Archived News Releases for 2002

For more information on ORNL and its research and development activities, please refer to the resources listed below or to one of our Media Contacts. If you have a general media-related question or comment, you can send it to news@ornl.gov.

 
ORNL researcher elected fellow
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 30, 2002 — Vince Mei, a researcher in the Engineering Science and Technology Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Cost of lavish Christmas lights display offset by simple measures
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 20, 2002 — If you're wondering just how much your neighborhood Clark Griswold is paying to brighten the town with Christmas lights visible from outer space, the answer varies significantly from one part of the country to another.

Stretch of I-40 part of ORNL, UT environmental lab initiative
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 19, 2002 — Twenty-five thousand big rigs rumbling through Knoxville every day will help researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory get a better handle on real-world emissions and their effects on the environment.

Contract Awarded for SNS Land Improvements
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 18, 2002 — The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded a $2.4 million construction contract for land improvements to the SNS linear accelerator (linac) complex. This work will complete all final erosion control and grading over the linac tunnel to areas adjacent to the front end, linac, and ring. The linac will deliver a high-energy proton beam to the SNS target facility where scientific research will be conducted.

Wilbanks named to national council
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2002 — Thomas J. Wilbanks, a UT-Battelle corporate fellow, has been appointed to the Board of Earth Sciences and Resources of the National Research Council.

Satkowiak named nonproliferation deputy director
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2002 — Larry Satkowiak has been named deputy program director for nuclear nonproliferation programs at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

David earns international research award
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Dec. 12, 2002 — Stan David, a UT-Battelle corporate fellow, has earned the Yoshiaki Arata Award for fundamental research in welding science and technology.

ORNL corporate fellow earns award
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 26, 2002 — Lynn Boatner, a corporate fellow at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has earned a prestigious award for his research on the fundamental properties and applications of rare earth phosphates and other rare earth materials.

Miniature implantable sensor likely lifesaver for patients
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 22, 2002 — Using a tiny wireless sensor developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, doctors will know in minutes instead of hours if an organ is getting adequate blood flow after transplant or reconstructive surgery.

New conductor could provide answers for energy demand
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Nov. 7, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory and 3M Company are hoping for powerful results from a project aimed at making transmitting electricity more efficient and reliable.

ORNL invention clears way for development of new materials
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 2, 2002 — From soft drink cans to bones, virtually all materials are made up of heterogeneous - or dissimilar - microstructures, and researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a tool to better study those structures.

ORNL, USEC enter into $121 million R&D agreement
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sep. 19, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory and USEC Inc. have signed an agreement worth $121 million to develop and demonstrate a highly efficient uranium enrichment technology that could greatly reduce United States dependence on foreign energy sources.

One year ago, messages poured into ORNL from world's scientists
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Sep. 11, 2002 — One year ago scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory were reminded that the community of science is truly global. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed more than 3,000 people, ORNL researchers were deluged with electronic mail messages of condolence and support from around the world.

ORNL groundbreaking celebrates landmark partnership
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 22, 2002 — A groundbreaking ceremony held today at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory marks a first-of-its-kind partnership among ORNL, the state of Tennessee and the University of Tennessee.

ORNL program could help city dwellers survive disaster
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 21, 2002 — Most population databases have one potentially fatal flaw, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers who have developed a system that could be a lifesaver if a city had to be evacuated.

High-speed network connection ties top universities to ORNL
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 14, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory's new computer link to Atlanta is 200,000 times faster than the fastest dial-up connections typical of home computers and is expected to spur significant advances in science and economic development in the region and beyond.

ORNL awards largest contracts since Manhattan Project to Knoxville firm
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 29, 2002 — Officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced the award of two contracts totaling $86.4 million for the construction at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) in Oak Ridge. When combined, the contracts awarded to Caddell/Blaine Joint Venture of Knoxville represent the largest at ORNL since the Manhattan Project in World War II.

ORNL receives $21.7 million for DOE's Genomes to Life
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 23, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory is named on three of five Department of Energy awards for the Genomes to Life program and will receive about $21.7 million as part of a massive effort that promises payoffs for energy and environmental applications.

Three young ORNL scientists honored at White House
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 9, 2002 — Three Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers will receive Presidential Early Career Awards for Science and Engineering from President Bush.

Seattle, Chicago headed in opposite directions in holiday temp survey
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 3, 2002 — If you think it's hotter on the Fourth of July than it used to be, unless you live in Chicago, Knoxville or a few select cities, chances are it's just a case of faulty memory.

Hill named director of ORNL division
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., July 1, 2002 — David J. Hill has been named director of the Nuclear Science and Technology Division at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

ORNL computer 8th fastest in world
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 26, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory has moved up 21 places to claim the No. 8 spot - and No. 1 in the Southeast - in the Top500 list of fastest computers in the world.

New NCAR, ORNL climate simulation doubles detail of previous models
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 26, 2002 — Climate studies just doubled in resolution because of a new model developed and implemented by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Oak Ridge National Laboratory and run on the Cheetah supercomputer.

ORNL adds three R&D 100 Awards to DOE lab-leading total
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 26, 2002 — Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have won three R&D 100 Awards from R&D magazine, which annually gives awards for the 100 most significant innovations of the year.

Study Center provides students variety of hands-on science experiences
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 20, 2002 — Hands-on experiences for students in a variety of science disciplines are available through the Ecological and Physical Sciences Study Center coordinated by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

New user facility dedicated at ORNL
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 17, 2002 — A facility to test distributed generation energy for building applications was designated today as the 20th national user facility at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

ORNL to work with Habitat on energy efficient houses
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 17, 2002 — An effort to construct up to 20 local Habitat for Humanity houses with state-of-the-art energy efficient building technologies was announced today during a ceremony at Lenoir City's Harmony Heights subdivision.

Three ORNL researchers named corporate fellows
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 24, 2002 — Three researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory - Virginia Dale, Al Geist and Richard Haire - have been named corporate fellows by UT-Battelle, ORNL managing contractor.

ORNL technology gets nod from EPA
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 19, 2002 — Prospects for cleaning up contaminated sites around the country are better because of a technology and procedure developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and recently accepted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

ORNL assisting in effort to make skies safer
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 18, 2002 — A simple boarding pass could safeguard air travelers if an explosives detection system being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Mass Spec Analytical is adopted.

ORNL material could help pilots keep their cool
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 15, 2002 — Staying cool under fire could take on a new meaning with a personal cooling system being developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Preliminary evidence suggests possible nuclear emissions during experiments
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., March 4, 2002 — Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Russian Academy of Sciences have reported results that suggest the possibility of nuclear reactions during the explosive collapse of bubbles in liquid, a process known as cavitation.

ORNL helping make tomorrow's soldiers all they can be
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2002 — Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator has nothing over the Objective Force Warrior envisioned by the Army and a team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and organizations throughout the country.

DOE begins international effort to sequence tree genome
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 4, 2002 — Cottonwoods, hybrid poplars and aspens could play a role in improving the environment, displacing imported oil and creating domestic jobs, but first scientists from the Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and around the world have to sequence the Populus genome.

Coal flyash tested as building block material
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Jan. 28, 2002 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are testing a new wall system utilizing an extremely lightweight concrete building material that could be used in wall systems of future construction of homes and businesses.

Three ORNL technologies recognized by lab consortium
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Jan. 16, 2002 — Three technologies developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have earned awards for excellence in technology transfer from the Southeast Region Federal Laboratory Consortium.