Allan Brettman
Richland
Science | Cubs | sports | sports business | earth | wind | fire
Articles by Allan Brettman
Engineered to Perfection
By Allan Brettman Samuel Henriquez Jr. spent summer 2024 conducting engineering research at Brookhaven National Laboratory through the Community College Internships program, offered by the Department of Energy's Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists. (Photo courtesy of Samuel Henriquez Jr.) The following story was originally published by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists.
PNNL Software Technology Wins FLC Award
The FLC represents over 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers. The annual FLC awards program recognizes agencies for their contributions to technology transfer, which turns innovative research into impactful products and services. Judges bestowed PNNL’s VSP with the FLC Impact Award, which honors FLC member laboratories whose technology transfer efforts have made a tangible and lasting impact on the populace or marketplace ranging across local and global scales.
Detection, border security, chemical threats, biological threats
CROSS-BORDER THREATSStriving for a More Secure World Published 16 November 2023 PNNL experts work with international partners to tackle cross-border biological and chemical threats. PNNL’s border security focus can be traced to the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Cross-border threats, PNNL, biological threats
CROSS-BORDER THREATSStriving for a More Secure World Published 15 November 2023 PNNL experts work with international partners to tackle cross-border biological and chemical threats. PNNL’s border security focus can be traced to the breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Striving for a more secure world
By Allan Brettman Rachel Bartholomew, who was once on a medicine-focused career track, knows well that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Bartholomew is a technology and policy advisor and team lead in the Chemical and Biological Signatures group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). She has more than 20 years of experience using molecular biology to address challenges related to national security, policy, and nonproliferation.
Drones, radiation detection | Homeland Security Newswire
RADIATION DETECTIONExploring Feasibility of Using Drones to Survey Sites for Low Levels of Radiation Published 19 May 2023 Drones are tools for search and rescue, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring, and perhaps even package hauling. One day, they may work with humans to augment the task of conducting surveys to detect low levels of radiation—information that could contribute to the decommissioning of sites no longer needed for nuclear-related energy production or research.
Researchers explore feasibility of using drones to survey sites for low levels of radiation Original
Unoccupied aerial vehicles, better known as drones, have rapidly advanced from a quirky, high-flying novelty to a versatile workhorse. They are tools for search and rescue, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring, and perhaps even package hauling. One day, they may work with humans to augment the task of conducting surveys to detect low levels of radiation—information that could contribute to the decommissioning of sites no longer needed for nuclear-related energy production or research.
Drones fly low and slow for radiation detection
By Allan Brettman Unoccupied aerial vehicles, better known as drones, have rapidly advanced from a quirky, high-flying novelty to a versatile workhorse. They are tools for search and rescue, traffic monitoring, weather monitoring, and perhaps even package hauling.
Enriching science education with thin films
By Allan Brettman “The instrument,” as it’s called, seems to take up the entire room. The sprawling molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systemis all tubes, bolts, stainless steel components, and air-tight glass. It can create an ultrahigh-vacuum environment, a space nearly devoid of matter, a space similar to that outside the International Space Station. The main chamber is about the size of a wine barrel and looks as durable as a tank.
Washington State Academy of Sciences adds six PNNL researchers
By Allan Brettman RICHLAND, Wash.—Six scientists from the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been selected to join the Washington State Academy of Sciences. Deb Gracio, Harry Miley, Wendy Shaw, Wei-Jun Qian, Jie Xiao and Chongmin Wang will join an elite group of scientists and engineers from across the state for their outstanding scientific and technical achievements as well as leadership.
Mentoring the Next Generation of Marine Researchers
By Allan Brettman Newswise — Marine scientist Andrea Copping knows the importance of the next generation of potential Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) scientists and engineers. So instead of waiting for them to find PNNL, Copping recently went to them. Copping, project manager and senior researcher at the PNNL-Sequim campus in Washington, represented PNNL last fall at an introductory event for the University of Washington’s (UW) College of Engineering Industry Capstone Program.
Mentoring the next generation of marine researchers
By Allan Brettman Marine scientist Andrea Copping knows the importance of the next generation of potential Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) scientists and engineers. So instead of waiting for them to find PNNL, Copping recently went to them. Copping, project manager and senior researcher at the PNNL-Sequim campus in Washington, represented PNNL last fall at an introductory event for the University of Washington’s (UW) College of Engineering Industry Capstone Program.
Open-Source “Unique Building Identifier” Can Help Track and Reduce Energy Use and Emissions Original
Home Technology News By Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers create geo-location program with energy-saving goals Computerized maps and their multiple features are a marvel. They’ll get you from point A to point B. They’ll even get you to points C and D and to places in between while suggesting the best neighborhood shops for coffee, pizza, and office supplies. But they’re not perfect. Not by a long shot. Flaws lie beneath the surface for a sophisticated fraction of map users.
Three PNNL Innovations Earn FLC National Awards
By Allan Brettman Newswise — RICHLAND, Wash.—Three innovations developed at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have been named winners in the 2022 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer Awards.
Seeking to Reduce Carbon Footprint with Foot on Two Continents
Newswise — The dissection of a frog doesn’t have much in common with catalysis, but an aspiring young scientist has to start somewhere. A reflective Johannes Lercher marked that high school frog experiment as his starting point in biology and chemistry. Both had to compete with writing for his career ambitions. That, as well as tennis and skiing. He excelled at them all. “I was always quite broadly interested,” said Lercher. Science won.
New study delivers road map of lung development
The study identified and measured 8,938 proteins, providing a comprehensive view of the proteins expressed during the development of the lung. Credit: Stephanie King and Geremy Clair | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Researchers have compiled the most comprehensive road map of the protein composition of human lungs, providing a clearer picture of the healthy development of this essential organ that made terrestrial life possible.
Preparing for climate's impact on renewables
A team of researchers explored the impacts of climate change on a variety of renewable energy sources, focusing their study on Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that already has embraced renewables. This forest is in the El Yunque national forest in Puerto Rico. Credit: Dennis van de Water | Shutterstock.com Reducing the impacts of climate change will require substantial investments in renewable energy sources.
PNNL Researchers Track Radioiodine’s Chemical Evolution
By Allan Brettman Newswise — Transmutation means change. In science, it refers to changes from one state to another. In biology, chemistry, and especially physics, transmutation mostly refers to a change of one chemical element to another. Radioisotopes, either natural or man-made, will decay after a certain amount of time. During this process, the radioactive chemical element will transmute to a different species.
ESPN's Erin Andrews endorses Reebok shoe, two weeks after her damaging report on Nike football shoe
View full sizeA Reebok ZigTech sneaker is balanced on the biceps of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews in her Twitter profile photo. If you're one of the 314,000 Twitter followers of ESPN reporter , like I am, you may have noticed that in her profile photo she has a sneaker balanced on her flexed biceps. If you're a journalist, you may have a problem with that. On Jan.
Creator of Nike's famed Swoosh remembers its conception 40 years later
View full size Don Ryan/The Associated PressThe Nike swoosh logo graces the front of the Niketown store in downtown Portland When the pioneers caught their first glimpse of the black, curvy checkmark, the graphic designer waited patiently for a reaction. Nothing. Then, what else you got? Carolyn Davidson, pushing back disappointment that spring day in 1971, pressed on. One by one, she presented a handful of sketches. But ultimately the three men circled back to the checkmark, her favorite.
Binarized neural networks show promise for fast, accurate machine learning
Removing bits and pieces along coding branches in machine learning algorithms can reduce complexity in decision trees and increase predictive performance. Credit: Nathan Johnson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory As anyone with a green thumb knows, pruning can promote thriving vegetation. A snip here, a snip there, and growth can be controlled and directed for a more vigorous plant. The same principle can be applied to machine learning algorithms.
The Impact of Pruning
By Allan Brettman Newswise — As anyone with a green thumb knows, pruning can promote thriving vegetation. A snip here, a snip there, and growth can be controlled and directed for a more vigorous plant. The same principle can be applied to machine learning algorithms. Removing bits and pieces along coding branches in those algorithms can reduce complexity in decision trees and increase predictive performance.
Safeguarding the Nation’s Supercomputers
by Allan Brettman Newswise — By all appearances, Ang Li and Kevin Barker are computer scientists. But looks can be deceiving. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) duo are also high-tech sleuths, training powerful computers to perform gumshoe work protecting the nation from cybersecurity threats.
Researchers peer into water clusters database, train network to predict energy landscapes
PNNL researchers used 500,000 water clusters from a recently developed database of over 5 million water cluster minima to train a neural network relying on the mathematical power of graph theory—a collection of nodes and links representing molecular structure—to decipher structural patterns of the aggregation of water molecules.
Tracking the neural network's nuclear clues
PNNL scientists used an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict what reactions iodine would undergo with water during a nuclear reactor accident and subsequent molecular evolution. Credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Following the 2011 earthquake in Japan, a tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling in three Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors. The reactors' cores largely melted in the first 72 hours.
Targeting the perfect metal-organic framework cooling combination
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Scientists have known for two decades about a more environmentally friendly way to cool large buildings that is less expensive than conventional cooling systems. The challenge has been making those systems efficient for everyday use. New research at PNNL, however, shows researchers are moving toward perfecting the technique.
Portland Advertising Federation delivers 14 Roseys to 11 agencies
image011.jpg The Wild Roots Vodka Packaging Design by Sasquatch was among the Rosey Award winners named Wednesday night at the Portland Advertising Federation's annual gala event. (Polara Studio) Eleven agencies divided 14 Roseys, the top honor dispensed by the Portland Advertising Federation, at the Ad Fed's annual Rosey Awards on Wednesday night.
Water-repellent substance could enter coronavirus fight
Water beads off ElastiDry due to the substance's superhydrophobocity. Credit: Andrea Starr | PNNL Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been at the center of the fight against COVID-19. Like rarely before, the unforgiving virus has shown medical providers the essential importance of top-line devices. With this crisis as the backdrop, a super-liquid-repellent substance called ElastiDry may soon be entering the marketplace at a providential time.
Software flaws often first reported on social media networks, researchers find
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Software vulnerabilities are more likely to be discussed on social media before they're revealed on a government reporting site, a practice that could pose a national security threat, according to computer scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
OHSU renames research building for Gert Boyle's sister, biochemist Hildegard Lamfrom
Updated Jan 09, 2019;Posted Jun 03, 2015 When they were youngsters growing up in Portland, Gert Boyle recalled on Tuesday, it was easy to tell her apart from her sister Hildegard. "She has always been the brilliant one," Boyle said. "Somebody asked me how we were different.
Animal rights activists file court case to pursue protests at Skanska executives' homes
An animal rights group is asking a Washington County judge to block attempts to stifle their protests at the homes of Skanska executives in Beaverton and Sherwood. The motion filed last week is the latest move in the battle between the group - No New Animal Lab - and the executives. The animal rights group has staged several loud demonstrations at the executives' homes since early last year, protesting the company's role in building a University of Washington animal research lab.
Camas’ Sigma has designs on a productive future
How far its come At Sigma Design’s 25th anniversary event on June 27, company president Bill Huseby delivered a toast that took note of how far the company had traveled: • In 1997, the company had three clients. Today it has more than 118 active clients. • In 1997, the company pitched 25 jobs and made four jobs active. • In 2018, it had 1,352 jobs with about 150-plus active at any time. • Since 1997, it has had almost 11,000 jobs (10,952 to be precise). • In 1997, there were two employees.
Hazel Dell Walmart 1 of 120 with new electric-vehicle charging stations
Independence Day means freedom and that includes freedom to drive, a lot. AAA projects a record-breaking 48.9 million Americans (14.8 percent of the population) will travel this Independence Day holiday, the highest travel volume for the holiday since AAA started tracking in 2000. This is a 4.1 percent increase over 2018, with an additional 1.9 million people taking vacations to celebrate America’s birthday.
Southwest Washington High Tech Council targets education
When it formed, the Southwest Washington High Tech Council seemed to have two goals in mind: Improving transportation and grabbing a megaphone. Nearly two decades later, having mostly secured both goals, the council is still a cohesive, politically influential group — though with an altered roster — with several initiatives in its sights. The council still counts transportation improvements among its top priorities, along with bolstering the supply of a qualified workforce.
People injured in 4-vehicle crash at Hwy 99 and NE 99th
An undisclosed number of people were injured in a four-vehicle crash Friday night at the intersection of Highway 99 and Northeast 99th Street, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said. “Occupants in three of the four vehicles were suffering from injuries, and were transported to local area hospitals for serious, but non-life threatening injuries,” says a sheriff’s office news release.
Rescuers save submerged driver after truck tumbles into Blazer Evan Turner's home
Portland Updated Dec 20, 2017; Posted Dec 20, 2017 By Allan Brettman | The Oregonian/OregonLive A truck hauling dirt down a steep portion of Southwest Upper Hall Street Wednesday morning left the road and tumbled down an embankment, coming to rest in a swimming pool and prompting a dramatic rescue of the driver, an official said.
PeaceHealth, Mercy team for new housing
PeaceHealth and nonprofit developer Mercy Housing Northwest announced a plan Friday to build 72 units of affordable family housing near the hospital. PeaceHealth will donate land for the project at Northeast Fifth Street and 93rd Avenue, about two blocks east of PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. The Vancouver-based not-for-profit Catholic health system will also work with Mercy to determine on-site resident services and programming, according to a news release.
Nautilus chief financial officer Nayar resigns
Sid Nayar, chief financial officer of Nautilus since 2014, has resigned, the Vancouver-based exercise equipment brand announced Friday. The board of directors accepted his resignation Monday and it becomes effective July 12, the company said in a regulatory filing. Nayar is “moving on to a new opportunity” in California, Nautilus spokesman John Fread said. Nayar becomes the latest top executive to depart Nautilus, which has had a bumpy first half of 2019.
Camas shoe store Arktana to open Felida shop
Conventional wisdom says selling consumer goods like footwear is a task better left for a gargantuan website. Lower overhead costs and competitive pricing are two of the main reasons. Ann Matthews knew well that conventional wisdom when she opened Arktana shoes in 2014 in Camas. And the store thrived. It did well enough that Matthews will open the second Arktana on July 1 in The Shops at Erickson Farms in Felida, followed by a July 23 grand opening.
121-space lot coming soon to downtown Vancouver
Construction got underway this week on a 121-space parking lot near a downtown intersection that figures to be busy this summer with building activity. The new parking lot at the southeast corner of Sixth and Grant streets will be located next to an existing parking lot west of Vancouver City Hall. The new lot is expected to be completed in late July or early August. The Vancouver City Council voted June 3 to approve a $328,733.84 construction contract with McDonald Excavating of Washougal.
109-unit project planned by Pearson
A 109-unit development on a parcel northeast of Pearson Field would have 25 condominiums and 84 apartments, under a plan submitted to the city of Vancouver. The apartment total would include two buildings with 24 units that the developer has set aside for “workforce housing,” a designation that lacks government-set standards and that even the developer acknowledges is open to interpretation.
Affordable seniors unit not immune from rent increases
Vintage at Vancouver Senior Apartment Homes residents in recent years can expect envelopes placed on ledges outside their units toward the end of May. The envelopes contain the rate increases that will take effect in July. This year was no different. But these rents fall below the median $1,410 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,670 for a two-bedroom unit that are typically found in Vancouver.
How rents stack up in Vancouver versus Portland
Economic indicator reports arrive regularly in a newsroom. Unemployment, durable goods, home sales, retail sales, manufacturers’ shipments, construction spending — that sort of thing. A government agency issues most of the reports. They’re worthy of at least a moment or two of mulling on their once-a-month delivery schedule. One report in recent months has piqued my interest. That would be the Apartment List, which features rental data on rates for one- and two-bedroom apartments.
Port of Ridgefield sells 9-acre site to developer
Panattoni, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based international development company, has purchased 9 acres from the Port of Ridgefield and is constructing a light-industrial building on the land. The port, which announced the May 24 sale in a news release Friday, said the price was about $2 million for the tract at the Wisdom Ridge development site on South 11th Street in Ridgefield.
Vigor cites due diligence in delay of plant launch
Work to transform the former Christensen yachts facility into a Vigor plant producing aluminum marine craft will likely start in late July or early August. An initial time line announced earlier this year called for that to happen in May. “There was a hope that we might be able to work out an agreement to begin there sooner,” said Jill Mackie, Vigor’s senior vice president of public affairs. Vigor’s planning, engineering and permit acquisition is underway, Mackie said.
Shipbuilder Vigor cites due diligence in delay of plant launch in Vancouver, Washington
June 5, 2019 at 7:33 am Updated June 5, 2019 at 3:41 pm By The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash. Work to transform the former Christensen yachts facility into a Vigor plant producing aluminum marine craft will likely start in late July or early August. An initial time line announced earlier this year called for that to happen in May. “There was a hope that we might be able to work out an agreement to begin there sooner,” said Jill Mackie, Vigor’s senior vice president of public affairs.
Report: Fort Vancouver visitors spent $64.9M
A National Park Service report issued this week shows that 1.1 million visitors to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in 2018 spent $64.9 million in communities near the park. The spending supported 935 jobs in the area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $93.5 million. Fort Vancouver National Historic Site includes the reconstructed Fort Vancouver, Vancouver Barracks, and Pearson Air Museum, located in Vancouver, as well as the McLoughlin House Unit in Oregon City, Ore.
Lack Of Affordable Housing Is Biggest Cause Of Homelessness, Expert Says
“Homelessness is caused by a lack of housing, full stop.” It really is that simple, Dr. Margot Kushel, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, told an audience Friday morning at the Oregon Health Forum. Homelessness, she said, can’t be blamed on an opioid epidemic or shortcomings in the mental health system.
ZOOM+Care names new CEO
Torben Nielsen on Tuesday was named ZOOM+Care’s chief executive officer for the urgent care provider, the Portland-based company announced. Nielsen, who’s been senior vice president for innovation at Vancouver-based PeaceHealth since April, replaces interim CEO Bill Frerichs, who is leaving the company. PeaceHealth announced in December it had acquired ZOOM+Care, which has 37 clinics in Oregon and Washington. There are two clinics in Vancouver and about 25 in Portland.
Uptown Apartments in Vancouver sold
The Uptown Apartments, which opened early last year and became one of the brick-and-mortar symbols of Vancouver’s urban growth, has been sold. Cascadia Development Partners of Vancouver sold The Uptown to Green Leaf Partners of Pleasanton, Calif., for $57 million, said David Copenhaver, Cascadia’s president. The deal closed Wednesday, the same day sale notices were taped to residents’ doors. “We loved the project,” Copenhaver said. “It had a lot of local investors. It was a good price.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Allan
Contact Allan, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack