DEGER supplies MLD (Maximum Light Detection) solar tracking systems for US research facility

(PV Magazine) vis solis has installed seven 6000NT type DEGER tracking systems at the Heritage Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee (USA). The Oak Ridge scientific and technological laboratory is under the authority of the United States Department of Energy. The German Energy Agency (dena) supports this research and development project involving DEGERtrackers as part of the dena Solar Roofs Program...2/14

HIPPO global-scale air chemistry dataset now available

(PhysOrg) ..The dataset will provide opportunities for research across a broad spectrum of Earth sciences, including those analyzing the evolution in time and space of the greenhouse gases that affect global climate. Two websites, created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Earth Observing Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC), debuted on November 30, 2012, to serve those interested in acquiring HIPPO data and documentation...2/14

Previous ORNL Stories

DOE

New U.S. Department of Energy database seeks to aid marine energy developers

(HydroWorld) ...Developed in collaboration with the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Ocean Energy Systems Initiative (OES), the database has been named "Tethys" after the Greek titaness of the ocean...2/13

House Appropriations Democrats say sequestration would require 700-1,000 furloughs at Y-12 for six months

(Knoxville News Sentinel) A report released today by the House Appropriations Committee Democrats says sequestration spending cuts would require that the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant furlough 700 to 1,000 workers for six months...2/13

State & Regional

Tennessee DCS deleted pages from child death records

(Chattanooga Times Free Press) Someone at the Department of Children's Services redacted numerous pages of information about child fatalities in meeting minutes that were provided to the media...2/12

NASA to Offer Glimpse of the Future with the Space Launch System at Tennessee Tech

(NASA) NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., is partnering with the Millard Oakley STEM Center at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville to introduce area students and the community to the Space Launch System or SLS...2/13

National

Obama Bid for Europe Trade Pact Stirs Hope on Both Sides

(New York Times) President Obama’s call for a free-trade agreement between the United States and the European Union has unleashed a wave of optimism on both sides that a breakthrough can be achieved that would lift trans-Atlantic fortunes, not just economically but politically...2/13

Treasury secretary nominee faces tough questions from Senate

(Los Angeles Times) Republican senators hit Treasury secretary nominee Jacob J. Lew with tough questions about his tenure as a top executive at Citigroup Inc. in the years leading up to the financial crisis, but the former White House chief of staff appeared to avoid any major controversy that could derail his confirmation...2/14

East Tennessee

Knoxville aims to contract with more minority-, women-owned firms

(Knoxville News Sentinel) Knoxville's mayor wants to give more public work to minority- and woman-owned businesses, but some local business owners said they've heard that before from previous administrations...2/14

energy & science policy

State of the Union: R&D Funding, Climate Change, STEM Education, Immigration Reform

(AIP) Last night’s State of the Union address and an event this morning held by the Office of Science and Technology Policy demonstrate the Obama Administration’s continued emphasis on the importance of research and development and related policy matters...2/13

science & technology

What Killed Dinosaurs: New Ideas About the Wipeout

(National Geographic) New insights about the asteroid thought to have killed off the dinosaurs suggest it may have just been the final blow, and that the reptiles were already suffering from a finicky climate prompted by volcanic eruptions long before the meteorite struck...2/12

Directors of the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Resigning Their Positions

(AIP) National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh, U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Jane Lubchenco are leaving their positions...2/12

Scientists Create Automated 'Time Machine' to Reconstruct Ancient Languages

(Science Daily) Ancient languages hold a treasure trove of information about the culture, politics and commerce of millennia past. Yet, reconstructing them to reveal clues into human history can require decades of painstaking work....2/11