ORNL Review v21n2 1988.pdf
State of the Laboratory
- State of the Laboratory: "Gee Whiz". Ceramics strengthened by microwaves, superconducting films, a computer program featuring a "bug" that learns, a microbe that destroys PCBs in soil, a laser having a tuning range 2000 times greater than its commercial counterpart, an energy-efficient liquid separation system, and chemically produced whiskers that strengthen ceramics are "gee whiz" achievements in 1987. In his final State of the Laboratory address as ORNL director, Herman Postma challenges the staff to set new directions and learn from past mistakes.
- Susan Whatley: From Fast Track to Slow Boat. Impelled by economic necessity and an enthusiasm for learning, Susan Whatley rose from secretary to engineer to manager to professional society president in a short time. Now retired, she and her husband are sailing around the world. Accompanying articles tell about ORNL's mentoring program and progress in affirmative action.
- Imaging the World's Longest Dinosaur. An ORNL acoustic technique for imaging underground features has determined the precise positions of buried bones of the longest dinosaur ever discovered and should help guide and hasten the excavation of this Seismosaurus.
Departments
- Awards and Appointments
- Take a Number
- Books. The Making of the Atomic Bomb is reviewed. Recent books authored or edited by ORNL staff members are listed.
- Technical Highlights. HFIR shutdown stops production of californium-252. A robot-like manipulator for NASA is being built at ORNL.
- R&D Updates. The HTML wins an award from Research & Development. Tumulus disposal of low-level wastes has been demonstrated.
- Technology Transfer. An ORNL surveying system has been licensed to Chemrad Corporation. 1987 patentees from ORNL are listed.