Is there an "E"
On October 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the long awaited award of the Savannah River Site Liquid Waste Services contract. If the award holds, it replaces the incumbent, Savannah River Remediation, LLC (SRR), a team led by AECOM with partners Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWXT, with a new contractor Savannah River EcoManagement, LLC (SRE) which is comprised of BWXT Technical Services Group, Inc., Bechtel National, Inc. and Honeywell International, Inc, so, SR"E" replaces SR"R".
The liquid waste services include but are not limited to operations of existing radioactive liquid waste facilities for storage, treatment, stabilization, and disposal of waste; waste removal from tanks and tank closures; and construction of additional saltstone disposal units. In addition, it includes the operation of the Salt Waste Processing Facility after facility commissioning, startup, and one year of operation; and overall liquid waste program and regulatory support.
The contract is cost-plus-award-fee and includes an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract line item. The total estimated value of the contract is approximately $4.7 billion over the contract period. The period of performance includes a base period of seven years (including a transition period of 90 days) and an option period of three years.
The agreement includes a transition period of 90 days to help ensure a safe, smooth transition of this important work to the new contractor at the Savannah River Site. In the coming weeks, DOE normally conducts a briefing for all the parties that submitted bids. After this briefing, one or more of the losing parties could formally protest the award with the Government Accountability Office and ask for a re-bid.
Until these issues are resolved, the proposed new management team of SRE will not be identified or documents like the Community Commitment Plan released.
|
|
Record Breaking Year
It was a record breaking year for Nuclear Science Week, October 16 - 20, 2017, in the SRSCRO region of Georgia and South Carolina. New events offered more opportunity than ever before to learn about the positive contributions of nuclear science. All week long residents showed up to participate.
 The week included many long-standing events such as a specialized tour of the Savannah River Site for area educators, tours of Plant Vogtle for school groups, Education Days at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, and Education Day at Augusta University. The Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA) hosted the 26th annual Edward Teller Lecture and Banquet featuring Dr. Jim Conca, Forbes contributor and a scientist in the fields of earth and environmental sciences. CNTA also coordinated a "Nuclear Blitz" by providing speakers on nuclear science for area schools.
The Savannah River Site (SRS) Museum joined the celebration this year with a week full of robotics activity. Student robotics teams from elementary school through high school demonstrated their abilities at the SRS Museum, and they toured the display of robots used at SRS through the years. The Museum had a record number of visitors during the week.
Rounding out the week, Atoms in the Alley was held on Saturday evening, October 21. The family-friendly block party celebrated Aiken County
 and the surrounding area's nuclear history with science related demonstrations, live music, vendors and a movie. The event featured a ribbon cutting at the fallout shelter exhibit and new kiosk located on the corner of Laurens Street and Park Avenue in downtown Aiken, South Carolina.
To see the full list of regional Nuclear Science Week events, click
here.
To learn about Nuclear Science Week across the nation, and the world, click
here.
|
2017 STEM Career Connections
 "Everyone made me feel smarter than I thought I was......This makes me want to re-think what I want to do in the future. Thank you for this amazing opportunity," wrote one high school student after attending STEM Career Connections at the Kroc Center in Augusta, GA on October 19.
Students from twenty-two area high schools attended the fifth annual STEM Career Connections to learn about STEM skills needed by local industries in Georgia and South Carolina. Those skills involve applications for virtual reality, robotics and even artificial intelligence according to the local employers involved. Students and teachers learned about careers in the nuclear industry, manufacturing, cyber and information technology from STEM professionals using interactive displays. About 400 people took part in the fifth annual event hosted by the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) with support from seventeen corporate sponsors.
Industry speakers included Doug Burks, CEO of Security Onion Solutions, LLC who demonstrated how a cyber-attack compromises personal information. Anthony Williams, Senior Director for Strategy & Business Development at Textron Specialized Vehicles, brought along a snowmobile and other vehicles that are designed and produced by his company. Throughout the day, young professionals explained their pathways to local STEM careers and answered questions about their jobs.
 "STEM is a passport to the future," said Sanford Loyd, SRSCRO Board Chair. "But students often find it difficult to get excited about textbook learning when they don't know how it relates to their lives. STEM Career Connections shows students that plenty of STEM jobs are available, introduces them to many career options and shows them through hands-on learning what jobs in those fields are like."
|
|
|
|
Spotlight
SC Chamber Executive of the Year
The Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives has recognized Terra Carroll, President and CEO of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce, as the 2017 SC Executive of the Year.
The award is based on the demonstration of
excellence in areas of chamber leadership, organizational management, service to the profession, community reputation and involvement, and other personal attributes.
Terra has served on the Board of Directors for the SRSCRO since 2012.
|
|
STEM
Fun Facts
1. By 2022, there will be 9 million STEM-related jobs in the United States.
2. In the next decade, many of the 30 fastest-growing jobs will require some STEM skills. Yet 44 percent of middle school students would rather take out the garbage than do their math homework (things are improving - that's down from 61% in 2009!).
3. If the United States is to maintain its leadership in STEM, we must produce approximately one million more STEM professionals over the next decade than is currently projected.
4. Fewer than 40 percent of students who enter college intending to major in a STEM field complete college with a STEM degree.
5. In 2014, only 43 percent of U.S. high school graduates were ready for college work in math; 37 percent were ready in science.
6. While women receive over half of bachelor's degrees awarded in the biological sciences, they receive far fewer in the computer sciences (18.2%), engineering (19.2%), physics (19.1%), and mathematics and statistics (43.1%).
7. The gender gap in the STEM workforce still persists. While women make up half of the total U.S. college-educated workforce, the make up only 29% of the science and engineering workforce.
8. About 40% of men with STEM college degrees work in STEM jobs, whereas only 26 % of women with STEM degrees work in STEM jobs. Female STEM majors are twice as likely as men to work in education or healthcare.
9. More than half (57%) of all girls say that girls don't typically consider a career in STEM.
10. STEM employment has risen more than 30 percent between 2000 and 2013.
|
|
