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ORAU Grants $5,000 to Universities Participating in 18th Annual Environmental Design Contest (May 2008)
Six universities received a total of $5,000 as part of ORAU’s sponsorship of the 18th annual WERC (formerly known as Waste-management, Education and Research Consortium) Environmental Design Contest. Read more about the 18th Annual Environmental Design Contest.
Student Competition Targets the Global Energy Crisis (April 2008)
Thirteen university teams and one high-school team converged on Oak Ridge National Laboratory April 2-4 as semi-finalists vying for top honors in Global Venture Challenge 2008 (GVC), an idea-to-product competition that focused on technologies to solve the world's growing energy problems. ORAU was an Innovator Sponsor of GVC. Read more about the Global Venture Challenge.
ORAU Welcomes Two New Universities to Consortium (March 2008)
ORAU welcomed the University of Alabama at Huntsville and the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico as its newest consortium members during the 63rd annual meeting of the ORAU Consortium of Sponsoring Institutions held in Oak Ridge, Tenn. With these additions, the ORAU Consortium now consists of 99 sponsoring institutions and 14 associate members, representing 28 states, as well the District of Columbia and London.
Read the news release.
2007 ORAU Annual Report Now Available (March 2008)
ORAU experienced another successful year in supporting the needs of its consortium and customers. Read the details in the 2007 ORAU Annual Report.
ORAU/ORCAS Workshop Focuses on Relationships Between Universities, DOE, and National Labs (March 2008)
In conjunction with the annual meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions, representatives from more than 50 ORAU member schools participated in a workshop to gain additional insight into developing productive collaborations with DOE and it labs. Innovative research opportunities were also highlighted.
Read the news release.
Carolina International Symposium on Neutrino Physics, May 15-17, 2008 (January 2008)
The Department of Physics at the University of South Carolina is inviting physics leaders to lecture on the latest research in neutrino physics resulting from an explosion of new data and tools to interpret the data. As well as keeping the physics community informed, this symposium is expected to stimulate working relationships among them. The symposium will also celebrate the 75th birthdays of Frank Avignone and Ettore Fiorini and commemorate the 75th birthday of the late Peter Rosen. Financial support is expected to be available for a limited number of graduate students. ORAU is a co-sponsor of the event.
Learn more on the symposium Web site.
ORAU Council Meeting Set for March 4-5, 2008 (January 2008)
The 63rd Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions will be held at the Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies (ORCAS). In conjunction with the meeting, ORCAS will host a workshop on Relationships Between Universities, National Laboratories, and the Department of Energy. Successful collaborations between universities and DOE labs and opportunities for the future collaborations and DOE extramural funding will be highlighted.
Learn more and register online to attend.
Global Lab Launched at Imperial College London (October 2007)
The Global Lab at Imperial College London recently launched, allowing scientists there to use and manipulate—in real-time—leading multi-million dollar scientific instruments and technology in the United States. The Global Lab links together laboratories in the United Kingdom and the United States via high-bandwidth/low-latency network, the Lambda Rail, running across the Atlantic seabed. The Lambda Rail can move vast amounts of data virtually instantaneously across thousands of miles.
The Global Lab has been established as part of the AtlanTICC Alliance, a sustainable energy research consortium comprising Imperial College London, Georgia Institute of Technology and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Read the complete ORNL news release and the AtlanTICC Alliance news story.
University of Cincinnati Receives $400 million PACE In-Kind Contribution for Software; Largest Contribution in School's History (October 2007)
Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE)—a consortium of international companies—announced that the University of Cincinnati is receiving a highly competitive, in-kind contribution commercially valued at more than $420 million for a state-of-the-art software package.
The multimillion dollar software was used to create special effects in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. UC students will also benefit from learning about its practical applications beyond movie effects. For example, it could be used for accident and safety testing via computer simulations or medical testing (e.g., blood flow passing through artificial heart valves) via simulations.
Read the complete University of Cincinnati news release.
Florida International University's International Hurricane Research Center Featured in Wall Street Journal (August 2007)
FIU's International Hurricane Research Center "Wall of Wind" was featured recently in the Wall Street Journal. The article describes how FIU and an insurer that incurred hundreds of millions of dollars in losses during recent hurricanes are teaming up to find ways to help buildings survive massive storms.
The Wall of Wind consists of six fans, stacked 16 feet high with each hooked up to a powerful motor. The setup can create gusts of well over 100 miles per hour. FIU and an affiliate of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., a catastrophe insurer, have teamed to study how hurricane winds attack vulnerable parts of a building, such as where the roof meets the walls. Researchers are testing devices that may help protect the buildings.
Read the full story on wsj.com and view the accompanying video.
Carolina Universities Form Photonics Consortium (July 2007)
The Carolinas Photonics Consortium (CPC) announces the signing of the CPC Inter-Institutional Agreement by North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Western Carolina University, Clemson University and Duke University.
The agreement provides the foundation for collaborative university work aimed at the commercialization of photonics or light-based technologies. Photonics-based technologies are used in a wide array of everyday products, including: DVD players, long distance communication, medical and dental surgeries, dash board lighting, missile guidance, and garage door sensors. Photonic technologies are being used to complement or replace electronics in almost every facet of our lives. Recent advances include high intensity lighting, biochemical detection, high powered lasers for manufacturing needs, and early cancer detection.
One of the primary goals of the CPC is the commercialization of photonics-based research by awarding funds to competitively submitted proposals from the five campuses. For more information, go to http://carolinasphotonics.com/
Howard University Names McGee VP for Research and Compliance (June 2007)
Oliver G. McGee III, Ph.D., has been appointed vice president for Research and Compliance at ORAU consortium member Howard University effective July 1, 2007.
McGee will oversee all aspects of the research and sponsored programs administrative enterprise. Working closely with the provost and vice president for Health Sciences, he will shape academic and fiscal research policies, manage the process for the submission of proposals and the subsequent administration of grants, contracts and cooperative agreements awarded to Howard University and Howard University Hospital, and represent the University’s research interests to federal, state and local governments, industry, foundation, consortia, and other national and international constituencies.
Read more at Howard University's news room.
ORAU Sending 10 Young Scientists to Meet Nobel Laureates (June 2007)
ORAU is sponsoring 10 outstanding graduate researchers to attend the 57th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students in Lindau, Germany, from July 1-6. The group will participate in discussions and lectures on physiology and medicine with Nobel Laureates. Read the full news release.
Deadline Nears for Eighth Annual ORAU/ORNL Graduate Student Fair (June 2007)
Friday, July 13 is the deadline for signing up to tell students about your academic institution at the 8th Annual ORAU/ORNL Graduate Student Fair in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
About 150 students from across the country will present posters of their research at ORNL during an all-day session on Wednesday, Aug. 8. Later that day from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., ORAU will sponsor a reception and recruitment fair at the Pollard Technology Conference Center in Oak Ridge. ORAU will offer table space for recruiting purposes (limit one table-two people per institution). Table location will be assigned on a first come first served basis.
Contact Ann Farler at ann.farler@orau.org to register. If you anticipate participating in the poster sessions at ORNL, be aware that increased security concerns require that you have early approval to go to the lab. Let us know ASAP, if you plan to go to the lab. U.S. citizens must apply by July 28, and non-citizens will have to apply for visit approval by June 19. Contact Cheryl Terry at cheryl.terry@orau.org to provide the information required for visit approval.
MSU Hosts First Leg of Security Competition Leading to $500,000 Prize (June 2007)
Mississippi State will be the sole American university sponsor for the first part of the Global Security Challenge business plan competition. The competition offers entrepreneurs in the security field an opportunity to win a $500,000 grant and mentorship by leading venture capitalists.
Based in London, England, the annual worldwide competition seeks to identify the most promising security start-ups, as well as innovators who are developing new technologies that could "make the world a safer place," said Simon Schneider, Global Security Challenge's co-director.
The competition is open to individuals and newly established companies offering technology-based security solutions ranging from encryption software to biometric applications. Entrants must submit executive summaries of their business ideas before June 30. Guidelines and the timetable are available at www.GlobalSecurityChallenge.com