U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Tom D’Agostino, Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and multiple members of the Corridor Congressional Delegation are already scheduled to keynote the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Technology Summit in Washington, D.C. this May.

In addition to those above, Corridor Congressmen Lincoln Davis, Zach Wamp, Parker Griffith, Bart Gordon, Phil Roe and Jimmy Duncan are also confirmed to speak at the multi-state, regional economic development organization’s annual science and technology conference.

Hosted by Congressman Lincoln Davis and the entire Corridor Congressional delegation, the event will take place on May 25-27 at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel and the Capitol Visitors Center.

Major themes of the Summit will focus on Energy Innovation, Advanced Transportation and Space, Workforce and Education, National and Homeland Security, and Future Federal Missions and Opportunities for the Tennessee Valley Corridor. Complete information about the event, as well as online registration, can be found at www.tennvalleycorridor.org.

“We are excited to bring the National Technology Summit to Washington D.C. this year,” said Congressman Lincoln Davis. “It’s an opportunity for the attendees, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors of this great event to interact with our entire Congressional Delegation and top members of the Administration and to showcase the good work being done in the Tennessee Valley every day in support of important federal missions and initiatives.”

The upcoming Summit in Washington, D.C. is the 23rd in a series of such events that have strategically linked the technology-rich Tennessee Valley Corridor -- from North Alabama through East and Middle Tennessee into Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina and Southern and Eastern Kentucky.

“What started nearly 15 years ago as a small regional event by Congressman Zach Wamp, has become a national award-winning regional economic development organization uniting 10 congressional districts across five states, all working together to demonstrate ‘national leadership through regional cooperation’ and to create the jobs of the future,” said Doug Fisher, Chairman of the Tennessee Valley Corridor. “We look forward to convening in Washington to discuss how the Tennessee Valley Corridor can continue to play a primary role in solving some of our nation’s biggest challenges.”

Building on such regional assets as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center in Western North Carolina, the National Transportation Research Center, the Center for Rural Development, the National Safe Skies Alliance, several world-class research universities and dozens of corporate leaders in science and technology, the Tennessee Valley Corridor organization has helped showcase the region's superior quality of life and the people, business, natural and scientific resources needed for high-tech research, development, business and investment in the 21st Century.

Previous Corridor Summits and regional Partnership Events have been held in Chattanooga, Kingsport, Knoxville, Johnson City, Nashville, Oak Ridge, Murfreesboro and Tullahoma, Tenn.; Decatur and Huntsville, Ala.; Somerset, Ky.; Greenville, SC; Asheville, NC and Washington, D.C.

In 2004, the Tennessee Valley Corridor was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce as one of the top two regional economic development organizations in the country. The Corridor tied with the famed Research Triangle Partnership in North Carolina as the nation’s most outstanding organization’s for enhancing regional competitiveness.

For complete information on the Tennessee Valley Corridor or for a draft agenda of the upcoming National Summit please visit www.tennvalleycorridor.org.

Army Col. Bob Pastorelli likened the quest for a new office park on Redstone Arsenal to a football game, in which all kinds of team members - mayors, legislators, military officials - worked the ball down the field.

The touchdown came, the arsenal garrison commander said, when Gov. Bob Riley signed the legislation that will lead to a $1 billion private office park on the arsenal with construction to begin this spring.

"(The governor) took the football and just pushed it over the goal line," Pastorelli said recently, moments before Riley put his signature on the enabling legislation passed by the Legislature.

City leaders from Huntsville and Madison, the Army and private developers have worked together for more than four years on the project, which will expand across 470 acres over the next 10 to 15 years.

An estimated 4,600 federal jobs and even more civilian jobs are being relocated here through 2011, mostly from the Washington, D.C., area, and more office space is needed.

The new office park's developer, LW Redstone of Montgomery, will finance infrastructure such as access roads, water lines, sidewalks and streetlights by purchasing a $76 million municipal bond from the city. Bond money will also be used to relocate the Gate 9 visitors center and an electric substation.

Ground could break on the office park as soon as this spring at the intersection of Interstate 565 and Research Park Boulevard, near Redstone's Gate 9. Pastorelli said administrative offices will likely be constructed first.

The new park is scheduled to include 4 million square feet of office space, where an anticipated 14,000 people will work. That's on top of the nearly 35,000 already working on the arsenal.

"Four million square feet (of office space) is a bunch," Riley said, using understatement to describe just what a huge project it will be when completed.

"This is just a prelude," Riley said.

The land, now owned by the federal government, currently generates no taxes. After it is annexed into Huntsville, the office park buildings will be subject to property, sales, liquor and lodging taxes.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said Friday that he anticipates about $80 million from sales taxes just on construction materials.

Some local people following local BRAC developments have complained that the state hasn't provided enough financial support for expanding roads, schools and other infrastructure.

Jim Walker, who is the governor's liaison with the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee and director of Alabama's Department of Homeland Security, spoke at the Friday signing, reminding those there that Redstone fared very well under BRAC.

He also said that "they don't print enough money in Washington, D.C., to give people everything they want," and that needing money for roads and schools is "a good problem to have" because some places in the state are shutting schools and have little traffic.

Volkswagen is ramping up work force readiness for its Chattanooga plant as the automaker's training academy becomes the first building on the $1 billion campus to near completion.

"Now we're starting to see activity related to training," said Steve Leach, the city's public works administrator.

A half-million-dollar audio-visual system was the latest equipment contract OK'ed for the $40 million training center.

City Engineer Bill Payne told the city's Industrial Development Board the system will be installed in the conference center portion of the academy that stands adjacent to the main assembly facilities.

"It will be for training large groups, other special meetings and staff," Mr. Payne said.

A Nashville firm, Technical Innovation, was awarded a $516,000 contract for the equipment.

VW already is training some workers in the training center while workers complete the structure, which is slated for readiness by mid-spring.

Jeff Olingy, Chattanooga State's vice president for economic and community development, said the college has begun training.

"We're very much integrated into their activities and feel like it's very effective," he said.

Mr. Olingy said the training staff involves mostly CSTCC employees, but also includes VW personnel and representatives of equipment suppliers.

Ted Mills, the development board's chairman, said it's promising to see the first VW plant workers receive training.

VW has hired more than 350 people so far, including the first production workers. The company expects to hire more than 2,000 people.

The automaker is targeting an early 2011 startup of its assembly plant that will make a new midsize sedan.

Mr. Leach said a new parkway from Interstate 75 to the training center is expected to be ready this spring.

The state is paying the cost of the training center as part of the estimated $577 million incentive package to woo VW to Chattanooga.

Spring should bring milestones for Robotics Technology Park, and developers say this is creating excitement about the project.

Chairman Joe Sparks said recently at the park’s executive board meeting he receives calls daily from federal agencies, educators, industry, business and the community. Some calls are from outside of the state.

“People are beginning to see how big this is,” Sparks said. “It’s bigger and more unique than they expected. The state of Alabama has a hold on something nobody else has.”

Ed Castile, executive director of the Alabama Industrial Development Training Institute, said his agency and other state industrial development groups are using the robotics park in recruiting. He wouldn’t say who the prospects are, but added there is legitimate interest in relocating to the area.

“This adds another pretty powerful recruiting weapon to our arsenal,” Castile said.

September grand opening

With construction closing in on 40 percent complete and grand opening scheduled for Sept. 15, Phase 1 is primarily an education and training facility.

Calhoun Community College President Marilyn Beck, Dean of Technologies and Workforce Development Bethany Clem and Sparks recently met with the presidents of Alabama A&M University, the University of North Alabama and The University of Alabama in Huntsville to discuss their parts in the park.

Sparks said Athens State will work with the park on a management of technology program. UAH is interested in the research and development part of robotics. The UNA president “had some good ideas” on engineering technology, he said.

Ed Nichols, Decatur City Schools assistant superintendent, and Austin High School teacher Susan Haddock gave a presentation about the Decatur -Austin Robotics Team. Nichols told the board the school system is interested in making sure its students could easily transition into the robotics park classes.

The first phase has seven venders committed to do automated line training and eight to do welding training in the facility.

Planning continues for the second two phases.

Phase 2 is a 30,000-square-foot research, development and test facility with an outdoor test track Sparks said is attracting the attention of federal agencies. The bid opening for this phase is March 18.

Phase 3, is an estimated $6 million, 25,000-square-foot integration and new product development facility. The timeline shows construction beginning in September and taking about 11 months.

Castile said funding for the third phase should be set by May. He will meet with Gov. Bob Riley next week on Phase 3 to talk about a possible federal grant and alternative funding.

Beck said the college began advertising for a park director Feb. 11. The application deadline is March 11. A search committee would then take two or three weeks, depending on schedules and the number of applicants, to recommend three finalists.

The state of Tennessee has agreed to provide $64.2 million for the huge Wacker Chemical development in Bradley County.

The Tennessee Economic and Community Development Department voted recently to provide the funding to Wacker Chemie AG.

The Wacker plant is expected to be about the size of Hamilton County's Volkswagen development.

The funds will go through the Southeast Tennessee Development District.

The $64.2 million is the estimated project cost for the state portion of infrastructure for the plant.

Funding will include $7.3 million in capital outlay from current funds. The remaining $56.9 million will be secured through bonds.

Officials said, "This is a grant for the acquisition of equipment and
acquisition, site preparation, erection, construction and equipment of sites and buildings and infrastructure improvements and development including, but not limited to, sewer, water, utility infrastructure and rail
infrastructure, with TVA to perform the electrical infrastructure work."

It was noted that Wacker Chemie AG is currently the world’s second largest producer of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon.

Wacker has manufactured polysilicon for more than 50 years and has steadily expanded its capacity to meet
rising solar-silicon demand in the photovoltaic industry (solar panels), officials said.

The plant, which will have about 500 employees, is due to get underway late this year or early next year.

Chattanooga is gaining a new corporate headquarters as a company with a long history in the city plans to bring its top management team here.

Mueller Co., currently based in Decatur, Ill., is shifting its president and nearly a dozen officials to the Scenic City, according to the company that makes water valves and hydrants.

"Chattanooga is a much more central location for us," said John Pensec, a spokesman for the company's parent, Atlanta-based Mueller Water Products Inc.

Mueller has a production plant in Chattanooga off Amnicola Highway where it employs 415 workers and a facility in Cleveland, Tenn., with 69 employees. It has a fire hydrant plant in Albertville, Ala.

Mueller will lease space for its home office in downtown's Republic Centre, Mr. Pensec said.

A number of Mueller Co.'s business operations, such as customer service, accounting and corporate travel, will remain in Decatur.

Still, Chattanooga's gaining a headquarters is a trend reversal due in part to the acquisition of city-based businesses in recent years.

J. Ed Marston, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's vice president of marketing, said Mueller's move is an endorsement of the city. He cited the city's business atmosphere and lower costs.

Kim White, president of the nonprofit downtown redevelopment group RiverCity Co., said wooing more company headquarters to the central city is a main goal.

"This is a sign of things to come," she said.

Mr. Pensec said he expects the transition to be complete over the summer.

In addition to the logistics, he mentioned Chattanooga's business climate and quality of life.

"It will help us grow the business and attract talent," he said.

Mueller officials, like others in the infrastructure business, are looking for the housing industry to recover.

Its publicly held parent company, which also owns U.S. Pipe, reported a net loss of $10.7 million, or 7 cents a share, on lower sales in its most recent quarter.

With the inking of two pacts, the city's independent industrial development board has taken over the city's biggest chunk of industrial land and created what officials call a "one-stop shop" for industrial recruiting.

One agreement signed recently gives the IDB title to the 392-acre Horizon Center Business Park.

The other accord hires the Oak Ridge Economic Partnership - a branch of the city's Chamber of Commerce - to oversee IDB operations and recruit industrial prospects.

"The Partnership-IDB alliance and Horizon Center property transfer go hand in hand and just seem to make sense to help step up our marketing and recruiting efforts for industrial development," said Lawrence Young, president of the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee, which conveyed the industrial park to the IDB.

Young also is a member of the Economic Partnership board of directors.

Under that land transfer, CROET will receive $9,500 an acre for any Horizon Center land that's sold in the future, and the IDB would pocket any profits to be used for future industrial development.

In the linkup with the Economic Partnership, the IDB will pay the partnership $1,000 a month for its services, and partnership president Kim Denton will oversee the board's daily business.

Officials said the two agreements should speed industrial recruiting and the sale of land in Horizon Center.

That industrial park in west Oak Ridge was developed several years ago with more than $11 million in Department of Energy funds. Only one small firm has located there.

The IDB now has nearly $600,000 in its coffers that it has received from various fees.

Business experts will meet in Asheville this month to discuss plans across the state to improve the economy and create jobs.

Registration is now open for the AdvantageWest Economic Summit titled “Pathways to a New Economy.”

The summit, which features a panel of business and political leaders, is March 29 at Diana Wortham Theatre, 2 S. Pack Square, in downtown Asheville. The evening starts with a reception at 5:30 p.m.

AdvantageWest is the economic develop agency for North Carolina's 23 western counties.

The summit comes at a time when regional unemployment is at 12 percent, said the agency's Chief Executive Scott Hamilton.

But, he said, AdvantageWest has taken more calls this year from companies looking to expand in the data and technical industries as well as smaller businesses looking to grow.

The summit will give the public a chance to hear firsthand from experts about where the economy is heading.

“I think it's an opportunity for people to hear what is being done for job creation and economic recovery,” he said. “What the plans are not just in the region, but across the state.”

The panel discussion will be 7:15-8:45 p.m., with retired lawyer, politician and university administrator D.G. Martin, now a newspaper columnist and UNC-TV host, serving as moderator.

Panelists include:

N.C Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco, who in addition to the perspective of his current role will also address questions regarding the NC STEM Community Collaborative, exploring near-term business issues and longer-term education and curricular issues with regard to science, technology, engineering and math education.

Mike Fulenwider, president and CEO of Fulenwider Enterprises Inc. in Morganton, who will speak about business issues specifically relating to small businesses and start-ups.

Martin Lancaster, former president of the North Carolina Community College System, who also served in Congress 1987-95. He will address the relationship between education and economic development.

State Sen. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, who will speak about business issues as they relate to political challenges in the state.

Nelson Schwab III, managing partner at Carousel Capital, a private equity firm in Charlotte specializing in small leveraged buyouts and recapitalization transactions, will address finance, capital and entrepreneurialism.

Tickets are $50.

Registration is available at www.advantagewest.com, or call Amanda Baranski at 687-7234 for more information. Attendees can submit questions for the panelists in advance via advantagewesteconomicsummit@gmail.com.

Adding to an impressive string of positive press, Huntsville has been named America's best city for job growth prospects.

Moody's Economy.com, which previously ranked the Rocket City No. 2 for employment potential, elevated Huntsville to the top spot in its latest review of 378 metropolitan areas. Auburn-Opelika is ranked second nationally by Moody's, with Phenix City-Columbus, Ga. (seventh), Mobile (12th) and Montgomery (22nd) also faring well.

The new rankings appear in the latest issue of The Economist, a respected British financial publication.

"It's extremely significant," Joe Vallely, Huntsville's economic development director, said Tuesday. "Anytime you get a No. 1 ranking nationwide by a respected firm like that, it's big. They don't just give those puppies out."

An Economist story titled "Alabama's small cities are poised for recovery," mentions Cummings Research Park, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, AEgis Technologies, which created the three-dimensional models of Vancouver that NBC used in last month's Olympic broadcasts, and CFD Research, a defense firm researching insect-mounted cameras and glucose-based batteries.

"Eat your heart out, Birmingham," the article concludes.

Huntsville's previous Moody's Economy.com accolades were partly based on the continuing relocation of 4,700 military jobs from suburban Washington. Assistant economist Martin Soler Garcia, who studies the city for Moody's, could not be reached Tuesday to talk about the latest review.

Vallely said job-growth rankings, which are widely reported in the financial media, can "spur renewed interest" from companies that have flirted with moving to the Rocket City and help validate the decision of those that are already here.

Tennessee has been ranked among the top states in Site Selection magazine's annual rankings for economic development in 2009.

The magazine also ranked two Tennessee cities -- Morristown and Memphis -- among the top cities of their size.

Tennessee rated No. 5, behind Ohio, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

The state said in a news release Wednesday that since January 2003, economic development projects in Tennessee have created more than 179,000 new jobs, $29 billion in new capital investment and 49 new corporate headquarters.

Memphis rated No. 9 among metropolitan areas with more than 1 million population. Morristown was tied for No. 6 for cities with populations under 200,000.

The tallies are based on expansion or relocation projects that meet at least one of three standards: a capital investment of at least $1 million, creation of at least 50 new jobs or creation of at least 20,000 square feet of new floor space. Only corporate projects are considered.

A Silicon Valley company introduced new energy technology in February with a strong Tennessee Valley connection.

According to a release from Congressman Zach Wamp, he first learned about solid oxide fuel cell technology seven years ago from Bloom Energy principal co-founder and CEO Dr. K.R. Sridhar. Their meeting led to a partnership of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, The Enterprise Center and the Tennessee Valley Technology Corridor, which brought about the testing and demonstration of the new fuel cell in Chattanooga.

The UTC SimCenter first hosted a 5 kilowatt (kW) stationary solid oxide fuel cell demonstration, which can produce enough electricity to heat or cool a 5,000-square-foot house, about five years ago.

The SimCenter has tested the viability of additional fuel cells since then. This week, Bloom Energy announced the availability of the Bloom Energy Server, also called a Bloom Box, to allow customers to create their own clean energy onsite.

“The Tennessee Valley has been involved with this technology for a long time, and we’re now at the point of its commercialization. The ultimate goal would be to manufacture fuel cells in Tennessee and bring back our manufacturing base,” said Congressman Wamp.

According to a report on the energy source by EFitnessNow.com, "Bloom Energy has been quietly revolutionizing the power industry. The company, headquartered in Sunnyvale California, has announced a fuel cell technology that will allow homes and businesses to generate their electricity without the need to be tied to the grid.”

According to the report, "Bloom claims the technology was derived from spinoffs from NASA’s Mars program. Individual Bloom cells only generate about 25 watts, but after stacking thousands together they form an energy block capable of providing clean energy sufficient to run any business."

“Bloom’s technology could have a tremendous impact for the world in creating new energy sources that are off the grid, and is cleaner and more efficient than much of today’s power generation. Fuel cell technology coupled with increased nuclear energy could significantly shrink our country’s carbon footprint.”

Both in Tennessee and the nation, demand for energy has slowed along with the economy.

But no one should accept the false notion that our country is energy-secure.

Long-term, energy development and energy independence are enormous issues our nation must address more aggressively. The economy will abso-lutely recover, growth will resume and energy deficiencies will, again, be front and center as topics of major concern.

That's why it is heartening to see the Obama administration tackle energy issues head-on, with aggressive support for all forms of energy, including nuclear plants, offshore oil and gas development, advanced biofuels, clean coal and renewable energy from wind and solar.

At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers and scientists are looking at affordable and efficient ways to tap these sources of energy and more.
President Barack Obama is depending upon this Tennessee-based research to help better understand all these energy sources that must be promptly pursued, particularly nuclear energy, as key to meeting the nation's energy requirements.

Obama backs up talk

Only nuclear energy can replace the immense base load power requirements now supplied by coal-fired power plants. Nuclear plants must be a major part of the country's transition to clean energy, or major shortages will occur, with resulting damage to the economy. At an address at the Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in Oak Ridge in May, Sen. Lamar Alexander advocated building more than 100 nuclear power plants as just a start to meet the challenge.

Thus, in his Jan. 27 State of the Union address, President Obama called for "building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants" to create clean-energy jobs and boost energy production and efficiency. He proposed in his 2011 budget up to $55 billion in federal loan guarantees to help jump-start construction. On Feb. 16 he announced the first loan guarantee, amounting to $8.3 billion to help build two large reactors in Burke, Ga., the first new nuclear plant in our country in three decades.

This is aggressive, positive action by the president and his administration.
With the leadership of Oak Ridge laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority, Gov. Phil Bredesen and members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, this state will provide much-needed leadership and expertise to support these efforts.

The rest of the world is moving rapidly with nuclear power development.
Obama noted that 56 nuclear reactors are under construction around the world, with many more being planned. In China alone, 21 reactors are being built; six in South Korea; and five in India. France receives 80 percent of its electrical power from clean nuclear plants.

The one new plant in Georgia, the president noted, "will cut carbon pollution by 16 million tons each year when compared to a similar coal plant. That's like taking 3.5 million cars off the road."

It is important to remember that nuclear plants, while safe and clean, generate waste that must be securely disposed of. Without proper disposal, we simply can't have nuclear power.

EnergySolutions is proud to provide waste disposal services to the nuclear industry. We clean up legacy waste, and we help keep nuclear plants running and producing the energy this nation needs. Without our services, the great promise of nuclear energy will never be achieved.

Part of the America's nuclear arsenal could end up in the Sequoyah or Browns Ferry power plants under an agreement reached recently between the military and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

TVA has agreed to consider using weapon-grade plutonium from discarded nuclear bombs to help fuel its nuclear plants in the next decade.

The pact between TVA and the National Nuclear Security Administration, if completed, could help the military dispose of surplus nuclear weapons' waste while providing TVA a cheaper source of nuclear fuel for the Sequoyah plant near Soddy-Daisy and the Browns Ferry plant near Athens, Ala.

But critics said the approach inappropriately mixes military and civilian use of nuclear materials and creates an undue risk in the Tennessee Valley.

"This sends the wrong signal around the world and is an unnecessary risk for TVA," said Tom Clements, the Southeastern Nuclear Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth opposed to such nuclear reprocessing technology.

TVA must still evaluate the use of the nuclear fuel made, in part, from nuclear warheads being discarded under arms control agreements by the U.S. government. The government is building a $5 billion mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel fabrication facility at the Department of Energy's Savannah River facility in South Carolina to convert weapons grade plutonium into MOX fuel for a civilian nuclear plant by 2017.

Ken Baker, a deputy administrator at the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, said the agreement with TVA "is an important step" in evaluating the use of MOX fuel "in a way that realizes the energy value of the material and advances our nuclear nonproliferation agenda."

Mixed-oxide fuel uses plutonium from bombs to replace part of the uranium-235 for the fissile material that generates the heat inside a nuclear reactor. The U.S. government is trying to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapon-grade plutonium withdrawn from the nuclear weapons program.

The MOX fuel from discarded bombs was previously tested for two refueling cycles at Duke Energy Co.'s Catawba Nuclear Plant. But Duke decided against competing the third and final refueling test and ended its agreement with the military in December 2008.

Steve Nesbit, Duke Energy's director of nuclear policy and support, said the utility got "lots of good operating data" from testing the plutonium. He said the program was stopped because of operational issues, not the fuel.

For nearly a decade, TVA has burned fuel in its nuclear plants derived from U.S. surplus highly-enriched uranium originally targeted for nuclear bombs. TVA has used nearly 40 metric tons of surplus HEU by burning what is known as Blended Low-Enriched Uranium, or BLEU, which the Department of Energy makes by blending the low- and highly-enriched uranium.

TVA also has helped make tritium for the military at its Watts Bar plant near Spring City, Tenn.

But the proposed MOX fuel targeted for Sequoyah and Browns Ferry could be the first weapons-grade plutonium from a completed warhead ever put into nuclear power plant.

TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said TVA agreed to evaluate the use of MOX fuel as part of its government mission to serve the nation's defense needs. TVA helped produce munitions at its Muscle Shoals facility in the past and built some of its dams in the 1940s to supply energy for the development of the atomic bomb in Oak Ridge.

Volkswagen, adding weight to its slogan of “green city, green plant, green car,” will seek LEED status for its Chattanooga assembly plant.

The site would be the South’s first auto assembly plant and only the second nationally to gain the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design badge, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

“LEED is green, and green is part of our image,” said Dieter Schleifer, manager of plant infrastructure for VW’s Chattanooga operations.

Tobias Schmedding, the plant’s assistant manager for environment, said the local plant will be VW’s greenest assembly plant worldwide.

“We chose the most efficient equipment and the most environmentally friendly processes,” he said.

A General Motors assembly plant in Lansing, Mich., is the only other that is LEED certified, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Council. That factory achieved the Gold level in 2006, said Ashley Katz with the Council.

According to VW, green is a focus companywide, including at its $1 billion Chattanooga plant slated to start production in early 2011.

Mr. Schleifer said green initiatives save money in the long run, especially if the efforts are put into place during the planning process rather than installed later.

“One example is energy,” he said. “If you invest in an energy-efficient plant, that will pay back over time.” Mr. Schmedding said the plant’s planners fought for the facility to have more insulation, and the company’s board OK’ed the idea.

The plants exterior walls include six-inch wide mineral wool insulation panels squeezed between aluminum, the officials said.

“This is better than the basic standard in the U.S.,” Mr. Schmedding said.

He said the insulation is 35 percent more energy efficient that the standard.

Even the plant’s roof is considered more energy efficient. Mr. Schleifer said the roof surface is made of a white membrane, which helps reflect the sun, and it is double insulated.

During construction of the mammoth 2 million-square-foot facility, the separation and recycling of waste materials is routine with big containers spaced around the plant, the officials said.

“We made every contractor responsible for this,” Mr. Schleifer said, adding that at least 75 percent of construction waste is to be recycled.

PAINT SHOP

A key environmental effort will involve the plant’s paint shop, the officials said.

Mr. Schmedding said that in addition to using green-friendly water-based paint, VW will paint autos using two steps rather than the typical three. He said the move will save energy but maintain high-quality standards.

Additionally, Mr. Schleifer said the paint shop will use a dry filtration process rather than one which is water based.

“Usually, you get wet paint sludge,” said Mr. Schmedding. “With the change to dry, you get a dry powder.”
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Inside the plant, VW is using thousands of florescent light tubes which are 20 percent more efficient than standard ones, said Mr. Schleifer.

At the plant’s offices, VW will utilize energy efficient LED lighting at employees’ desks, he said. In addition, skylights will be placed to provide natural lighting in the administrative area, Mr. Schleifer said.

LED lighting also will illuminate the parking lots around the plant.

“They’re very focused so there is no light pollution,” Mr. Schmedding said.

Plant windows will be double-paned and hold a special coating on the inside to reduce heat, Mr. Schleifer said.

“It’s a little bit like sunglasses,” he said.

The University of Louisville will lead a federally funded effort to develop computer software that will allow health and emergency workers to get people and equipment where they need to be during a pandemic, officials announced recently.

U of L President James Ramsey and other officials said funding for the three-year projected will be provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the Somerset, Ky.-based National Institute of Hometown Security. The effort is expected to cost $3.3 million, and an initial 18-month installment of $1.7 million was secured by U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers, R-Ky.

Sunderesh Heragu, an industrial engineering professor, will head up the research group, which also will include other professors from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and the School of Public Health and Information Sciences.

The group will work on a system that could help provide medical care where needed even when first responders or health care providers are sickened during a pandemic. The researchers also will factor in the logistics of getting medical personnel, supplies and hospital beds where they are needed most.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hopes it can put its computer simulation center to work creating revenue for the university.

"Academics can bring in some of its (financial) needs by using their expertise," UTC Chancellor Roger Brown told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "That's money we won't have to ask for from the state."

The university hopes to make money through its SimCenter computational engineering lab.

John Schaerer, president of the SimCenter's nonprofit arm, SimCenter Enterprises, said the funding is needed to keep the center in the vanguard.

"There are a lot of applications to the automotive industry," Schaerer said. "High-tech businesses like to cluster where first-class research and education programs exist. The SimCenter becomes a calling card."

The SimCenter - formed in 2002 - is described by the university as a national center for computational engineering. It creates computer simulation programs that can be used to solve industry problems. The center houses master's degree and doctoral programs in computational engineering.

Schaerer said a good fit would be automotive and transportation companies.

A project with Chattanooga-based U.S. Xpress has already shown promise.

Simulation programs developed by UTC have let the company test new aerodynamic models, saving the cost of on-the-road testing of equipment.

They provide a terrific resource as far as the research capability," said Greg Thompson, a spokesman for U.S. Xpress. "You can look at a computerized model before you go in and build a prototype. It provides tremendous advantages for our business. The potential for fuel savings and efficiency is quite significant."

The university is planning for another funding cut this year of 6 percent or $2.8 million.

Since 2008, UTC has lost 13.9 percent of its state appropriations, a total of $8 million. The UT system overall will cut more than $110 million by 2012.

Schaerer said researchers at SimCenter want to do simulation modeling with automotive companies, and specifically mentioned Volkswagen, which is building an auto assembly plant in Chattanooga.

University officials will watch to see how successful the SimCenter's commercial ventures become, with an eye to finding other sources of revenue within the university, such as nursing, physical therapy, business and engineering, Brown said.

Arpad Vass, the forensic anthropologist at ORNL who's gained worldwide attention for his work in detecting clandestine gravesites and other projects related to human decomposition, said LABRADOR (Lightweight Analyzer for Buried Remains and Decomposition Odor Recognition) is the culmination of almost a decade's work on detection technologies. Vass developed the device in collaboration with Marc Wise.

At this point, the only unit available Vass is reluctant to call a prototype. "It's a working unit," he said, adding that he hopes other units will be available in the not-too-distant future at a cost of around $1,500 per.

"We're trying to finalize the patent process. That's been taking forever," he said today. "Once we get that finalized, then we'll actively look for CRADA partners."

"The advantage of this is that the sensors are interchangeable, so it can be used not only for clandestine grave detection, but could be used to look for methamphetamine production or explosives -- anything that has a vapor pressure that produces an odor. That's how we're going to market this."

Vass confirmed he's getting ready to make another trip to California to help on another difficult-to-solve criminal case. "It's just another case where finding the victim is critical in terms of being able to prosecute," he said. "You've got to prove they're dead. That is a critical aspect."

The ORNL scientist wasn't specific about the case, but said he and others will be looking for remains of a body in a "construction dumping area," which means there'll be lots of junk and potentially complicating factors.

Meanwhile, Vass said he envisions the LABRADOR being used in many ways, including a tool for police department homicide units. He also said it could be used to potentially locate the remains of World War II and Vietnam War victims who have never been recovered. Even decades after the fact, bones have an odor associated with them that could possibly be detected, he said.

Vass also said he would like to see the technology used to uncover human rights violations in such places as Bosnia.

Local movie-goers may have seen the Oscar-winning film, "The Hurt Locker," but how many recognized a local robot as one of the film's main characters?

Remotec in Clinton provided two robots from its fleet for use in the film. The robots gave the movie audience a real sense of what the device was developed for -- disarming roadside bombs.

Robots, or unmanned vehicles, serve that purpose whether play-acting or in real scenarios, such as war. According to Remotec and its parent company, Northrop Grumman Corp., what the HD1 robot did in the movie is an accurate account of what the robot is designed to accomplish.

"It was completely accurate," said Mark Kauchak, Remotec marketing director.

Remotec sent two robots to the country of Jordan, along with an operator, for use in filming the "The Hurt Locker," which was directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

The Remotec ANDROS fleet of hazardous-duty unmanned vehicles are designed to assist the government, the military, law enforcement and other defense-related agencies in hazardous-duty operations, regardless of the challenge.

Remotec began operations as a private company in 1980 in Oak Ridge to provide remote handling to the nuclear arena. The company expanded to areas outside of the nuclear field and purchased the ANDROS technology in 1986, and in 1996, became a division of Northrop Grumman.

Remotec's unmanned vehicles are currently being used in Iraq and Afghanistan to assist military personnel with identifying and safely dismantling improvised explosive devices, known as IEDs.

But, they are no strangers to Hollywood and the film industry.

"We have a long history of robots being in Hollywood," said Paul Cabellon, Northrop Grumman spokesman.

He said robots have been in Dodge commercials and one was used in an episode of the "Seinfeld" television sitcom a few years back.

The latest Hollywood adventure came about after a phone call.

That phone call came to Cabellon from an official with Stone Management, an entertainment contractor, who wanted a "product placement."

"Strategically, it was a good move," Cabellon said. "The decision made us become part of the fabric of American media."

''The Hurt Locker,'' an Iraq War drama, won Best Picture and five other Oscars Sunday at the Academy Awards. Included in that haul was a Best Director nod for Bigelow, who became the first woman in Oscar history to win Best Director.

The film follows a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq War. The term "hurt locker" is slang for being injured in an explosion, as in "they sent him to the hurt locker."

Filming began in July 2007 in Amman, Jordan.

A local man, Chris Surber, accompanied the HD1 robots to Jordan for the filming and to make sure HD1 stayed mechanically ready. Surber no longer works for Remotec, according to Kauchak.

In the real world, the unmanned vehicles can save a soldier's life because IEDs statistically are the No. 1 killers of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Robots are equipped with cameras that can show the soldier what the robot sees without approaching a bomb, and they are controlled by remote control.

"They look at suspicious objects and react," said Kauchak.

He said the HD1 robot used in the film weighs about 230 pounds and is the same device currently used by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as police departments all over the United States. He said the robots were part of the company's "demo fleet," which is used to demonstrate the product before purchase.

Both Cabellon and Kauchak said the company is "real excited" about the Oscar.

With the Oscar and the film's recognition of Remotec, "It just adds to our accomplishments," Kauchak said.

"This is American-made stuff. It's the real deal," Cabellon said.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers will lead projects that have been awarded a total of 251 million processor hours of computing time on supercomputers at ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.

These awards were made through the U.S. Department of Energy's Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, or INCITE, program.

This year, the INCITE program will make approximately 1.6 billion processor hours available to projects designed to facilitate breakthroughs in areas such as climate change, alternative energy, life sciences and materials science. According to a news release, the projects were selected based on peer reviews and evaluations of their potential to advance scientific discovery.

Jeremy Smith, a biophysicist, was awarded 25 million processor hours to run simulations that will help reveal the inner workings of lignocellulosic biomass, a raw material for biofuel production.

Terry Jones, a computer scientist, was awarded 4 million processor hours to investigate improvements in system software on leadership class computer systems.

Robert Harrison, a computational chemist, was awarded 75 million processor hours to investigate the rational design of catalysts using the reliable and accurate prediction of the electronic structure of large molecules and surfaces.

Markus Eisenbach, a computational scientist, was awarded 21 million processor hours to analyze magnetic systems and, in particular, the effect of temperature on these systems using first principles methods.

A team of computational astrophysicists from ORNL, the University of Tennessee, Florida Atlantic University, and North Carolina State University, led by Anthony Mezzacappa, was awarded 34 million processor hours to develop three-dimensional models of core collapse supernovae.

Patrick Worley leads a team of computer scientists that was awarded 20 million processor hours to maximize the utility of leadership-class computer systems.

Researchers in ORNL's Nuclear Science and Technology Division were awarded 8 million processor hours to perform nuclear reactor simulations on Boiling Water Reactor assemblies.

Jack Wells, a physicist, has been awarded 24 million processor hours to investigate materials that could be used to develop lithium air batteries capable of powering a car for 500 miles on a single charge.

America has always been built on connections. We connected our country early on with canals and turnpikes, then railroads and telegraph wires, then telephone and electric wiring, roads and interstates. Now our challenge is to connect globally via the Internet.

According to the Pew Research Center, 74 percent of Americans adults use the Internet, with 60 percent using broadband connections at home. Now 55 percent of Americans tap into the Internet wirelessly, either through a Wi-Fi connection on their laptops or just pulling a smart phone out of their pocket or purse.

That’s still not good enough.

The more of our citizens we can get online, the better our businesses will be able to compete with those overseas. Faster broadband for all will mean better education for our children in our schools. With advances in telemedicine and medical information technology, we can save more lives.

The Federal Communications Commission delivered a National Broadband Plan Tuesday to Congress, setting an ambitious blueprint over the next decade that will hook up more Americans to the fastest access to the Internet. The new plan grew out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of last year, which sought to stimulate a faltering economy in the doldrums of the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

We’re still not out of the woods as far as the Great Recession, but it makes sense to look to the future and invest in the infrastructure that will bring more jobs in years ahead. The stimulus plan provided $7.2 billion in broadband projects and directed the FCC to come up with the national blueprint.

The FCC plan calls for connecting 100 million homes to affordable 100-megabit per second service, to create the world’s largest market of high-speed broadband users. Currently, most broadband users can only expect upload and download speeds around 4 megabits per second.

To bridge that digital divide between more affluent and more urban users and those in poorer rural areas, the FCC recommends fine-tuning the Universal Service Fund that brought telephone landlines to remote customers in the past century, supporting broadband technologies.

Cynthia Marshall, president of AT&T in North Carolina, thinks that’s a good idea. “Broadband is not a luxury anymore. It’s a necessity,” she said.

For now, we are lagging behind other nations as far as high-speed Internet access. The U.S. currently ranks 18th in the world with the no. 1 spot going to South Korea, where the average broadband speed is three times our sometimes balky and unreliable lines.

The FCC National Broadband Plan sets a goal of raising the number of Americans actually using broadband from 60 percent to more than 90 percent and to make sure that every child in America is digitally literate by the time he or she graduates high school.

The pay-off could be enormous.

Just a 7 percent increase in broadband adoption could create 2.4 million jobs and result in a $134 billion economic impact annually, according to some estimates. It’s easier on the planet as well. With more people commuting to work online rather than physically in cars, broadband actually saves more than 840 million gallons of gas each year. Over the next decade, broadband could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a billion tons.

But building out the nation for broadband won’t come cheap. The FCC estimates it’s a $350 billion project. That can’t be just taxpayer dollars. Private sector companies like AT&T and others have spent $100 billion in the past two years. AT&T points to $19 billion the company plans to spend in North Carolina on landlines and cell sites, particularly toward improving its wireless network.

Given the growth in wireless technology, it’s become more economically feasible to reach everyone in Western North Carolina. Without having to lay fiber-optic lines all the way to a subscriber’s home, Internet service providers can now send wireless signals across dense downtowns and rural countryside, connecting anyone with the Internet.

With the release of a national plan, we urge the state’s lawmakers and business leaders to bring all of North Carolina online, from the high-tech users of the Research Triangle Park to the most isolated homes in the hollers of Western North Carolina.

Could ultra high-speed Internet be coming to Oak Ridge?

City officials are currently working on an application in response to a request for information from Google Inc. The RFI will help the company identify communities -- from around the country -- that are interested in qualifying for the chance to be one of a "small number of trial locations" in which Google plans to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks that could provide Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what's currently available in most areas.

"We're definitely going to be filing an application," said Deputy City Manager Steve Jenkins.

The application deadline is March 26.

"We don't know for sure, if we're lucky enough to be selected, what would be required. Right now they're saying they're not really requiring anything," Jenkins said of what Oak Ridge might have to provide for the project.

One thing that could be in Oak Ridge's favor is the fact that the city has its own electric system. "That's a benefit to them," Jenkins said.

Another factor could be the world's fastest computers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

"We're going to take advantage of having the national lab as part of our community. Not many communities include that as one of their shared assets," Interim City Manager Gary Cinder said.

"One of the things they're looking for, is how can an ultra high-speed -- we're talking about 20 times faster than Comcast right now -- how can that be used to further society in general?" Jenkins said. "We have a lot of people that do a lot of that kind of research anyway."

Oak Ridge resident Tony Turner wrote in an e-mail to City Council members that he thinks "This is the kind of Big Hairy Audacious Goal that can put Oak Ridge on the map and bring new people and business here.

"What better city to have involved than the home of the world's fastest computer? We can provide compelling evidence for Google to select us: 1. Home of Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the world's fastest computer; 2. A relatively small footprint; 3. Residents who have above average knowledge of computer applications and who would embrace this initiative," Turner wrote.

"Google is doing this project in order to test their ultra-high-speed network technology plans in the real world, and it seems to me that Oak Ridge could be a good setting for such testing," City Council member Ellen Smith wrote in response to Turner's e-mail.

"Not only is this a community that has many technology-hungry residents but does not yet have the kind of high-speed access that is available in some major metropolitan areas, but it's the site of some of the world's largest supercomputers -- and there are local residents and businesses (and potential businesses) that would be eager to use a fiber communications system for remote access to ORNL's computing resources," Smith wrote.

Google said its fiber optics-to-the-home connections, an expense that could cost municipalities millions of dollars if they installed the fiber optics network, will offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

Huntsville's bid for Google's ultra-high-speed broadband network just got a little more serious.

Mayor Tommy Battle announced the creation of a Get Google task force to help tout the Rocket City as the perfect test market for Google Fiber. The group includes state lawmakers, university leaders, biotechnology experts and computer gurus.

Battle said Huntsville's blend of college-educated professionals, private enterprise and "cutting-edge science and technology" make it a natural fit for a fiberoptic network that promises download speeds up to 1 gigabit per second - about 50 times faster than most homes have access to today.

"Huntsville is a place that has reached limitless heights and helped put man on the moon," Battle said. "We're now working to reach limitless (Internet speeds) as well."

The task force includes state Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, state Rep. Phil Williams, R-Huntsville, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Executive Vice President Dr. O'Neal Smitherman and Peyton McNully, who is pushing the Google Fiber idea on his Google4HSV Facebook page.

The group will spend the next two weeks putting the final touches on the city's application and drumming up public support for one of the most anticipated technology experiments in years.

Last month, Google announced plans to test its fiberoptic network in an area with between 50,000 and 500,000 residents. Cities bidding for the project are required to submit applications by March 26.

Seattle; St. Louis; Washington, D.C.; Indianapolis; Fresno, Calif.; Baton Rouge, La.; Charlottesville, Va., and Chapel Hill, N.C., are some other cities said to be pursuing Google Fiber.

But McNully said he can't think of a better test market than Huntsville. Lots of people seem to agree: His Google4HSV Facebook page has more than 6,100 followers who are backing the city's bid.

"Google plans to be the job growth catalyst and innovation catalyst in some community in the U.S.," McNully said Monday. "It's our job to make sure it's Huntsville."

While download speeds of 1 gigabit per second would make it a snap to watch high-definition movies on your home computer, McNully said the potential goes way beyond entertainment. Faster access to information could spur entrepreneurs to develop new technologies that change how we live, he said.

"These types of technology initiatives," McNully said, "are what make Huntsville tick."

Wayne Brooks, the city's information technology services director, said Google's choice may come down to which city wants it most. He urged people who want Google Fiber here to nominate Huntsville. Do that by going to the city government's Web site, www.hsvcity.com, and clicking the "We are Feeling Lucky!" button.

That links you to the Google Fiber Web site. Click "Get Involved" to nominate Huntsville.

Butler, the state senator, said he plans to ask Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Development Office to also get behind the city's application.

"Why Huntsville? Why Google?" Butler said. "Because they fit like a glove."

Google this: Johnson City 1 gigabit Internet speed.

Google wants to build a superhighway to every home in some American community, and local leaders reckon Johnson City is as good a choice as any for the powerful technology company.

The municipal government, Johnson City Power Board and others are teaming up to submit a “Request for Information” by March 26 showing Google why it should select Johnson City for a “beta test” of its entry into the “fiber-to-the-home” Internet service market. Google wants to build a fiber optic network that will deliver speeds of 1 gigabit per second – about 100 times faster than the current average broadband speed – in a community of between 50,000 and 500,000.

“I recognize we’re in stiff competition, but I think it’s worth some effort to put Johnson City out there,” said Todd Smith, a business management analyst for the city.

Smith said a local consultant, Jeff Brunson, alerted him to the Google project a couple weeks ago. Smith thinks the Johnson City area has several strong points in its favor, and he said the economic development potential such a network would bring is incalculable.

“Infrastructure any more is not just about building roads, bridges and sewers,” Smith said. “Even if Google doesn’t come to Johnson City, I still think we have to have this conversation of, ‘how do we get ultra high-speed broadband to Johnson City.’ ”

For its part, Google is trying to decide whether it can cost-effectively build faster, more powerful networks and integrating that into its mix of technology services.

At the Web page publicizing the request for information, in an embedded YouTube video, Google product manager James Kelly explains the company’s motives in a thick Irish brogue.

Kelly says Google wants “to experiment with new ways to make the Web better and faster for everyone, allowing applications that will be impossible today.

“We also want to try out new ways to build and operate fiber networks and share what we learn with the world. Finally, we’re going to operate open access networks, meaning we’ll share our network with other service providers giving users more choice.”

The opportunity comes just as the Johnson City Power Board is considering its own investment into fiber-to-the-home, something already offered by the electricity providers in both Bristols, Tennessee and Virginia. Smith said he sees that as an advantage in Johnson City’s application.

“They (JCPB) have done a preliminary economic impact study and a preliminary market analysis, so they have pretty good data that there is a demand for it in this market.”

Smith also said Johnson City, with about 75,000 JCPB customers, would be a less expensive choice for Google than some larger metros.

While high-speed Internet is available here, it’s of the more typical 5 and 10 megabit-per-second variety. That is fine for many casual home users, but doesn’t really create the kind of economic opportunities a “larger pipe” could, Smith said.

“If you’re Carespark (a regional electronic medical records organization) and you’re trying to get this digital medical records program in space, and get these high capacity files from one doctor’s office to the surgeon’s office, then it does matter.

“If you’re an architect that works from home, or a digital media grad who wants to ship a large digital media file to a company on the West Coast, then it matters.”

Larger-scale job opportunities, such as data centers, call centers and other tech-related industries are looking for as much data transmission capacity as they can find, Smith said.

Richie Torbett owns Networking and Computer Connection, a local technology service company, and said a one gig “pipe” would also help existing businesses.

“The potential of having that much more bandwidth is great, from doing remote backups to doing more computing in the ‘cloud,’ ’’ Torbett said.

He said many businesses now back up files remotely, but can’t do so fast enough with the current smaller bandwidth, unless they add other steps that cost extra money. Torbett also said a new and better alternative to “VoIP” for Internet-based phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP), isn’t real viable locally because it requires more bandwidth than many businesses have available.

“With enough bandwidth, both those things could make local businesses more competitive,” Torbett said.

He also said start-up companies involved in “cloud computing” (providing services to users that don’t get installed directly on the hard drive) will be looking for communities with robust broadband capabilities.

“If someone’s wanting to offer software as a service and they’re looking for a place to host their application, they need somewhere with a lot of bandwidth.”

The head of East Tennessee State University’s computer science department also likes the idea and said that strong a fiber optic network “would have a major positive impact on education.”

Terry Countermine said online instruction at ETSU has grown from 85 courses in 2004 to 256 last year, and that both the number and quality of those courses could increase if Johnson City gets fiber.

“Online instruction would benefit by enabling educators to provide content that depends on high-speed connectivity,” Countermine said. “At a time of shrinking resources in higher education we could use some help.”

In keeping with Google’s post-modern business model, Smith said the city will include a video presentation as part of its submission, and is conducting an all-out blitz to generate community support.

“We want to get as much feedback as we can for this submission, so we can really demonstrate to Google that not only are the public entities interested, the community support is also out there.”

The city and JCPB have set up a Web site that allows community members to show that support at www.highspeedahead.com, or send e-mail to highspeedahead@gmail.com.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu was in town on March 22 to help celebrate a new $549 million storehouse for the nation's supply of bomb-grade uranium - a high-security facility so stout it reportedly could withstand the impact of a commercial aircraft.

While Chu had words of praise for the massive structure - known officially as the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility - and those who designed and built it, the secretary's most welcome words at the ceremony were those supporting an even bigger project at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant.

"It's time to build a new Uranium Processing Facility," the energy secretary told a crowd of about 1,100 gathered under a tent on a chilly afternoon in early spring.

UPF would be three times the size of HEUMF and carry a price tag that has been estimated at $1.4 billion to $3.5 billion. It's supposed to replace Y-12's current production facility, 9212, which dates back to the earliest days of the Cold War and is suffering the deteriorating effects of age. Preliminary construction activity on UPF could begin this fall.

Chu said new facilities at Y-12 are part of a necessary investment to "reverse the decline" of the nation's nuclear infrastructure. Not only do they support the weapons program and nonproliferation efforts, but they also can play a role in the resurgence of nuclear power, he said. Chu noted the Obama administration's approval of loan guarantees to support construction of the first new nuclear power plant in decades.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., a huge supporter of Y-12 during his eight terms in Congress who helped win funding for HEUMF, received the loudest welcome - two thunderous ovations from the crowd that included hundreds of Y-12 workers.

After the first standing ovation, Wamp cracked, "That must mean I'm headed for the door." The Chattanooga Republican is running for Tennessee governor. Wamp said he was pleased to see the Obama administration warming to nuclear and supporting the Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12, with a commitment to build it, not just design it.

UPF would be built next door to HEUMF. The uranium storehouse was completed in late 2008, and the next year was spent installing equipment, testing operations and conducting a series of safety reviews.

The facility reportedly can house up to 6,000 drums and 12,000 cans of uranium. The structure required 91,000 cubic yards of concrete, 5,800 tons of rebar and nearly 1.5 million linear feet of wiring. It was built by Cadell-Blaine Joint Venture - a partnership of Caddell Construction of Montgomery, Ala., and Blaine Construction of Knoxville.

Y-12 workers began loading the vaults with bomb-grade uranium earlier this year, and eventually all of the plant's stockpile - except for material being processed - will be consolidated there.

"This is a leading example that we can store this material safely ... as we decommission many of our weapons and convert that material that can be used in reactors and generate clean energy," Chu said.

The Oak Ridge inventory of highly enriched uranium is believed to be the world's largest, but the exact amount is classified. The uranium inventory constantly changes as surplus quantities are "down-blended" for use as nuclear reactor fuel and new quantities arrive after nuclear weapons are taken out of deployment and dismantled.

Speaking to a crowd of 1,000 visitors on March 22 afternoon, Steven Chu received an enthusiastic East Tennessee welcome during his first trip to the Y-12 National Security Complex as U.S. energy secretary.

Offering the keynote speech at the much anticipated dedication ceremony for Y-12's highly enriched uranium materials facility, Chu reaffirmed the urgency of the security complex's mission and said tools such as the HEUMF are needed and necessary.

The $549 million highly enriched uranium materials facility, a companion project to Y-12's uranium processing facility (UPF), is an ultra-secure uranium warehouse that replaces multiple aging facilities within a single state-of-the-art storage facility.

With a storage capacity of 24,000 containers, the HEUMF measures approximately 300 feet by 475 feet and has areas for receiving, shipping and providing for the long-term storage of enriched uranium -- as well as an adjoining equipment and administrative area.

A neutron-absorbing material inside the storage boxes ensures nuclear criticality safety of the material within, and the HEUMF has oft been described as the largest construction project at Y-12 in more than 40 years.

``Thank you for all you do to keep the American people safe,`` Chu told the standing-room-only crowd Monday, while also recognizing the many brave Americans who travel the world to keep nuclear materials out of dangerous hands.

Though Chu was the headliner during Monday's hour-long proceedings, it was U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Third Congressional District, who truly fired up the crowd.

``It's great to be here at the HEUMF,`` said Wamp, who is trading in his long term as a popular East Tennessee congressman for a gubernatorial bid this election season.

``This,`` he said, ``is the flagship of modernization within the NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration). I'm most grateful to the people who work here.``

In a remark intended for his successor as Third District representative, Wamp said: ``Whoever comes behind me … somebody's got to make things (like the HEUMF) happen. And the people in this room can flat out make it happen!``

A fellow member of the House, U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Fourth District, underscored the importance of the ``awesome research`` ongoing in Oak Ridge and ``the history of what happened here.``

He said, ``The world is safer, America is safer because of you in this room.``

Final remarks were made by NNSA Administrator Tom D'Agostino, who applauded Oak Ridge for transforming the Y-12 Site ``with a clarity of vision and purpose.``

``The HEUMF is a powerful reminder of what is possible,`` the NNSA chief stated. ``Now we need to get the job done on the Uranium Processing Facility.``

Reminding all of those in attendance of the great work everyone is doing in Oak Ridge in defense of our country, D'Agostino concluded, ``I thank you for getting the job done here at Y-12.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby said recently he hopes there's not widespread support in Congress for President Barack Obama's proposals that would put billions into commercial rocket development and cut the Ares rocket program managed by Marshall Space Flight Center.

Though lawmakers from Alabama, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Maryland - states with large NASA facilities - are focused on space program issues, many in Congress are not, said Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. "We've got to create critical mass," he said.

"I hope we've got a majority when (Congress and the administration) collide" over these proposals.

"Obama ran on change," Shelby said. "We're seeing step by step what he means by change and a lot of us don't like that."

Shelby spoke early Monday at his annual Washington update address at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Davidson Center for Space Exploration. More than 1,000 people attended the sold-out event, which was hosted by the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm bullish on Huntsville. I have been a long time," said Shelby, adding that he's worked for a long time to help Redstone Arsenal and Marshall Space Flight Center grow.

President John F. Kennedy, whose 1961 speech outlined America's goals of sending a man to the moon before the end of the '60s, had "a vision," Shelby said, "and he pushed that vision. I don't think this administration has a lot of vision."

Shelby met with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden for about 10 to 12 minutes last week. "He came up to sell me on a program to dismantle Constellation," Shelby said. "We're going to do everything in the world" to save the program.

Shelby discussed several other topics on Monday, including the pending health care reform bill.

"I believe we have the best health care system in the world," Shelby said, though "it's not perfect" and it's costly.

The bill offered by the Obama administration and Democrats would turn the health care system "upside down," he said. And for those who don't believe it would lead to health care rationing, "you'd better think again."

Though Democrats have recently considered using budget reconciliation to push the health care package forward, Shelby said that move would be "a big abuse of the process. If the Democrats do that, they'll have some real trouble in November."

Shelby said he would like to shelve or table the Obama health care bill and work in a bipartisan way to pass "incremental steps to improve our health care." He called for tort reform and a national health insurance exchange or clearinghouse.

Shelby reminded the group that he will be running for his fifth term. "I'm going to continue to work for Alabama," he said. "I need your help."

Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) made the following statement after learning that NASA may be considering a "Plan B" to the President's proposal to end Constellation. Congressman Aderholt serves on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, as a member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, which is responsible for funding NASA.

On February 24th, Congressman Aderholt pressed President Obama’s top science and technology advisor, Dr. John P. Holdren, on the Administration’s plan to end Constellation, during an Appropriations subcommittee hearing, pleading with him to scrap the plan to end Constellation and give NASA the appropriate funding to remain a world leader in human space flight.

“I am extremely pleased that NASA may be reconsidering the President’s proposal to cancel human space flight. Since the President announced his Budget last month, I and many of my Republican and Democrat colleagues have expressed our disapproval of the plan, along with our desire in continuing with Constellation. But the fight is not over. I will continue to work on this because I believe that human spaceflight and exploration beyond earth is the very reason for NASA’s existence.”

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) told a large group of scientists, policymakers, energy industry experts and entrepreneurs gathered recently at an energy innovation summit sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and one of its newly created agencies, ARPA-E, that “government policies, short-term subsidies and standards for encouraging clean energy should become as technology-neutral as possible, allowing the marketplace to choose among competing solutions. We should, in basketball terms, let the game come to us.”

ARPA-E – the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy – was created by the America COMPETES Act of 2007, which Sen. Alexander called “the most far-reaching bipartisan congressional activity of the last few years.” ARPA-E’s mission is to fund projects that will reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy, address climate issues, improve energy efficiency, and otherwise strengthen the U.S.’s leadership role in advanced energy technologies.

Sen. Alexander was one of four members of Congress who asked the National Academies for the report that led to the America COMPETES Act, which authorized a doubling of research-and-development funding and support for science and technology education in an effort to maintain America’s competitive position in the world economy. Alexander led Republican efforts on the bipartisan legislation for over two years prior to its final passage in August 2007.

The full transcript of Alexander’s remarks at today’s ARPA-E summit follows:

“My late friend Alex Haley, the author of Roots, used to tell me, ‘Find the good and praise it’ and ‘Tell a story instead of making a speech.’ So, let me begin with a compliment and with a story.

“The compliment is for [U.S. Department of Energy] Secretary Chu and [U.S. Representative] Bart Gordon [(D-Tenn.)] for their role in creating and launching ARPA-E. They were in it from the beginning: Bart with the group of members of Congress who created America COMPETES from 2005-2007, and Dr. Chu as a member of the panel and as the Secretary of Energy.

“Now here is the story from our history.

“Samuel Morse was a moderately successful 19th-century painter whose reputation earned him a commission to paint a portrait of General Lafayette when that Revolutionary War hero returned to America in 1825 to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Morse was in the midst of painting the general’s portrait right here in Washington when a messenger arrived on horseback with a message reading one line: ‘Your dear wife is convalescent.’

“Morse immediately took off for Connecticut, but when he arrived several days later he found his wife had already died and was buried. Morse was so heartbroken by her lonely passing that he resolved to explore some means of faster communication.

“Seventeen years later he arrived back in the nation’s capital with a demonstration stringing wires between two committee rooms in the Capitol. Congress appropriated $30,000 to string a wire between Washington and Baltimore to convey an electronic message he called a ‘telegraph.’ Congress appropriated the money—although several members abstained, saying they still didn’t understand the technology. On May 24, 1844, the line officially opened and Morse tapped out the memorable message in his own Morse code—‘What hath God wrought?’

“And so the era of instantaneous communications began. Within five years, private investors had strung thousands of miles of telegraph wires around the country and by 1861 the first line was fully connected to the West Coast, replacing the Pony Express, which only operated for 18 months. Our Internet is the great-great-grandchild of Samuel Morse’s innovation.

“And of course the internet sprouted from the ancestor of ARPA-E which we call DARPA, a small agency in the Department of Defense designed to launch into the private sector innovations that strengthen our national defense in the same way ARPA-E hopes to strengthen our energy future.

“ARPA-E is not the first time that our government has sought to make a great breakthrough in energy. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Sen. Kenneth McKellar, the Tennessean who chaired the Appropriations Committee, if the senator could ‘hide $2 billion dollars in the appropriations bill’ for a secret project to win World War II. Sen. McKellar replied, ‘I have just one question, Mr. President: where in Tennessee do you want me to hide it?’

“That place in Tennessee turned out to be Oak Ridge, one of three secret cities that became the principal sites for the Manhattan Project. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to end the war by finding a way to split the atom and build a bomb before Germany could. Nearly 200,000 people worked secretly in 30 different sites in three countries. President Roosevelt’s $2 billion appropriation would be $24 billion in today’s dollars.

“According to New York Times science reporter William Laurence, ‘Into its design went millions of man-hours of what is without doubt the most concentrated intellectual effort in history.’

“We need to harness that brainpower once again and focus it on a new and urgent national need.

“Two years ago in Oak Ridge, I proposed that the United States launch a new Manhattan project: a five-year project to put America firmly on the path to clean energy independence – actually, a series of mini-Manhattan projects, so that we can deal with rising gasoline prices, electricity prices, clean air, climate change and national security for our country first, and—because other countries have the same urgent needs and therefore will adopt our ideas—for the rest of the world.

“I suggested focusing on seven ‘grand challenges’ during those five years: electric vehicles, carbon recapture, solar power, nuclear fuel, advanced biofuels, green buildings and fusion.

“While Dr. Chu is concentrating government research in several innovation hubs focused on many of the same goals, this conference reminds us that it would be unwise for government to be too prescriptive. As soon as possible, government policies, short-term subsidies and standards for encouraging clean energy should become as technology-neutral as possible, allowing the marketplace to choose among competing solutions. We should, in basketball terms, let the game come to us, whether it turns out to be nanotubes to capture-carbon exhausts, enzymes that can catalyze biofuels, advanced batteries for electric cars or strategies for recapturing the energy that is lost converting fuel into electricity.

“Another compliment Dr. Chu deserves is his steady insistence that we not forget perhaps our most remarkable energy innovation, the one originating with the Manhattan project: nuclear power today produces 70 percent of our carbon-free electricity. President Obama has recently called for a new generation of reactors, recommended loan guarantees and appointed distinguished members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as well as a commission to study used nuclear fuel, which will help us begin to can catch up with what the rest of the world is doing with our invention. Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and I have introduced legislation to create an environment that would double nuclear power production as well as authorize $1.5 billion over ten years for the grand challenges I just mentioned.

“The America COMPETES Act which launched ARPA-E was the most far-reaching bipartisan congressional activity of the last few years. Its prime sponsors were the Senate leaders and it had 70 cosponsors, half from each political party.

“When we asked the National Academies five years ago to tell us 10 steps that would help America maintain its competitiveness, I said that their ideas might turn out to be more important than they thought because, in Washington, most ideas fail for lack of the idea. ARPA-E is here to make sure that we have a steady supply of those ideas for America’s energy future.”

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Davis told the county’s chamber of commerce he believes General Motors will reopen its idled Spring Hill plant.

“I believe the company’s increasing need for more vehicles will cause General Motors to get that plant back up and running,” Davis said. “I don’t think it will remain idle for long.”

Maury Alliance Executive Committee member Bobby Harris suggested the U.S. government ask GM to sell the facility.

“The U.S. government owns a major part of that company, and as the representative of our local citizens, please ask GM if they’re not going to use it, to sell it to another world class company which will put that asset back to work for our community,” Harris said.

Davis, D-Tenn., responded by saying he would support that idea if General Motors did not indicate it planned to put the plant back to work.

“I think GM can put it back to work sooner than a new company coming in, and I think in light of Toyota’s recent problems, that could be sooner than later,” Davis said.

Following the meeting with Alliance members, Davis took questions from some of the more than 100 people who attended a question and answer session at Columbia State Community College.

The first question came from retiree Joe Bell, now a volunteer at Maury Regional Medical Center.

“When is Washington going to start listening to us?” Bell asked.

Davis said he has always listened to his constituents.

“That’s why I have these meetings as often as possible, to hear what you’re thinking, what are your concerns and what you think the solutions are,” Davis said. “Anyone in Congress who doesn’t listen to the people that sent them there — we kick them out of office.”

As part of his visit to Columbia, Davis announced $334,274 in federal grants to local fire departments. Columbia Fire Department received $257,991; Williamsport Volunteer Fire Department, $39,283 and Spring Hill Fire Department, $37,010.

A Silicon Valley company introduced new energy technology in late February with a strong Tennessee Valley connection. Congressman Zach Wamp first learned about solid oxide fuel cell technology seven years ago from Bloom Energy principal co-founder and CEO Dr. K.R. Sridhar. Their meeting led to a partnership of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, The Enterprise Center and the Tennessee Valley Technology Corridor, which brought about the testing and demonstration of the new fuel cell in Chattanooga.

The UTC SimCenter first hosted a 5 kilowatt (kW) stationary solid oxide fuel cell demonstration, which can produce enough electricity to heat or cool a 5,000-square-foot house, about five years ago. The SimCenter has tested the viability of additional fuel cells since then. This week, Bloom Energy announced the availability of the Bloom Energy Server, also called a Bloom Box, to allow customers to create their own clean energy onsite.

“The Tennessee Valley has been involved with this technology for a long time, and we’re now at the point of its commercialization. The ultimate goal would be to manufacture fuel cells in Tennessee and bring back our manufacturing base,” said Congressman Wamp. “Bloom’s technology could have a tremendous impact for the world in creating new energy sources that are off the grid, and is cleaner and more efficient than much of today’s power generation. Fuel cell technology coupled with increased nuclear energy could significantly shrink our country’s carbon footprint.”

A majority of the North Carolina Congressional delegation have thrown their support behind Congressman Heath Shuler (D-Waynesville) in his efforts to avoid disruptions in vital transportation projects and the loss of thousands of construction jobs that are associated with them. In a letter sent yesterday to Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner, Shuler urged the extension of transportation project funding in a fair and equitable manner.

The funding for the nation’s transportation programs is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2010. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) is slated to be extended through the end of the year. The Senate has proposed allocating funding in these programs to states based on the amount of funding each state received in earmarks during the original SAFETEA-LU. This would give 58% of the roughly $932 million in these accounts to four states and would provide absolutely no funding to 22 states, including North Carolina.

Representatives Mike McIntyre, David Price, Walter Jones, Larry Kissell, Mel Watt, Brad Miller and G.K. Butterfield have lent their signatures to Shuler’s letter which advocates for the funding, totaling $932 million, to be allocated at the discretion of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation through a competitive selection process available to all states. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has also expressed support for a competitive process to ensure that the state has the opportunity to compete for funds based on the merits of its projects.

“The Senate is proposing an illogical and unfair method of allocating these funds that will make North Carolina ineligible for funding,” said Congressman Shuler. “This is not acceptable. I am advocating for a fairer allocation method, as passed by the House, which will fund worthy projects in all states and give our state a fair shot.”

Congressman Larry Kissell (D-NC) said, “The Senate proposal would place a 15-month prohibition on funding for many states with projects of national significance. This is unacceptable. I am proud to support Congressman Shuler in his fight to make sure all states, including North Carolina, have the opportunity to compete for funding for vital transportation projects.”

Congressman Parker Griffith welcomes Gene Goldman back to the Marshall Space Flight Center as The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a leadership change at Marshall. Arthur E. "Gene" Goldman, who has been the director of Stennis since November 2008, has been named deputy director of Marshall.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Gene Goldman back to the Marshall Space Flight Center,” said Griffith. “His knowledge of NASA as well as north Alabama gives him a solid background to support manned space flight.”

Goldman served as both deputy director and director of Stennis Space Flight Center near Bay St. Louis, MS. He previously served as both deputy manager and manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project at Marshall Space Flight Center. Prior to beginning his career with NASA, he gained fourteen years of experience working with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

“We welcome Goldman back to Marshall where he will re-join a spectacular leadership team headed by Director Robert Lightfoot. Having capable leadership at Marshall is critical during such a transformational period, and it is evident that Goldman is more than qualified for the task.”

NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden announced leadership changes at three of the agency's field centers, including NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Work at Marshall includes propulsion systems, engineering, science, space operations and other work in support of NASA missions.

Goldman was named Stennis director in 2008. He previously served as deputy director of the center from 2006 to 2008. Before arriving at Stennis, Goldman spent two years as manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project at Marshall. Prior to that, he was deputy manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project for five years. Goldman earned the Registered Professional Engineer-Civil certification in 1983. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Mississippi State University.

Calhoun Community College will receive $3,470,830 million to build a center for clean energy.

The new Alabama Center of Excellence in Clean Energy Technology will be located on the Decatur campus.

The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $225 million in health care and high-growth, training grants to various institutions and organizations.

The center's goal is to meet regional needs for energy-certified practitioners in the areas of energy assessment and energy-efficient installation, said Janet Kincherlow Martin, director of public relations at Calhoun.

"Calhoun's award was one of only 55 made from over 1,400 proposals submitted nationwide and the only award made in Alabama," Martin said.

The grants will allow community colleges, community-based organizations, state work force agencies and other public entities to deliver training that leads to employment in a range of growing industries.

"We are tremendously excited about this grant award and what this funding will mean for our region," Calhoun president Marilyn Beck said. "This most recent grant marks the fifth major award Calhoun has received from the Department of Labor in as many years - awards now totaling close to $16 million."

"The project is the first of its kind in the state of Alabama leading to an industry-recognized certification and will serve as a national model for community and technical colleges and work force training providers," Calhoun grants coordinator Debi Garrison said.

"The Recovery Act's investments are making a positive difference in the lives of America's working families," U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said. "These grants will ensure thousands of workers across the nation can receive high-quality training, employment services ?good pay and benefits."

Each project targets regional populations. Calhoun's award will help to train dislocated, incumbent and unemployed workers for jobs that apply energy-efficient techniques.

"Funding will support curriculum development, scholarships, student support services, laboratory equipment, personnel, co-op opportunities and renovations to existing unusable classroom space," Martin said.

This latest funding from the Recovery Act is the sixth and final round of competitive grants for employment and training.

"Projects funded through these grants will be conducted in partnership with the public work force system, businesses and other organizations to guarantee that training leads to jobs," Martin said.

For more information, visit www.doleta.gov.

Hundreds of company reps showed up for the UPF Suppliers Forum on March 9, and if they hadn't done work previously at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, Project Manager Phil Schuetz wanted to make sure they knew it wouldn't be like a lot of projects they may have done elsewhere.

"This is the damnedest project," he said.

Depending on their role, contractors and subcontractors may not know a whole lot about some aspects of the high-security project they'll be working on, and what they do know they sure as heck won't be able to share.

"Unfortunately, we've got to keep a lot of things to ourselves in terms of details of this project," Schuetz told the crowd in Y-12's New Hope Center. With the project on the eve of construction procurement activities, he noted, "We have some important things we have to protect."

Just because some things can't be said doesn't mean that the work isn't good or that the project isn't important. Quite the contrary, he said.

"There is a tremendous amount of talent and pride here in doing the things they do to support the nation's nuclear program, from designs they have come up with to some of the strategies . . . I am very excited about this job."

Schuetz said UPF would be about three times the size of the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility (the new $549 million storehouse for weapons-grade uranium), which he described as the plant's "walk-in closet."

He told the companies who want to contribute to the construction activities or supply equipment or parts to the big project that the UPF is very much a production and processing facility -- replacing about 800,000 square feet of aged facilities at Y-12.

The plan is for the new facility to have operational and security efficiencies, saving money and reducing mission risks. As planned, the facility would reduce internal dose exposures by 90 percent, reserve space for research and development work on mission processes, and be "agile and flexible" to meet the nation's enriched-uranium processing needs for the next 50 years, Schuetz said.

Over the lifetime of the project, the UPF would save taxpayers about $4.3 billion, he said. Part of that saving will come from reducing the plant's security footprint, he said.

The plan is for UPF to be about 350,000 square feet, which he said is about the size of four home-improvement stores (Lowes or Home Depot). The reason it's so big is that nobody knows exactly what the future will bring in terms of the U.S. nuclear weapons mission, so the facility is designed to be flexible enough to handle just about anything, he said.

Building such a big facility is going to take a lot doing, Schuetz said.

About 400,000 cubic yards of dirt will have to be excavated and moved, with some of that work beginning this fall. That's about 23,500 dump truck loads, and a haul road will be built to help facilitate the movement of that dirt to a fill area west of the plant. Lined up, those dump trucks would stretch 125 miles -- from Knoxville to Asheville, N.C.

To prepare for construction at the site, dozens and dozens of utility poles will have to be removed, and a parking lot will be uprooted as well. Some of the very first contracts will be focused on the pre-construction site work, Schuetz said.

The project will require about 150,000 cubic yards of concrete. That's not just for the concrete structure itself, although that will require a lot, but it will also include the foundation and the backfill to replace the dirt that's being excavated to solidify and seismically stabilize the high-security facility.

The plans call for 400,000 linear feet of conduit to support the big power needs to run the processes at the Uranium Processing Facility, Schuetz said. That's enough conduit to wrap around the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium 133 times, he said.

Along with that is 2 million linear feet of wiring and cable, enough to stretch from Knoxville to Charleston, S.C.
One of the big goals of the project design is to protect workers, and the Y-12 uranium processing work in the future will be done in gloveboxes of different types, sizes and capabilities. All told, there'll be about 2,000 feet of glove boxes, many of them customized for the Y-12 missions, Schuetz said.

The glove boxes will "house very complicated, challenging equipment," he said. "We've got a whole lot of glove boxes to procure."

He emphasized that UPF will be much more than just a processing facility, with upgraded warehouse facilities nearby, construction of a haul road, construction trailers, a job to put in temporary utilities and roads, relocate water lines. "Just to get ready for construction," he said.

There also will be a separate, but adjoining administrative facility, and it will be located outside the plant's protected area (which will ring the HEUMF and UPF).

There also will be a corridor connecting the UPF and HEUMF, Schuetz said, "so we can securely transfer material from our 'walk-in closet" and then return those products back to the HEUMF." There'll also be cooling towers and gases facilities, which like some other facilities will be located just outside the high-security "protected area," he said.

As of January, here are some of the funding and financial stats for UPF, according to Schuetz.
* The UPF funding for the current fiscal year (2010) is $115 million.
* The total funding to date for UPF is $310 million.
* The total money spent to date on UPF is $202 million.
* The current 'spend rate' is $10 million a month.

Ninety percent of the preliminary design is completed, and work started on final design in late 2009, Schuetz said. There are plans to start construction activities in October, at the beginning if FY2011, and construction would be completed in November 2017, he said.

CD-4 approval is slated for September 2018.

The contractor project plan is to have all of the information for review and ready to be presented to the deputy secretary of energy in September, Schuetz said. That would kick off equipment procurements and construction activities.

With the approval of CD-2 in 2012, the team would be ready to start construction of the building itself, he said.

A Record of Decision is expected in the near future on the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Y-12 (comment period closed in January), and Schuetz indicated that would clear the way to proceed with UPF. If the ROD is approved by June, project planners intend to submit a package of procurements for long-lead equipment and start of site activities.

Packages for initial procurements and subcontracts will appear over the next couple of months, he said. "We will begin the process of soliciting bids for performing the work," he said.

With the start of FY'11, the plan would be to make some of those awards, Schuetz said.

The Tennessee Valley Authority has announced it will delay until later this year a decision on whether to finish its Bellefonte Nuclear Plant near Scottsboro.

The TVA Board of Directors had initially said it would make a decision April 15.

TVA spokesman Terry Johnson said recently the utility needs more time to review the project before officials can make a proposal to the board. "We want to take the necessary time to make a prudent decision," he said.

TVA has said it would consider one of several options for Bellefonte:

Taking no action.

Completing and operating one of the two existing units.

Building and operating a new Westinghouse AP1000 unit.

Dus Rogers, executive director of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority, said Wednesday that he and other officials had been told by TVA that it was "not quite ready" to make a decision on Bellefonte.

Johnson said TVA expects to finish the study by August, "but that's not certain."

The Scottsboro City Council and Jackson County Commission recently adopted resolutions supporting completion of Bellefonte and construction of a new reactor unit beside it.

In March 2009, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved TVA's request that its construction permit for Bellefonte be reinstated.

TVA stopped construction at the twin-reactor plant in 1988 because of less-than-projected power demand and withdrew its construction permit in 2006. The utility asked for it back two years later after NuStart, a consortium of nuclear power utilities, agreed to help complete it.

Wrapping up a two-day visit to Oak Ridge on March 23, Steven Chu of the U.S. Department of Energy has announced a five-year extension of the agency's contract with UT-Battelle to manage the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Thom Mason, the lab's director, reports that the announcement was made before several hundred staff members who were gathered in the ORNL Conference Center.

Joining U.S. Energy Secretary Chu for Tuesday's announcement were Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, and U.S. Reps. Zach Wamp, R-Third Congressional District, and Lincoln Davis, D-Fourth District.

"As proud as I am about our success over the past 10 years, I am even more excited about the potential that lies ahead for UT-Battelle and Oak Ridge National Laboratory," Mason said.

"In some respects, we have set a new bar of performance. The challenge to UT-Battelle, and to each of us who work at ORNL, is to meet this higher standard in the delivery of our scientific mission, the operation of our laboratory, and our leadership among the local community."

The lab director added, "… I want to thank the Department of Energy for providing us the chance to join in solving some of the most important scientific challenges of our time.

"Most of all, I want to thank the staff of ORNL, who have made our laboratory one of the world's great centers for scientific discovery."

After six years of forecasting weather in the Air Force, Staff Sgt. Mark Dellaquila was at a crossroads: Should he re-enlist or separate to pursue a college degree in engineering?

“There was an on-going battle inside of my head about whether to separate or re-enlist,” Dellaquila said. “I had a pretty good six-year enlistment in the Air Force, and I enjoyed it. I also received invaluable experience and training. But I knew I wasn’t going to finish a degree in engineering while on active duty with both the long hours and the constant unknowns about where I’d be stationed in the future.”

A work force development program launched last year in the Tennessee Valley helped Dellaquila make up his mind. Called “Vets to the Valley,” the initiative offers technically trained veterans the opportunity to earn an engineering degree while working for partner employers to gain hands-on experience in the field. The program offers graduates priority consideration for full-time positions.

“The initiative includes two slightly different, but locally tailored programs designed to bring talented, military veterans together with the region’s top technical organizations and employers,” said Erin Kushot, program manager for Vets to the Valley. “These highly trained ex-military personnel can help our nation fill the ever-increasing gap in engineering to keep us competitive, while at the same time providing a financially secure plan for them and their families.”

“Vets to the Valley” focuses on two areas within the Tennessee Valley Corridor: Huntsville, Ala., and Oak Ridge, Tenn. Participating employers provide a paid co-op/work study program that allows participants to work in an engineering job while in school, and then be given priority consideration to permanently fill that position upon graduation.

NEW-STEM Plugs the Gap
The Non-Traditional Emerging Workforce in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (NEW-STEM) initiative is designed to attract technically trained non-commissioned officers and warrant officers who are leaving the military to the technology-rich Huntsville region. NW-STEM provides these veterans with the opportunity to earn their engineering degree at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

As one of six members of the inauguration NEW-STEM class, Dellaquila started the co-op work program in summer 2009 and school in Huntsville in the fall. He is working for Northrop Grumman while pursuing a degree in aerospace or industrial engineering.

“The program literally addressed and answered every hesitation or reservation I had about leaving the Air Force,” said Dellaquila, who monitored global weather conditions affecting daily operations of the Air Force’s largest Air and Space Operations Center. “It would provide me with the opportunity to receive a top-notch education in engineering and also a job in the same area to not only pay the bills but to give me hands-on, real-life experience in the courses I would be studying.”

The second NEW-STEM class began its co-op and classes in January. Veterans are now being recruited for the fall 2010 class, and applicants will be accepted until April 2, 2010. About 20 positions are open.

“This is a great initiative to help veterans transition from the military way of life to a rewarding career as a civilian while furthering their education in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics field,” Dellaquila said. “I hope more NCOs who want to pursue a civilian career in a STEM field will see what a great opportunity this is and apply. It can really be a life-changing experience.”

America’s Veterans to Tennessee Engineers
NEW-STEM’s counterpart in Oak Ridge, Tenn., “America’s Veterans to Tennessee Engineers,” focuses on attracting veterans and wounded warriors. The program, which launched in May 2008, is geared to attract veterans interested in nuclear, chemical, electrical, mechanical or civil engineering.

One of the first participants in the program was Derrick Middleton, a Marine Corps infantryman who served in Iraq. After learning about America’s Veterans to Tennessee Engineers, Middleton decided to pursue a chemical engineering degree.

“The transition from military to civilian life is a very difficult one,” said Middleton, who is working part time at Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc) while studying at Pellissippi State Community College. “This program has already greatly benefited me in the aspect of allowing what is normally a significantly hard and uncertain period of time to be more of an exciting time. It has provided the perfect opportunity for a somewhat immediate job placement, in an environment that encourages and expects an education too.”

The program holds three selection boards each year. The selection board comprises senior members of the participating corporations and universities.

For Middleton, the resources available to help him complete the program – tutoring, mentorship, advice and encouragement – were one of the main reasons he chose to participate.

“I would encourage all veterans to look into this program,” Middleton said. “I am sure glad I did. It has turned out to be a life-changing opportunity. This program has opened up many doors for me. I believe it would open up many for others.”

Another company, Broadway Electric Service Corp. (BESCO), has joined the consortium that is providing educational assistance and engineering employment for military veterans. BESCO is long-time contractor at the federal facilities in Oak Ridge, and also has commercial customers across the region and beyond.

The program, called America's Veterans to Tennessee Engineers, is designed to help veterans complete their engineering degrees and find employment in this region. Upon completion of the degree work, there are guaranteed full-time employment by one of the participants in the program. In some cases, part-time jobs are available while the vets are attending school.

To learn more about the program, click here.

In a statement, BESCO President Rodney Napier said Broadway Electric was proud to be a part of the program and hopes to increase its level of support in future years.

So far, 30 veterans have been selected for the program.

Here are the participating companies and institutions:

B&W Y-12; Tennessee Valley Authority; Bechtel; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Pro2Serve; Energy Solutions, Science Applications International Corporation; GEM Technologies; B&W Clinch River, Material and Chemistry Laboratory Inc., Ingenium Professional Service, Inc.; URS Washington Division; Information International Associates; EnergX; and the U.S. Enrichment Corporation. Educational organizations participating include Roane State Community College, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, the University of Tennessee, and Tennessee Technological University. Supporting organizations and governments include Anderson County; Akins Crisp Public Strategies; City of Oak Ridge; City of Knoxville; Department of Energy Oak Ridge Office; East Tennessee Economic Council; Innovation Valley, Inc.; Knox County; Lawler-Wood LLC; National Nuclear Security Administration Y-12 Site Office; Oak Ridge Associated Universities; Roane County; Tennessee Valley Corridor; Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association; and Wackenhut Services, Inc.-Oak Ridge.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen announced recently that Tennessee is one of 16 finalists in the first round of the federal government's Race to the Top competition, which will award $4.35 billion in competitive grants designed to encourage and reward states that are pursuing education innovation.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the first-round finalists earlier this month. Forty states and the District of Columbia submitted applications in January.

"I'm very pleased we've been named a finalist for the first round of funding, and believe that's due to our shared commitment to making significant and meaningful improvements to K-12 education," said Gov. Bredesen. "Tennessee is considered competitive in Race to the Top by national education reform experts because of the continued efforts we've demonstrated to public education reform. I want to thank the General Assembly, which adopted further landmark education reform legislation earlier this year with the support of the Tennessee Education Association and educators across the state. I have no doubt this was a significant part of our success."

Finalists will travel to Washington, D.C., the week of March 15 to make presentations to peer reviewers evaluating Race to the Top applications.

Winning states in the first round are expected to be announced in April, to be followed by a second round of competition later this year.

Applications for Race to the Top Phase 2 will be due on June 1, and winners will be announced in September. President Obama has also requested an additional $1.35 billion in the FY 2011 budget to continue the Race to the Top program for another year.

Tennessee's complete Race to the Top proposal can be found on the state Department of Education Web site at www.tn.gov/education.

The Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus celebrated the announcement Thursday morning that Tennessee is one of 16 finalists for part of $4.35 billion in federal Race to the Top education grants.

"We are pleased and excited to have moved one step closer to providing significant assistance for our children's education," said Caucus Chairman Lowe Finney (D-Jackson). "Our dedication to making Tennessee's children our top priority and giving teachers the resources they need is being noticed across the country."

The Race to the Top competition awards states who are making significant education reforms and innovations. 40 states and the District of Columbia applied for the funds in January.

Senate Democrats led the passage of the Tennessee First to the Top Act during a special legislative session in January. Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle (D-Memphis) sponsored the bill, and Sen. Finney and Sen. Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) co-sponsored an amendment to create the Teacher Professional Development Fund, the first of its kind in the state.

"Given the cooperation between the teachers and the legislature, the leadership of Governor Bredesen and the significant changes we made to our education laws, I would have been surprised if we had not been named a finalist," Sen. Kyle said. "I'm very optimistic we will be named a winner."

The finalists are: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Finalists will travel to Washington this month to make their case for their applications. Winning states are expected to be announced in April, with a second round of competition to begin later this year.

Governor Phil Bredesen and Governor Sonny Perdue participated in the release of Achieve's fifth annual "Closing the Expectations Gap" report in the nation's capital recently. The report shows that in the five years since the National Governors Association and Achieve co-sponsored the National Education Summit on high schools, the goal of aligning high school graduation requirements with the demands of college and the workplace has gone from a radical concept to the new norm throughout the country.

Gov. Bredesen co-chairs the board of Achieve, an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington, D.C.

"I'm proud of the progress Tennessee and other American Diploma Project Network states have made in just five shorts years," said Gov. Bredesen.

"The challenge now for all states, as we discovered in Tennessee, is to sustain progress and push forward on the implementation of college- and career-ready policies so they become the norm not just in policy, but in every classroom."

"It is imperative that Georgia students are prepared to compete not only nationally, but internationally," said Gov. Perdue. "The work we have done in raising standards and improving data and accountability is helping us deliver a world-class education to our students."

The report measures change in regard to the same five areas of reform each year across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The areas of reform include standards, graduation requirements, P-20 data systems, assessments and accountability.

"What started off as isolated efforts among individual states just five years ago has become a national movement producing a national consensus: all students, regardless of where they live, should receive a quality education that prepares them to succeed in college, career and life," said Mike Cohen, Achieve's president. "We applaud state leaders for spearheading high school education reform efforts that will benefit the future of our children and our nation."

Georgia has been a member of the American Diploma Project since 2006.

Tennessee signed on to the American Diploma Project in 2007, and Gov.

Bredesen launched a series of education round table discussions with a diverse group of community leaders from business, industry and higher education to advance the goal of raising education standards and accountability in Tennessee. In 2008, the State Board of Education toughened Tennessee's education standards and aligned them better with the needs of business and college entrance requirements. It also did away with separate diplomas for students going to college and those that were not. In 2013, Tennessee high school students will graduate with the Ready Core diploma and be the first class to enter college with the same expectations for high school graduation and college entrance.

Achieve's college- and career-ready agenda has been embraced not just by most of the states but at the federal level as well. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Race to the Top grant competition and discussions about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act all seek to anchor education in the goal of graduating students ready for college and careers, further evidence that while there is still much work to be done, there is nearly universal agreement on the end goal: that all students should graduate from high school with a diploma that prepares them for college, careers and life.

To see a full copy of the report, go to www.achieve.org/ClosingtheExpectationsGap2010.

The University of Tennessee is celebrating undergraduate research this week.

Research Week is part of a larger university initiative to give undergraduates opportunities to "connect with faculty and be part of the university's scholarship," according to UT.

Gov. Phil Bredesen has challenged the Knoxville campus to become a top 25 public research university, and the undergraduate research initiative is part of achieving that goal.

"Research shows that (undergraduate students) who get connected early to faculty scholarship get more engaged, they are retained at a higher percentage, their GPA goes up and they graduate in less time," said Greg Reed, associate vice chancellor for research at UT Knoxville.

The undergraduate research experience helps students become "intellectual entrepreneurs" who are able to enter the job market after graduation with the "mindset to investigate and discover" and the ability to seek "innovative and alternative ways to find new knowledge," according to Reed.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., former Tennessee governor and UT president, will give the event's keynote address, "Research and the Public Good," at 8 a.m. today at the Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy.

"Connecting sound research to the decisions that elected officials make every day can help make better government," Alexander said in a statement. "For example, it is better to have more than a politician's opinion on questions like these: How much of our air pollution comes from TVA plants and how much blows in from other states? Can nuclear power be safely stored on site for 80 years? How can teacher effectiveness be tied to student performance? How does the school lunch program affect obesity in children?"

Richard Rodriguez, author of "Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez," will keynote the honors symposium, which will feature panel presentations by undergraduate honors students, at 12:20 p.m. today, also at the Baker Center.

Both speaking engagements are free and open to the public.

Other Research Week events include the 14th annual Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement, where more than 200 undergraduate researchers will compete for the top spot in their fields. Participants' research and creative activities represent a range of concentrations and are developed in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Faculty and community professionals will serve as judges for the competition.

The competition will be held noon-4 p.m. Wednesday in the University Center Ballroom, and the event is open to the public 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday.

Congratulations to Oak Ridge High School, which recently won the Tennessee Science Bowl for the third year in a row.

Members of ORHS Team 1 - Yajit Jain, Tony Zhuang, Leon Zhang, Ryan Liu, and Grace Prazniak - will represent the state in the National Science Bowl, April 29-May 4, in Washington, D.C.

Zhang was a member of last year's state championship team, which finished third at the nationals. Nita Ganguly is the team's coach, assisted by Alajeema Ahmad.

Oak Ridge is a high school powerhouse when it comes to science and math. That's probably not a surprise to folks, given the local presence of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other Department of Energy facilities. With a recent multimillion-dollar modernization, the high school now has the facilities to match the student and faculty talent.

The school received a $1,000 cash prize for winning the state science competition, as well as a big trophy. The team will get an expenses-paid trip to Washington for the National Science Bowl sponsored by DOE.

McCallie School of Chattanooga was runner-up at the state contest, which was held at Pellissippi State Community College. A team from Memphis University School finished third, followed by Team 1 from Webb School of Knoxville, which also won the civility award.

Construction of the 32,000-square-foot Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences is nearing completion at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. JINS is supposed to become an intellectual hub for the neutron sciences work at ORNL, supporting users who come to Oak Ridge for experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor.

The new facility was designed by Ross/Fowler of Knoxville and is being built by Rouse Construction. It's at the foot of SNS on Chestnut Ridge, about a mile from the main ORNL campus. Billy Stair, a lab spokesman, said the $9.2 million state-funded project is due for completion in July.

The Oak Ridge project was earlier estimated at $7.6 million, but according to Stair that was because work on JINS was scaled back when part of the initial state appropriation was used for another joint institute. However, a supplemental appropriation later allowed for the third floor of the facility to be completed as originally planned, and that boosted the cost to $9.2 million, he said.

DOE's Oak Ridge office has reportedly made much progress in administering part of a block grants program for energy-efficiency projects.

So far, the Oak Ridge field office has awarded 863 grants totaling $536 million to cities and counties around the country, according to DOE spokesman John Shewairy.

The Oak Ridge office has authority for $666 million in Recovery Act funds for the project and is expected to eventually award 874 grants.

Based on what's been awarded so far, that would leave $130 million for the remaining nine grants, but those numbers are misleading, Shewairy said. Some of the early awards were only "partial" grants based on a city's or a county's plans for a project, and additional money is likely to be awarded to the earlier recipients as their projects show progress, he said.

Shewairy said DOE's Oak Ridge office is ahead of schedule in awarding grants and getting money to the energy projects.