Secretary of Energy Steven Chu visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that included a tour of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors.
He also visited the site of the the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, billed as “The first of the next generation of passively safe nuclear reactors to be built in the United States.”
Secretary of Energy Chu noted how computing at ORNL is being used to address the nation’s problems and challenges. In a computing environment where speed and power are growing by leaps and bounds, “We are the undisputed leader in problem solving with supercomputers,” he said at CASL.
On his way to the airport he stopped at the MDF for briefings on battery research and advanced manufacturing, and met students who are competing in the national Robotics FIRST competition with coaching from several ORNL researchers.
One Robotic Hand Tightening AnotherOak Ridge High School advances to FIRST robotics national competition.
Oak Ridge High School, one of the eight teams that UT-Battelle sponsored for the FIRST robotics competition, received the Rookie All-Star Award at the Smoky Mountain Regionals.
With this recognition, the ORHS “Wildbots” will advance to nationals in St. Louis April 25-28.
Over the weekend, the Smoky Mountains Regional at the Knoxville Convention Center hosted 54 robot teams from 10 states and Canada. An alliance team of ORHS, Knox Catholic and Western High School of Russiaville, Ind., made it to the “Final Four” of the championship round, but lost to the eventual champions in a best 2 of 3 match.— Emma Macmillan
Our sincere appreciation to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for permission to print this inspiring article. “Reprinted with permission of “Oak Ridge National Laboratory“.
