Geneticist Liane Russell Dies

Liane Russell, whose work helped identify the deleterious effects of prenatal radiation exposure and the chromosomal basis of sex in mice, died July 20 at age 95. Russell spent much of her career at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, having first joined the institution in 1947. There, she and her husband William Russell established the Mouse House, an extensive colony of mutant mice bred to model the effects of radiation exposure.  In 1950, Russell pieced together the connection between specific birth defects and radiation exposure during early development. The research continues to shape medical protocols around the use of X-rays and other diagnostic radiation during pregnancy. 
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Roy Pruett, Former Oak Ridge Mayor & ETEC Chairman, Passed Away

Roy Franklin Pruett, 93, of Oak Ridge passed away Friday, July 26, 2019 at Diversicare of Oak Ridge. He was born February 1, 1926 in Barbourville, KY, the son of Turley T. Pruett and Irene Queener Pruett. Mr. Pruett was a member of Oak Ridge City Council from 1981 to 1993, and served as the Mayor of Oak Ridge from 1983 to 1991. His role in local government led him to involvement in several regional and state organizations. These included Chairman of the Board of Directors of the East Tennessee Development District (16 counties), and Chairman of the East Tennessee Economical Council (1996)
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Vote for Nth Cycle, Innovations Crossroads Member to Win Start up Dollars

Help Nth Cycle win the $10,000 Crowd Favorite Award at LaunchTN's Pitch Competition at 36|86! LaunchTN's Pitch Competition at 36|86 will feature nine startups, including Nth Cycle, from across the state of Tennessee who have benefitted from the support and resources of LaunchTN's Network Partners.
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Techmer PM video captures breadth, impact of 3D printing

It’s Friday and, if you are a member of the East Tennessee Economic Council, chances are you are sitting in the meeting room where there’s an informative speaker or two every week at 7:30 a.m. and a great chance to network. Last week was no exception as Tom Drye, Techmer PM’s Vice President for Emerging Markets and Innovation and Applications Development, gave a wonderful presentation on the rapid emergence of 3D printing. He concluded his presentation with a video that really captured how diverse and impactful 3D printing has become.
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Carmen Bigles focused on producing a reliable domestic supply of Mo-99 in Oak Ridge

Carmen Bigles is not a household name to many of our readers, but she is certainly a very important person for those in the Oak Ridge community who are focused on reindustrialization of the former K-25 gaseous diffusion site. If all goes according to her timeline, the Puerto Rico native plans to have Coquí RadioPharmaceuticals Corporation producing a reliable domestic supply of Molybdenum (Mo-99) by 2025 from its new facility on Duct Island. That will ensure that patients have access to the low-cost diagnostics and treatments they need, when they need them.
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Y-12 supporting work to make most widely used medical isotope

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is supporting a program to make an isotope used in more than 40,000 medical procedures across the nation each day. The goal is to produce the isotope, molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), in the United States without using highly enriched uranium. Some of that work could occur in Oak Ridge. A company called Coquí Radio Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced in April that it plans to build a $500 million medical isotope production facility at the Heritage Center in west Oak Ridge. Coquí’s facility would make medical isotopes, primarily Mo-99, and the company could start production in 2025.
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Artificial Intelligence Approach Points to Bright Future for Fusion Energy

For decades, scientists have sought to control nuclear fusion—the energy that powers the sun and other stars—by developing massive fusion reactors to produce and contain plasma, with the goal of mirroring the astronomically high pressure and temperature conditions of celestial objects. To ensure plasma—the fourth fundamental state of matter—retains its heat and does not interact with materials in the containment vessel, researchers employ doughnut-shaped fusion devices called tokamaks, which use magnetic fields to trap fusion reactions in place. However, large-scale plasma instabilities called disruptions can interfere with this process.
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Plan to build 1st small US nuke reactors in Idaho advances

A plan to build the nation's first small modular nuclear reactors to produce commercial power is a step closer to being realized. A Utah-based energy cooperative said Wednesday that it has sales contracts for enough carbon-free power to begin a license application process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the reactors in eastern Idaho.
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DOE Releases Request for Information/Sources Sought for SPRU Waste Processing, Shipping, and Disposal

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought for SPRU Waste Processing, Shipping, and Disposal. The Office of Environmental Management (EM) is currently in the acquisition planning phase for a potential upcoming procurement to perform waste processing, shipping, and disposal services for waste currently located at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) site in Niskayuna, New York. The waste contains radioactive and chemical constituents.
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DOE Releases Final Request for Proposal for Environmental Management (EM) Nevada Environmental Program Services (EPS) Contract

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Final Request for Proposal (RFP) for the EM Nevada EPS Contract to perform services to complete End States to achieve measurable results towards completion of the DOE-Office of Environmental Management mission at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) by accomplishing the maximum amount of environmental cleanup within the 10-year ordering period and at the best value to the U.S. taxpayer. DOE anticipates the contract will be an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract under which Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) and/or Cost Reimbursement (CR) task orders may be issued. The Final RFP is 100% set-aside for small business. The total estimated value of the Master IDIQ contract is up to approximately $350 million over a 10-year ordering period.
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