Managed by UT-Battelle for the U.S. Department of Energy * Issue Number 69 August 2005

As the southern U.S. enters late summer, itscoastal residents are preparing for the

most treacherous time of year—hurricaneseason. Since last August, easternstates have seen some of the worstdamage in recent history followingdevastating successions of tropicalstorms and hurricanes, with floodingand hurricane-strength winds causingbillions of dollars in damage andkilling more than 200 people in theUnited States and Caribbean.

Two Engineering Science andTechnology Division scientists, AndreDesjarlais and Bob Wendt, areworking on separate projects designedto evaluate damage from naturaldisasters and using the data to makebuildings more damage resistant andin some cases more energy efficient.

Andre Desjarlais spends a lot oftime in some of the country’s mostbeautiful and popular coastal touristand residential communities, but he’susually not there for vacation. As theleader of ORNL’s Buildings Envelope

Research Group, Andre spent a lot of timebetween 2004 hurricanes Ivan and Charleyand 2005’s Dennis looking for high-eco-nomic-impact damage to buildings.

“Perversely, we’re looking for strong stormsin heavily populated areas with lots ofdamage,” Andre says. “Piles of rubble don’ttell us anything; we need buildings that are

partially standing.”In the areas of Florida most affected

by the last two hurricane seasons, theapproximately 25-person research teamfrom research and industry sectors foundthat older and neglected buildingstended to sustain the most damage.

“Deferred maintenance is probablythe biggest factor in building damage,”Andre says. Because older buildingswere built to more lax codes and wereless likely to have had doors andwindows replaced, they had more weakspots that made them vulnerable todamage by the hurricanes’ winds, whichhave reached up to 140 miles per hour incoastal Florida.

The damage to roofs and walls occurswhen wind moves over the top of astructure, creating a low-pressure airstream like the wind over the wings of

Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman made his first visit to ORNL as Energy Secretary August 1, accompanied by Office of Science Director

Raymond Orbach. Bodman told a Lab audience that his goal at DOE is to seeto it that the United States retains its leadership in science and technology.

Secretary Bodman touched on science policy and on several other issues inhis prepared remarks and in answering questions from the audience, at whichpoint he left the podium in the Research Support Center’s main auditorium and

paced in front of the assembly.The secretary noted that other countries, particularly India and

China, have observed how the United States has attracted theworld’s leading scientists and are following suit, buildinguniversities and establishing laboratories.

“Now their people are being kept at home,” he said. “We haveto do things differently. We will only be successful if we stoplooking backward and start looking forward and mobilize ouryouth.”

He said he was pleased and enthusiastic, on the whole, withthe recently passed energy legislation, particularly in that it hasmeasures to encourage more nuclear energy generation. Whenasked what methods of generation he would stress if he were anenergy executive, he replied, “nuclear,” and then, “solar.”

He later expressed reservations about the viability of hydrogenand fuel cell technologies as energy alternatives but was clear onthe need for energy research.

“We will run out of natural gas and oil,” he said.The secretary responded to a question about building enthusi-

asm for science among the young—reminiscent of the space racedays—by noting that the recently passed energy bill elevates thedirector of the Office of Science (currently Orbach) to the levelof under secretary, so for the first time DOE will have an undersecretary completely focused on science. Bodman and Orbachare working with the Department of Education on work forcedevelopment plans.

Energy Secretary Bodman: ‘U.S. must lead in science’

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman fields questions at a meeting withORNL staff members in the Research Support Center auditorium.

Wind, fire & waterESTD programs study ways to minimize effects of nature’s wrath on structures

Flames jump from shake-shingled roof to roof in a westernfire. Metal infrared-reflective roofs are not only cooler, butare also fire resistant.

(See BODMAN, page 2)

(See WRATH, page 5)

Lynn

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DOE Inspector General Hotline: 1-800-541-1625

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Creative Media’s Colby Earles getsan autograph from UT Lady VolCandace Parker at this year’s UnitedWay campaign tip-off. See page 6 formore on the drive.

is published for employees and retireesof ORNL, which is managed andoperated for the U.S. Department ofEnergy by UT-Battelle.

Bill Cabage, editor865/574-4399 or cabagewh@ornl.gov

Deborah Barnes, associate editor865/576-0470 or barnesds@ornl.gov

On the Web: www.ornl.gov/reporter

Bodman noted his relatively few monthson the job and said his visit, which nearlycompleted his tours of the DOE sites, wasmainly to learn about DOE and its issues.

“DOE is not the best managed organiza-tion I have ever encountered,” he said, givingthe agency’s organizational stovepiping andpoor communication across organizations asexamples of areas he would like to improve.

The secretary also noted that DOE hasproblems bringing in projects on time andwithin cost, although he earlier, in a mediasession, praised the Spallation NeutronSource for being “on time, on schedule andon budget.”

“Ray Orbach expressed his enthusiasm forthe SNS. Now that I’ve seen it, I canunderstand why. It’s a very impressivefacility. This is big science,” he told themedia group.

Bodman said at the employee meeting thathe was “smitten by the scale” of the SNS andCenter for Nanophase Materials Sciences,also on Chestnut Ridge. “It was larger andmore imposing than I had thought.”

The Energy Secretary recalled that manyof his teachers spent time at Oak Ridge,particularly during the Manhattan Projectdays, and that he had “great reverence” forOak Ridge’s history. He expressed as muchenthusiasm for the future. Citing the Lab’srelationships with leading universities suchas Georgia Tech, and in how technologytransfer between government, universitiesand the private sector will drive theeconomy, he said ORNL has become a“beacon of hope” for the region and for thecountry.

The secretary’s itinerary included visits tothe SNS and the CNMS, as well as to theCenter for Computational Sciences’ NationalLeadership Computing Facility.—BillCabage

Continued from page 1Bodman

This summer ORNL commuters have beenwinding their way around two construc-

tion projects on Bethel Valley Road inaddition to the roundabout going in at themain visitor entrance. Active vehicle barriersystems, called Ground Retractable Automo-bile Barriers, or GRABs, are being added toboth the east and west ends of Bethel ValleyRoad, just past the vehicle entrances.

The addition of the new vehicle barriers isin response to DOE’s Design Basis Threat,says the Laboratory Protection Division’sRandy Stanfield. Once installed, the newvehicle barriers will be operated by ORNL’sProtective Force as directed by the LaboratoryProtection Division.

The GRABs essentially ensnare a vehicle,which can be as big as a semi truck, in a cablenet that can be deployed by the ProtectiveForce if the vehicle crashes the entrance.

In the selection process of the barriers, thesafety of Lab personnel and visitors was aprime consideration, Randy says.

Most readily available vehicle barriers

designed to withstand the impact of heavy,high-speed vehicles are hard barriers,consisting of heavy plate steel wedges orbollards that basically destroy the vehicle inthe collision and often result in serious injuryor death to the vehicle occupants. Convincedthat this type barrier would never be accept-able on Bethel Valley Road, the ORNLSecurity Systems team researched the marketand located an alternative design.

Using a net made of steel cables andmounted on piston-type shock absorbers, theGRAB can bring vehicles to a halt in a“kinder, gentler” fashion, resulting in onlyminor damage to the vehicle dependingprimarily upon vehicle speed and weight andsignificantly less likelihood of injury to theoccupants, Randy says. In addition to theenergy-absorbing design, each of the barrierswill be equipped with traffic signals andaudible warnings that will be activated severalseconds before the barrier is deployed,engineered to provide adequate time forvehicles to stop before reaching the deployedbarrier.

While the net can be deployed in a matter ofseconds, it normally lies flat in a groovedrubber pad recessed into the pavement.

Attractiveness was also considered in theselection and design of the GRAB. Most ofthe heavy-duty hardware that does the work ofraising the net and absorbing the energy ofspeeding vehicles will be hidden underattractive, faux stone covers, designed tomimic the existing stonework at the portals.

The barriers are located on the Laboratoryside of the Bethel Valley Road entry portalswithin the 45 mph speed zone. Other than fortesting, the deployment of the Bethel ValleyRoad Vehicle Barriers is expected to be a veryrare occurrence. Following the traffic signalsshould be all that is required to keep well-intentioned drivers on Bethel Valley Roadfrom experiencing a “close encounter” withthese new devices designed to provide ORNLwith an additional layer of security.—B.C.

New Bethel Valley Road barriers‘kinder, gentler’ way to snare intruders

In this vendor demonstrationphoto, a truck encounters the netof a Ground RetractableAutomobile Barrier similar to thepair being installed this summeron Bethel Valley Road.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 3

The total WignerOne of ORNL’s most accessible treasures

may be “The Collected Works of Eugene PaulWigner,” an eight-volume series that containshis considerable scientific papers in fivevolumes and three volumes of often fascinat-ing historical, philosophical and socio-politicalpapers.

“None of the librarians who work the deskcan recall anyone wishing to see the volumesother than the three people involved in theORNL History Room project,” says HistoryRoom volunteer and retired Metals & Ceram-ics Division Director Jim Weir.

Jim’s co-volunteers in the History Room areCharles Congdonand Bill Yee.

Wigner wasORNL’s firstscientific directorand arguably themost famousscientist directlyassociated with theLab. He knew andstudied and workedwith the sciencegiants of the 20thcentury includingAlbert Einstein,Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, John von Neumannand Edward Teller.

Wigner’s recollections of Einstein, in fact,seem to indicate that Einstein’s glory dayswere at physics colloquia he attended andorganized at the University of Berlin in theearly 1920s. Wigner implies that Einstein’spoor grasp of English isolated him after hishegira to the United States and Princeton in the1930s.

A 1986 article by David Sundberg takenfrom the Oak Ridger describes Wigner’sconceptual role in the Manhattan Project. Onthe strength of the famous letter to PresidentRoosevelt that Wigner and Szilard convincedEinstein to sign warning of a Nazi bomb, theHungarian pair were invited to plead forfunding before a panel of military officers.One colonel dismissively told Wigner andSzilard not to worry, “because wars are notwon by weapons but by the morale of thecivilian population.”

The humble and politeWigner rose and stated,“Colonel, if that is so,let us disband the armyand spread its wonder-ful morale among thecivilian population.”

Point made, Wignerthen requested thegrand sum of $6,000.The collected works,

besides their very densescientific content, include his

thoughts on the neutron’s significance,the atom bomb, relativity and the future ofscience as he saw it. The volumes also containhis memoirs and impressions of such greats asFermi, Einstein, von Neumann and themathematician Paul Dirac, his prickly brother-in-law.

The eight volumes reside in a specialcollections cabinet near the reference desk.Check it out and see what ORNL’s mostfamous scientist was all about.

Software gets seal of approvalAnywhere that special nuclear material is

stored, the container must bear a seal thatserves as a tamper-indicating device. Figuringout which kind of a seal to use isn’t simple—it depends on the type of container, the levelsof security that exist, the environment, thetype of material being secured, safety issues,ease-of-use conditions, and how often it willbe replaced, among other parameters. A sealcan be anything as ordinary as a piece ofadhesive tape or as sophisticated as a fiber-optic device.

A project team led by Chris Pickett fromthe Nuclear Science & Technology Divisionwith substantial support from DaveRichardson of ComputationalSciences and EngineeringDivision is, this month,unveiling the “Seal SelectionTool” software. This software

represents the first effort withinthe DOE-NNSA community toprovide tamper-indicating-device administrators immedi-ate access to seal performancedata collected from stringentDOE-NNSA designed tests.

This tool will help TIDadministrators, who areresponsible for determining thebest seal to use for their specificapplications, make moreinformed decisions. All they’llneed to do is prioritize theparameters of importance fortheir specific application andthe software will spit out a listof tested seals that best meettheir needs.

“For example, some sealsmust operate in harsh environ-

ments and must maintain their integrity formany years,” Chris says. “Others may be infairly benign locations or might be changedoften.”

Users are mainly the safeguards and securitydepartments within DOE and NNSA sites.Chris points out that a good seal system canmake tasks like inventorying the specialmaterial—ORNL’s cache of uranium-233 is anexample—a much smoother and cheaperprocess.

The tool has been a joint project betweenORNL and Sandia National Laboratories and isfunded by the DOE Office of Security andSafety Performance Assurance.

Energy ‘rollback’ at Wal-MartIf you want to get energy-efficient technolo-

gies into the mainstream, get the big playersinvolved. That’s what DOE has done inteaming with Wal-Mart, the discount mega-chain. Wal-Mart recently showcased its “green”stores in McKinney, Texas. The Laboratory’sBuildings Technology Center, which developsand tests new construction and insulationmaterials designed for greater building energyefficiency, is monitoring energy systems in twoWal-Mart stores in the Dallas suburb over athree-year period.

BTC Director Jeff Christian says monitoringwill be conducted in the two Wal-Mart stores,the newest one sporting 200 energy-efficiencysensors. The goal is to gain an energy costsavings equal to 40 percent of a store’s monthlyenergy cost.

The project with the nation’s most prominentretailer has attracted considerable attention,with coverage in major newspapers such as theLos Angeles Times and on National PublicRadio.

Reported by Bill Cabage

Eugene Wigner

Arf! The team of the Condensed Matter Sciences Division’sLynn Boatner and Metals & Ceramics Division’s HuLongmire has produced many award-winning images butrarely one so canine in appearance. The image won secondprize in the American Conference on Crystal Growth andEpitaxy's 16th Annual Crystal Photograph Competition.The unusual twinned crystals were formed during thethermochemical treatment of single crystals of zinc oxide.

4 August 2005

SNS Accelerator Systems Division DirectorNorbert Holtkamp has been named a seniormember of the IEEE. Senior member is theIEEE’s highest professional grade, represent-ing seven percent of the society’s 365,000membership.

The Environmental Sciences Division’sJizhong Zhou has been elected a fellow of theAmerican Society for Microbiology for hispioneering advances and leadership indeveloping and applying integrated genomicstechnologies.

The Chemical Sciences Division’s GaryVan Berkel has been awarded the BiemannMedal by the American Society for MassSpectrometry. The international awardrecognizes Gary’s electrospray ion sourceresearch, which greatly advances a key DOEmission to broaden the capabilities of massspectrometry as it applies to homelandsecurity, biology, drug discovery,nanotechnology and a host of other disciplines.ORNL’s Scott McLuckey earned the honor in

1997, the Biemann’s inaugural year, and noother national laboratory has captured thismedal.

Amit Goyal has recently been elected afllow of ASM International, “for outstandingand sustained contributions to processing ofhigh temperature superconductors and totexture development and characterization inmetals, alloys and ceramics. The Institute ofPhysics (IOP), United Kingdom, also electedAmit a fellow and, earlier this year, Amitbecame a fellow of the American Associationfor the Advancement of Science and the UnitedKingdom’s World Innovation Foundation.

Ray Boeman has been named manager ofthe Energy Efficiency and Renewable EnergyTransportation Program and the NationalTransportation Research Center User Facility.Ray replaces Ed Grostick, who is retiring after28 years of service. As transportation programmanager, Ray will have primary responsibilityfor interacting with the DOE FreedomCAR andVehicle Technologies Program.

John C. Doesburg has been named director

of ORNL Homeland Security Programs. Johnretired from the Army as a major general,holding the position of commanding generalof the U.S. Army Research, Developmentand Engineering Command. Since coming tothe Lab he has worked very closely with theBiological and Environmental SciencesDirectorate, helping to build programs in thechem-bio area.

Mark Reeves of the Technology Transferand Economic Development Directorate hasbeen elected regional coordinator of theFederal Laboratory Consortium for Technol-ogy Transfer, Southeast Region.

Glen Harrison of the Engineering S&TDivision has been appointed to the Transpor-tation Research Board’s Committee onMilitary Transportation, AT035.

Nageswara S. Rao of the ComplexSystems Group, Computer Science andMathematics Division, has been appointed asa new associate editor for Pattern Recogni-tion Letters, published by Elsevier.

ORNL People

Precision mirrors to focus X-rays andneutron beams could speed the path to

new materials and perhaps help explain whycomputers, cell phones and satellites go onthe blink.

In the last few years, a team led by GeneIce of the Metals & Ceramics Division hasimproved by a factor of nearly 10 theperformance of mirrors that enable research-ers to examine variations in structure andchemistry and even individual nanoparticles.Information at this fine level is essential tounderstanding composition and structure ofmaterials, and researchers continue to pushthe boundaries.

“There’s a worldwide race to develop high-performance mirrors that will dramaticallyexpand the capabilities of major sciencefacilities like the Advanced Photon Sourceand the Spallation Neutron Source,” saysGene. “We are now able to see in far greaterdetail the three-dimensional heterogeneous—or dissimilar—structure of materials andstudy internal interactions of one nanoparticlenext to another.”

The stage was set a few years ago when theORNL team developed differentially depos-ited X-ray micro-focusing mirrors. Wheninstalled on a beam line at the AdvancedPhoton Source at Argonne National Labora-tory, these mirrors allowed researchers toobtain a resolution of 500 nanometers. Onenanometer is equivalent to about three atomsin width. With recent advances in the opticsand manufacturing processes, the ORNL teamand collaborators at Argonne have nowobtained a resolution of 70 nanometers. Theultimate goal is 1 nanometer.

The advantage of using mirrors instead ofother techniques is that their focal propertiesare nearly independent of X-ray or neutronwavelengths. This allows them to be used toperform experiments that could not be donewith other methods.

Neutron beams and X-rays both providenon-destructive testing ofsmall samples ofmaterials and allowscientists to examinegrain boundary stresses,crystalline structure andorientation of the grainsthat make up material.Neutron beams probedeeper into a materialand are especially usefulfor studying magneticmaterials and structureswith low atomic num-bers—hydrogen, heliumand carbon—while X-rays can examineindividual nanoparticles.

The X-ray mirrors, which are similar toones that received an R&D 100 award in2000, are about 20 millimeters long, or aboutthe size of a quarter. One mirror of the two-mirror system was fabricated using adifferential polishing method while the otherwas made by profile coating an ultra-flatsubstrate. Both techniques produce mono-lithic optics more stable and more compactthan is possible with dynamically bent mirroroptics.

Neutron mirrors are much bigger—about

800 millimeters (31.5 inches) long—andincrease the effectiveness of small neutronbeams by a factor of about 100. Fabricationmethods for neutron mirrors are further alongthan those for X-ray mirrors, which Icedescribes as a work in progress. In both cases,

precision is critical. Thesurface profile of anX-ray mirror must bewithin 1/10th of a micro-radian, which, to put intoperspective, is equivalentto a deviation of just 6/1,000ths of an inch overa mile, Gene says.

This research ad-dresses a number of goalsof DOE’s Office of BasicEnergy Sciences, whichseeks a better understand-ing of three-dimensiongrain growth, deforma-tion of polycrystals andcracks at the so-calledmesoscale—materialsbetween 1/10th of a

micron to hundreds of microns. With thisknowledge, researchers hope to answerquestions about electrical migration ininterconnects within integrated circuits.Failures at this level lead to problems withelectronic equipment in everything fromautomobiles to satellites.

Other ORNL researchers involved in theproject are Ben Larson, John Budai and JohnTischler of the Condensed Matter SciencesDivision and Eliot Specht and Judy Pang of theM&C Division.—Ron Walli

X-ray, neutron mirrors focus view into new materials

ORNL’s development of X-ray and neutronmirrors addresses a number of Office ofScience research goals.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 5

an airplane. With an airplane, the pressure differences resultin the lift that makes the plane fly. With a building, the roofwill remain in place until something else gives way thatchanges the air pressure inside the building, like a window ordoor breaking. The combination of the wind uplift andpressurization rips the roof off the structure.

“That’s why people board up their windows and doors—their failure prompts the majority of wind damage tostructures,” Andre says. The worst design elements are thebig doors at loading docks where big trucks can load andunload, Andre says. Architectural accessories like doors,windows, vents and other openings are a lot less wind-resistant than walls. He adds that shoddy construction is oftento blame.

“Where roofers say they’re going to use one nail every twoinches and really use half that many . . . when people try to cutcorners, it really weakens the integrity of buildings,” Andresays.

Old buildings are generally more susceptible to damage aswell, because they were usually built to fewer standards andcodes, which outline the standards of strength to whichbuildings must be constructed. States like Florida are dividedinto bands according to the intensity of hurricane-relatedwinds likely to cross them, with southern and eastern coastalareas in the bands requiring more stringent building codesthan inland and northern areas of the state.

“As we learn more, it affects the way we build,” Andresays. The private-sector participants are currently drafting areport compiling all of the information gathered during theresearch. After possibly investigating one or two more storms,the group will finish the report and the data hopefully will beconsidered for changes in codes.

Although hurricanes contain an enormous amount ofenergy, flooding does the most expensive natural-disasterdamage to structures in the United States. Residents ofcoastal and low-lying areas throughout the country can beespecially hard-hit by storms, seasonal rains and winter thawsare also faced with a catch-22 when it comes to buildingrequirements—there are no certified flood-resistant materialson the market, yet the latest building codes often require themfor buildings in high-flood-risk areas.

Bob Wendt has headed up a collaborative project, sponsored by DOE, FEMA and HUD, aimed at

bringing together government and private-sector buildingexperts to assess the use of ongoing energy-efficiencyresearch and to help reduce the risk of natural-disaster damageto houses.

The major task of those involved with Bob’s project is“coupling energy efficiency with natural-disaster mitigation,”Bob says. The two goals are a natural fit—many of theconstruction materials already available to builders work wellto reduce damage by flooding and wildfires.

Bob and a group of collaborators at Tuskegee Universityhave been examining the use of spray polyeurethane foam(SPUF) for wall insulation and as a sealant. Although SPUFhas a higher insulation value than fiberglass insulation, it costssignificantly more.

“Current energy prices do not provide enough incentive toswitch to the higher priced insulation based on energy savingsalone,” Bob says. “But if using SPUF in a flood-prone homeeliminated the need to tear the house apart after a flood toreplace the waterlogged insulation, then it would save thehomeowner or insurer a lot of money and easily justify itshigher cost.”

Flooded fiberglass also dries out slowly, releasing moistureinto the surrounding air and structure and potentially promot-ing mold growth. SPUF, on the other hand, isn’t permeatedby the water and so it doesn’t encourage mold growth. In thetest structures at Tuskegee, flood-related mold and mildewgrowth in structures built with SPUF was far less than that infiberglass structures.

Tightly sealed doors and win-dows, which can stave offfloodwaters for longer than warpedor ill-fitting ones, also reduce theamount of air exchange between theinside and outside of a structure.With reduced air exchange, heatingand cooling systems become moreefficient as well.

The Tuskegee and ORNLresearchers have compiled theirresearch into a report they willpresent at the National FloodplainsConference in West Virginia onSeptember 13. Hopefully, Bob says,there will soon be certified flood-resistant materials on the market.“The (building) code is begging thisissue,” he says.

Another area of synergy between energy efficiency anddisaster mitigation is reducing wildfire damage. Each summermajor wildfires occur in dry areas, destroying thousands ofhomes.

Metal infrared-reflective (IR) roofs are not only successfulreflectors of infrared light, keeping attics and spaces under-neath cool, but are also a convenient fire-resistant materialthat can replace wood and tar shingling in fire-prone areas.

Low-energy windows are a good idea on multiple levels.“Lower-e windows are an energy strategy that enhances fireprotection,” Bob says. He explains that the windows reflectradiant heat from the sun, and in the event of an external fire,can prevent radiant heat waves from penetrating the glass andigniting materials inside the house.

Bob also suggests that eliminating vents from crawlspacesand attics would further enclose the thermal envelopes ofstructures, providing fewer openingsby which wildfires can enter. Thesechanges are also being pursued byDOE as a means of increasing theenergy efficiency of new homes.

Overall, energy efficiency anddisaster mitigation go hand-in-hand,with few objections. Energy savingtechnologies won’t present adisadvantage in the event ofcatastrophic weather, such as a tornado.

“People might blame energy-efficient structure, thinkingthat a more airtight house will allow more pressure to build upinside more rapidly,” Andre says. “We’ve found no evidenceof that.”

He says that combining commercial and governmentalsectors during research presents multiple advantages. Themanufacturers can evaluate how their materials are perform-ing, and the government can serve as an objective overseer ofthe evaluations of energy-efficient materials.

“The federal government doesn’t have anything to sell . . .we want to be sure we’re not telling people to do anythingthat would be unwise,” Andre says.—Eva Millwood

Low-energy windows are agood idea on multiplelevels. The windows reflectradiant heat from the sun,and in the event of anexternal fire, can preventradiant heat waves frompenetrating the glass andigniting materials inside thehouse.

Flooding does the mostexpensive natural-disasterdamage to structures in theUnited States.

Continued from page 1

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Employees at ORNL may crack Dilbertesque jokes about physicists being

the kings of wastebasketball, but on theafternoon of Wednesday, August 3, a few ofthe Lab’s finest scientists-cum-hoopsters got achance to prove themselves at the real thing.

Hundreds of spectators crowded into the

Research Office Building’s Main Street andsurrounding stairwells to watch contestants inthe United Way freethrow contest shoot it outfor the 2005 ORNL United Way campaign“tip-off.” The guest of honor was CandaceParker of the Lady Vols basketball team.

One of the most highly-recruited Universityof Tennessee athletes of all time, Candace, a6-3 forward, is the only two-time USA TodayNational Player of the Year, was twice chosenas both the Naismith and Gatorade Prep Playerof the Year and was the first woman to win aslam-dunk contest, winning the 2004PowerAde Jam Fest, part of the McDonald’sAll-America Game festivities.

She gave the seven Lab contestants extratime for practice by arriving shortly after thescheduled 2 p.m. kickoff because of a class onthe UT-Knoxville campus. “Everybody knows

that Lady Vols never miss class, right?”cracked drive chairman Lee Riedinger, whoserved as the event’s master of ceremonies.

Candace didn’t miss class, but she did missa chance to prove herself as the best free-throw shooter at the Lab that day. She madesix out of 10 shots, while Tom King ofStrategic Planning reigned over the afternoonwith nine out of 10 shots in the contest, fourout of five in the three-way-tie shootout withJeff Thomas of Physics and Matt Smith ofResearch Reactors, and victory in the sudden-death elimination over Jeff.

The grand prize was the portable basketballgoal used for the contest.

“Since my two boys already have a basketset up in the driveway, I’d like to donate thisto Girls Inc.,” Tom said.

The Anderson County UW agency hasunique ties to the Lady Volunteers. NikkiCaldwell, one of the team’s assistantcoaches, grew up in Oak Ridge andparticipated in Girls Inc. before going onto play basketball at and graduate fromUT. She is now a frequent guest andspeaker at local events.

Tom’s generosity was theicing on the cake of thefree-throw drive, whichraised more than $1,600 forthe United Way and kickedoff the 2005 campaign at theLab. Historically, ORNL has been thelargest single contributing organization tothe United Way, giving over $700,000 in2004 alone. The funds raised by Labemployees are distributed to local human-service and assistance groups, boys’ andgirls’ clubs, non-profit organizations andrehabilitation organizations.

“United Way Is Our Way” is the theme forthis year’s campaign.

Representatives of the Knox and Anderson

(From left) Two representatives from GirlsInc. of Oak Ridge, UT Lady Vol CandaceParker, ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth andUnited Way Campaign Chair Lee Riedingerwrap up this year’s United Way tip-offfestivities on the Research Office Building’sMain Street. Candace demonstrates herslam-dunk form in photo at right.

ORNL ambassadors andcoordinators visited areaUnited Way agencies to seehow our dollars are helping.Here, Mary Beth Watt of theFacilities and OperationsDirectorate visits with aclient in the arts and craftscenter at Knoxville’sCerebral Palsy Center.Tourparticipants also visited theInterfaith Health Clinic in thecity.

county branches of the United Way attendedthe tip-off festivities as well, helping hand outdoor prizes and show their appreciation to

each of the approximately 150 Labemployees who contributed money to

the freethrow drive.ORNL is regularly a

national laboratory leaderin giving to the United

Way. This year’scampaign

goal is$775,000.—EvaMillwood

Lab roundballers show their stripe by tipping off UW drive

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UW volunteerssee $$ at work

Oak Ridge National Laboratory 7

August40 years: Emory D. Collins, Nuclear Science& Technology35 years: Dennis O. Sparks and Lee A. Berry,Fusion Energy; Kenneth S. Blakely and KenD. Yarborough, Metals & Ceramics30 years: J. C. Glover Jr., and J. L. Johnson,Laboratory Protection; Betsy M. Horwedeland Sylvia Yvonne Porter, EnvironmentalSciences; Ronald Leroy Miller, ResearchReactors; A. R. Medley, Facilities Develop-ment; Danny E. Stooksbury, Craft Resources;Mitchell Olszewsk, Engineering Science &Technology; Theodore M. Besmann, Metals& Ceramics; Joe D. Foust, Networking &Computing Technologies25 years: Peter J. Todd, Chemical Sciences;Richard E. Swaja, Life Sciences; Richard L.Schmoyer, Engineering Science & Technol-ogy; John H. Sorensen and Robert D. Perlack,Environmental Sciences; Jeffery S. Riggs andMarvin A. Duncan, Facilities Management;Janis R. Mooney, National Security Dir.;Mike B. Farrar, Research Reactors20 years: J. Michael Whitaker, David W.DePaoli and Richard Duane Michelhaugh,Nuclear Science & Technology; Robert L.Varner Jr., Physics; Ho-Ling Hwang,Engineering Science & Technology; Karen T.Wilson, Communications & ExternalRelations Dir.

Craft Resources: Shane Burt, ReginaldChatman, Brandon Knight, Scott Jeffers,David Elliot, Tabitha Brooks, Drew Fye,James Kitchens, Benjamin Lefevers, JesseRollins, Benjamin Tan, Cassandra Woody,Jerry Wright, Daniel Brown

Spallation Neutron Source: Timothy Carroll,Billy Joe Davis, David Gurd, ChristineSchnell, Harry Sparks, Alexandru Stoica, ScottTschaplinski, Christine Schnell, Shelly Ren,Luke Heroux, Stephen Brown, SaundraCarmon

Center for Computational Sciences: ArnoldTharrington, Ying Ding, Julia White, SeanAhern

Human Resources: Connie Hughart,Katherine Finnie, Michael Palermo, MichelleSykes

National Security Directorate: Ann Hasting,William Strunk, Kristy Herron, John Tanke

Engineering Science and Technology:Michael Schultze, Barry Daniel ,Toby Flynn

Nuclear Science and Technology: MichelleDaugherty, Hatice Akkurt, Elisabeth Walker

Research Reactors: Diana Hackney, TobiasPethel, Patrick Sanford

Metals and Ceramics: Brian Sparks, ClausDaniel

Environmental Protection and WasteSystems: Gerald Cunningham, TimothyForrester

Computational Sciences and Engineering:Gregory Richardson, Larry Parker

Other new employees and their divisionsare Roger Gregory, Operational SafetyServices; Bonnie Hebert, Communicationsand External Relations; Robert Ezold,Facilities Management; Jeffrey Harris, FusionEnergy; Catherine Martin, Operational SafetyServices; Jeffrey Parrott, Logistical Services;Cynthia Sonewald, Computer Science andMathematics; Brandon Burke, LaboratoryProtection; Paul Hebert, Office of Counterin-telligence; Gary Baker, Chemical Sciences;Robin King, Legal; Kelly Kizer, Contracts;Latha Baskaran, Environmental Sciences

Johnny Bryant, a painter in the Facilitiesand Operations’ Craft Resources Division,died June 8. He came to work at ORNL in1978 and had nearly 27 years of service. Helived in Powell.

Mike Worthington of Business andInformation Services died July 25. He had12 years of service at ORNL and workedmost recently as a finance officer for theOperational Safety Services Division. He wasa resident of Knoxville.

ORNL continues to grow. Welcome to the following new Laboratory employees.

New Staff Members

ServiceAnniversaries

Deaths

Foreign scientists and visitors at the Laband their families now have a new way to

get a grasp on the United States, and Ameri-cans can celebrate the diversity of cultures atORNL thanks to the creation of theMulticultural FriendshipClub.

“Sometimes it’s hard fornewcomers to find a new setof friends in a new country,”says International ServicesCoordinator Nancy Gray.“The purpose of theMulticultural Friendship Clubis to demonstrate friendshipto all citizens of the earth.”

Nancy, former ORNLprotocol officer, is the firstperson to fill the internationalservices coordinator position,which was created last year atthe suggestion of LabDirector Jeff Wadsworth.

“It’s been a lot of fun forme,” Nancy says, explainingthat cultural exchange andunderstanding is a personalpassion as well as a profes-sional goal. After taking her new position,Nancy traveled to colleges and universitiesand other national labs to get a feel for howthose institutions approached the formation ofinternational-personnel groups.

“A lot of scientists come here from foreigncountries and never spend time in an Ameri-can home,” Nancy says. “That is a great way

for them to understand how Americans reallylive.” So far, MFC events have been held atpublic venues and private homes as well asLab facilities to give the non-badged membersof employees’ families a chance to participate

as well.“One Japanese couple

said they liked baseball, sowe organized a trip to aSmokies baseball game.More than more than 80tickets sold for that event,”Nancy says.

Because the approxi-mately 2,600 yearlyforeign visitors andresearchers at ORNLcome from more than 75different countries, part ofthe Lab’s focus is toprovide social and culturaloutlets for them. The MFCis a hub of culturalexchange for foreign-national and domestic Labemployees, becauselearning about othercultures is inherently a

two-way street.The MFC allows foreign nationals to learn

about American culture, and also for Ameri-can members to learn about other cultures andnationalities. Monthly brown-bag lunchlectures, which began in May and have so farbeen standing-room-only, have featuredspeakers from Indonesia, India, and Italy.

For strangers in a strange land, ORNL offers new club“If people are interested in a total cultural

experience, this is an opportunity for them,”Nancy says.

The club has an organizing committee, butno dues or meeting requirements. Duringbrown-bag lunches, which are open toeveryone, there are always beverages andcookies and the cafeteria features cuisine ofthe country represented in the lecture. Theclub will have a presence at Community Dayon August 27 and at the International Festivalon September 27, and its events are alwayslisted internally on ORNL Today. —EvaMillwood

Multicultural Friendship ClubCoordinator Nancy Gray ponders theoffer of a blueberry from OnniBhaduri, son of ORNL researcherBudhu Bhaduri, at a recent MFC icecream social.

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #37Powell, TN

No. 69 August 2005Withstanding the weather,page 1

Secretary visits, page 1

The new ‘grab,’ page 2

Lab Notes: Wigner, nucleartech, crystal art, page 3

X-ray, neutron mirrors, page 4

United Way tips off, page 6

ORNL’s neutron science community promises to break new ground in the

coming years. One area that it has brokenground already is in the installation ofdefibrillators at the High Flux Isotope Reactorand the Spallation Neutron Source.

Standard equipment in hospitals, automatedexternal defibrillators—and trained users— cansave the lives of heart attack victims in thefield.

Defibrillators installed at the HFIR and SNSare the culmination of the first phase of anORNL Health Services campaign to get thelifesaving devices installed around the Lab. Theautomated external defibrillators are used tojolt a cardiac arrest victim’s heart back intorhythm.

Defibrillators have been on the SNS con-struction site practically since the project began.

“They have been installed mainly because ofthe distance from the main campus and becauseof the high-voltage electrical work common atthe site and the potential for a dangerousshock,” says Frank Kornegay, who directsES&H for the SNS. “The defibrillators are veryreliable. We put a lot of people through CPRcourses. It just made good sense. Fortunatelywe haven’t had to use them.”

Around 30 HFIR staff members have beentrained to use the devices, and Environment,Safety, Health and Quality Director KarenDowner is seeking more volunteers around theLab who want to learn how to use these devicesso that they can be deployed in more Lab workspaces. Two units are available now.

“Sudden cardiac arrest kills nearly half amillion Americans each year, making it thenumber one health care problem and leadingcause of death. Early defibrillation, within the

Defibrillators deployed in Lab lifesaving campaign

Kim Hardin, Hugh Christie, John Bumgardner, Bruce Whitakerand Randy Welch are trained to use the defibrillators stationed at theHigh Flux Isotope Reactor.

first few minutes of amassive heart attack,could save manyvictims,” Karen says.“OSHA estimatesthat 15 percent ofworkplace fatalitiesare caused by suddencardiac arrest, and 40percent of thosecould have beensaved by using thedefibrillators withinfive minutes.”

ORNL HealthServices Director Dr.James Phillips andF&O Director HerbDebban havechampioned thedeployment of thedefibrillators at the Lab.

“The most common cause of sudden cardiacarrest is ventricular fibrillation, a lethalarrhythmia characterized by rapid, chaoticcontractions of the heart. Factors leading to itcan include heart disease, electrocution,drowning, choking and other trauma,” DocPhillips says. “It’s often sudden, unexpectedand without warning. I’ve recommended thesedefibrillators for the Laboratory because oftheir lifesaving potential.”

Karen says that knowing how to performcardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to usethe defibrillators could very well make you alifesaver. If you are interested in training onthe use of automated external defibrillators, theprocess is outlined on ORNL’s StandardsBased Management System.—B.C.

In addition to the summer students listed inthe July issue are these students in the

Computational Physics and EngineeringDivision: Sirisha S. Nukala, Julia C. Carpen-ter, Maria Meyerovich, Symeon Hunter,David Thomas Potere, Adam Thompson,Benjamin Michael Lamie, James LouisBarnes, Lauren Anne Patterson, MatthewWoerner, Ali Mili, Anthony Matthew Filippi,Seong-Moo Yoo, Michael Sterling,Alexandre Sorokine, Aarthy Sabesan, AnilMeerasa Cheriyadat, Brooks Alan Jolly,Marie Lyn Minner, Nagendra Singh, Cindy J.Lopez, Elizabeth O’Quinn, Janel TamaraBrown, Jennifer Bennett, Jermaine EugeneHemby, Kenroy Williamson, Rowena Ong,Deanna Lynn Britton and Jason Wilbur Cox.

More summer students

Cur

tis B

oles