ORNL in the News

Groves Park Commons is TN’s First Certified Green Subdivision

(PR-USA) Groves Park Commons subdivision in Oak Ridge was certified as Tennessee’s first certified Green Subdivision by the National Association of Homebuilders, Research Center during the Parade of Homes last weekend. Only seven other certified Green Subdivisions exist in the United States... 10/24

Researchers can precisely manipulate polarization in nanostructures

(Nano Techwire) Until recently, nobody had succeeded in controlling these multiferroic properties, but researchers from Oakridge National Laboratory (USA), the University of California, Berkeley (USA), Pennsylvania State University (USA) and the University of Twente's MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology demonstrate in the next issue of Nature Nanotechnology that it is indeed possible... 10/23

Argonne dedicates new microscopy facility at Center for Nanoscale Materials

(Nanotechnology Now) "The spin-polarized scanning probing microscope (LT-SPM) is a wonderful addition to the many tools available to researchers at the CNM," said interim CNM director Derrick Mancini. "Nanomagnetism is a burgeoning field, and the LT-SPM will provide the most cutting-edge technology for this research."... 10/24

INL could lead nuclear comeback in the U.S.

(Idaho Statesman) It wasn't until 2002 that DOE restored the INL as its leading laboratory for nuclear energy research. Since then, much of the lab's focus has been on the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project, which would be designed to produce not only electricity but heat and hydrogen that could be used in a wide variety of industrial applications... 10/25

TN college building boom continues despite slashed budgets

(Tennessean) With all those millions flying around, it's easy to forget that there's a recession going on. But most of the colleges have had to scale back their construction budgets in the face of the economic slowdown. Most of the buildings going up now were approved, and paid for, in kinder economic times... 10/26

energy & science policy

Iran would need 18 months for atom bomb-diplomats

(Reuters) Intelligence agencies estimate that it would probably take Iran a minimum of 18 months to develop a nuclear weapon if it chose to build one, Western diplomats and intelligence officials said... 10/26

New Rocket, but Future of Program Is Unclear

(NY Times) The launching of the Ares I-X, a prototype, is scheduled for 8 a.m. Tuesday. It comes less than a week after a blue-ribbon panel reviewing NASA’s human spaceflight program released its final report, which offers a less-than-ringing endorsement of the Ares I rocket... 10/26

Energy Dept. Aid for Scientists on the Edge

(NY Times) The department will announce 37 grants totaling $151 million, mostly going to small businesses and educational institutions but also to a few corporations. Some of the ideas may be supported until they are picked up by venture capitalists or major companies, he [Chu] said... 10/25

Brinkman’s Comments to High Energy Physics Advisory Panel

(AIP) The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill is one of only four FY 2010 funding bills sent to President Obama. Saying this “has been a tremendous year” in which an “enormous amount” had been accomplished, Brinkman pointed to three DOE funding bills passed this year: the FY 2009 bill (left over from last year), the economic stimulus bill, and the FY 2010 bill... 10/23

FCC to draft net neutrality rules, taking step toward Web regulation

(Washington Post) The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously Thursday to begin crafting rules to prevent Internet providers from acting as gatekeepers over which services and content are delivered to their customers, the agency's surest step yet toward regulating the rules of the road online... 10/23

Inside Energy Extra

10/23 A daily report on U.S. energy policy
[ORNL users only]

science & technology

Symphonies gingerly embrace digital performers

(CS Monitor) Now, threatened by the high costs of producing orchestral concerts, shrinking endowments, an aging subscriber base, and the slashing of music curriculums across the country, which diminishes the role of music in young people’s lives, classical music has arrived kicking and screaming into the Digital Age... 10/23