August 30, 2007

More than 25 individuals from the “Middle Tennessee Mind to Marketplace” (M2M) group spent August 28 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, learning about the U. S. Department of Energy’s largest multi-purpose lab and hearing from Congressman Bart Gordon (D), Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District.

“This is an exciting opportunity to visit the lab and learn how ORNL can be a valued partner with the M2M initiative” said Andrea Loughry, chair person organizer of the M2M initiative.

Dr. James Roberto, ORNL’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology, kicked-off the visit with an overview of ORNL and its internationally acclaimed assets. These include the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source which helps position the lab as the world’s largest concentration of neutron science capabilities, the National Leadership Computing Facility which operates the fastest open science computer in the world at 119 teraflops – 119 trillion calculations a second, and the recently announced $125 million DOE BioEnergy Science Center.

Following Roberto’s presentation, Tom Ballard, Interim Director of Technology Transfer and Economic Development, discussed the diverse ways in which ORNL is partnering with organizations around the region as part of its “Lab of the South” initiative. A panel of East Tennessee economic development professionals participated in a noon roundtable discussing their successful interactions with ORNL. Panelists were Tom Rogers, President and CEO of Technology 2020, and Rhonda Rice, Executive Vice President of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership. Chuck Shoopman of UT’s Institute for Public Service also joined the panel to announce that the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce had agreed to serve as the Middle Tennessee anchor for a UT-led Small Business Innovation Research Assistance Center effort.

Dr. Thom Mason, ORNL’s new Director, joined the group during lunch to introduce Congressman Gordon who welcomed the congregation and gave his support of the importance on attracting more high tech jobs and the importance of education to retain these jobs in Tennessee. Congressman Gordon also unveiled the M2M logo and website, www.mind2marketplace.com.

After lunch and business meetings, the group toured the SNS and National Leadership Computing Facility.