Despite being known as the “secret city,” it’s no secret that Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is a hub for nuclear research. That’s one of the things Ashley Stowe, Ph.D., is looking forward to about his new role as ORAU’s chief research and university partnerships officer.
Ashley Stowe, Ph.D., Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer
“This is the birthplace of nuclear,” Stowe explained in a recent interview for Further Together, the ORAU Podcast. “It will be the epicenter of the nuclear renaissance as we think about where we are today and moving forward with the diversity of missions across Oak Ridge.”
Stowe recently joined ORAU after his predecessor Ken Tobin, Ph.D., retired, coming to the organization after spending 18 years of his career at Y-12 National Security Complex.
“My career includes research and development, university partnerships, a lot of engineering hiring and career development opportunities,” said Stowe. “I ran Y-12’s NNSA Minority Serving Institutions Partnerships Program, their intern program and mostly tried to cause trouble at every turn. The nice thing about working in a government lab is if you do good work and you have creative ideas, there's enough space to work on the things you want to work on.”
Stowe made connections with professionals, scientists and researchers at universities and other labs, leading to rich opportunities for collaboration. Throughout his career, he and his colleagues worked on quantum computing, hydrogen powered vehicles, radiation detection equipment, and virtual and augmented reality. He also holds 20 patents, nine of which concern the material of lithium indium diselenide, a semiconductor which absorbs thermal neutrons.
“It has been a privileged career,” he said. “I think I have nine patents across the suite of lithium indium diselenide radiation detection technologies alone. Everything from neutron imagers to spy decoder rings, because the material changes color based on how many neutrons hits it.”
As an inventor and researcher, Stowe discussed the qualities that everyone can bring to the table that are inherently valuable to research, whether or not they consider themselves a researcher.
“Everywhere that I've been, there’s this concept that you have to be blessed to be a researcher,” he said. “And it's just not true. If we're willing to open up our experience to say, ‘Well, I do have value to bring to hard problems regardless of my credentials,’ we can get to even better answers.”
Stowe discussed how ORAU shares this philosophy through innovation partnership grants, Powe Awards and ORAU-Directed Research and Development Grants, or ODRDs.
“ODRD proposals were just turned in last week, and we had the most proposals that we’ve ever received, and by the largest group of people,” said Stowe. “It's a broader group of people across ORAU, and more people submitting their research ideas. That, to me, is really exciting. The fact that there's more interest in exploring ideas is the first step of what we need to be able to grow the program. And I personally believe there's great value for the individuals who are researchers here at ORAU, but there's also incredible value in doing the research as it leads towards more data informed proposals and winning additional funding from external customers.”
The ORAU STEM Accelerator was created to solve the nation’s STEM workforce challenges. For now, the OSA is focusing efforts on strengthening the nuclear workforce. This work is happening in conjunction with the nuclear renaissance, and because of Oak Ridge’s history with nuclear energy, the location is incredibly appropriate.
“Oak Ridge created the nuclear industry basically, from the Manhattan Project and the graphite reactor at ORNL to the work of Admiral Rickover and the nuclear navy,” explained Stowe. “A few years ago, the ORAU board made the recommendation to create the ORAU STEM Accelerator and then pointed it at nuclear first. What started a couple of years ago with a lot of work that was quietly happening behind the scenes is now springing to the forefront this summer because of all of the things that are happening across the region and the country: everything from President Trump's executive orders around a nuclear renaissance; Governor Lee's thrust and funding to build a nuclear workforce and lead the nation here in Tennessee; the Oak Ridge Corridor Development Corporation—an economic development corporation that encompasses the city of Oak Ridge, Anderson County, Roane County, and all of the commercial and government missions. There's so much activity and momentum. We, ORAU, are working diligently behind the scenes to gather information from all of the stakeholders, which has positioned us to stand up this summer and say, ‘We can help solve the problem by taking a leadership position across the city.’”
Stowe’s new role as the leader of ORAU’s Research and University Partnerships Office mirrors that of ORAU’s leadership within Oak Ridge—and the wider nuclear community. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait long to realize his potential with the organization. He is also excited to be working with the RUPO team.
“I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to work with when I stepped into this position,” he said. “Before coming to ORAU, I had heard great things about the people, and the RUPO team has really shown me how deserved that reputation is. As we move forward, our team is well-positioned for success.”
Listen to the full podcast episode by clicking here.