Research
Highlights...
Allgood tackles life on his own terms.
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On the road to . . .
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40 |
October 4, 1999 |
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Energy efficiency on parade
DOE's Building America program cosponsored a house in the Denver Parade of Homes that cuts energy use by an estimated 40 percent over model energy codes and 70 percent over the U.S. average for a comparable house. The Building America program works with builders to reduce energy use and construction waste in new housing. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory provides technical support for this and other Building America projects around the country. The home features advanced window glazings, computer-driven lighting, high performance heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, recycled beams and trusses to reduce lumber use and other state-of-the-art resource efficient products and systems.
Fiddling on the roof
Light colors better reflect the sun's heat while dark colors better absorb it. Similarly, light-color roof materials make for a cool roof by reflecting most of the sun's energy. Scientists have found that buildings with light-colored roofs can save consumers money on their utility bills. Despite the simplicity of the cool roof concept, tests performed at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory show that widely varying conditions-insulation, type of house, etc.-affect those savings. Performance over the long term is also important: ORNL's roof testing indicates roof membranes with high initial solar reflectance degrade with time, weather conditions and accumulating dirt.
Insurance industry can benefit by using solar power
According to a report by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the insurance industry can save millions of dollars in property claims resulting from natural disasters by adopting solar and other renewable energy technologies when planning for nature's fury. The report, "Solar Technology and the Insurance Industry: Issues and Applications," discusses the impact of natural catastrophes on the insurance industry, the effect of power outages on businesses and people and the risks of portable power generators. It provides examples of photovoltaic technology uses for disaster mitigation, response and recovery. Visit http://www.nrel.gov/hot-stuff/press/4699insurance.html for more information.
On the road to recovery
A road embedded with sensors to detect smuggled nuclear weapons may sound like something from a movie, but it's actually real-life technology developed at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Researchers there have developed a radiation sensor comprised of lightweight, flexible glass fibers that provides portable, real-time measurements of neutrons and gamma rays. Called PUMA for plutonium measurement and analysis, the sensor can be embedded in materials or wrapped around objects to analyze contents. For example, fibers can be installed in asphalt roads to detect unauthorized or diverted nuclear weapons material, or wrapped around drums and other containers to inventory contents. PUMA has been licensed to Canberra Industries of Meriden, Conn.
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Glenn Allgood is a problem solver from way back
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Glenn Allgood
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These days, as a researcher at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the problems are very different from the ones he faced growing up on the streets in Atlanta. Back then, his focus was on supporting his two sisters and ill mother. To pay the bills, he dropped out of high school in 1966, his senior year, and went to work.
Allgood unloaded trucks during the day and attended school at night, then got a job servicing vending machines. He earned his General Equivalency Diploma in 1967 and went to work for Atlanta Gas Light Company as a senior engineering assistant. In December he joined the Navy.
"If I were going into the service, I wanted it to be on my terms," said Allgood, who was assigned to a submarine chaser and was later attached to a Marine helicopter squadron. In 1973 he enrolled at DeKalb College, then spent some time at Georgia State and Georgia Tech before enrolling at the University of Tennessee (UT), where he majored in electrical engineering.
Twenty-six years and three degrees later—he earned a doctorate from UT in 1991—Allgood uses mathematics and engineering principles daily. He designs instruments to detect flaws in textiles, diagnose lung conditions and he's developing better methods to treat burn patients. Allgood is also involved in human factors and biomedical research and in the development of economic models for defining strategic R&D initiatives.
Whatever the job, Allgood is driven to be the best. It doesn't matter if it's flipping burgers or designing sophisticated electronic instruments. Integrity, honor and accountability mean everything to Allgood.
"You're only as good as your word," he says. "Honor and integrity are all you have. That's one reason I can relate to the military. There's a sense of honor and accountability in the military. Take them away
and you have nothing."
Submitted by DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory |
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