Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Recent Episodes

Episode 105: Thanksgiving 2022: How ORAU employees give back in the communities where they live

Posted November 22, 2022 • 01:16:25

As a company, ORAU supports financially a number of non-profit organizations in the communities where we do business. As CEO Andy Page says, it's the role of a good corporate citizen. Additionally, many of our employees give of their time, talent and treasure to support organizations that are important to them. For this year's Thanksgiving episode, host Michael Holtz asked several colleagues to share how and why they support the organizations they do. The organizations, the skills and the reasons are as personal and individual as each of the people interviewed. Giving back is important to each of these folks, and many, many others. It's the right thing to do, and we think talking about giving back is a great way to celebrate a holiday focused on giving thanks.

Episode 104: 'It was phenomenal!" A conversation with 2022 Extreme Classroom Makeover winner Stacey Whaley

Posted November 16, 2022 • 00:17:35

For Stacey Whaley, winning ORAU's Extreme Classroom Makeover 2022 was one of the biggest surprises of her life. She knew she could put the $25,000 prize to good use in her classroom, and boy did she ever. During this conversation, Whaley talks to host Michael Holtz about the new technology she purchased for her classroom, from digital microscopes and iPads to virtual reality headsets and a floor projector. Applications for the 2023 edition of Extreme Classroom Makeover are now open, and Whaley urges teachers within a 50-mile radius of Oak Ridge to apply. You never know what could happen! Learn more here: https://orau.org/news/releases/2022/extreme-classroom-makeover-2023-applications-now-open.html

Episode 103: Celebrating workplace diversity: ORAU Diversity Council marks 30th birthday

Posted November 9, 2022 • 00:21:38

A cornhole competition between ORAU employees and executives, which executives lost, was the high point of the Diversity Council's 30th birthday celebration, which took place on ORAU's Main Campus and virtually in October 2022. The gathering was the first major in-person event since the beginning the pandemic, and celebrated ORAU's commitment to diversity. In this special "man on the street" style episode, host Michael Holtz talks to members of the diversity council against the backdrop of a very fun and important day for ORAU. To learn more about ORAU's commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, visit https://www.orau.org/about/principles/diversity.html

Episode 102: The molten salt reactor renaissance, a conversation with Alexander Bataller, Ph.D.

Posted November 1, 2022 • 00:19:48

Alexander Bataller, assistant professor of nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University, was a 2020 recipient of an ORAU Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. With his award, which was matched by his institution, Bataller built a custom optical furnace as part of his team's research into molten salt reactors. The blueprints for the furnace were from the 70s, and molten salt reactor research is seeing a bit of a renaissance. Learn more about his research and why it's important during this conversation with host Michael Holtz. If you're junior faculty at an ORAU University Consortium institution, consider applying for a Powe Award. Application submissions close on January 9, 2023. Apply here: https://www.orau.org/university-partnerships/member-grant-programs/powe/index.html

Episode 101: Making great things happen: our annual conversation with United Away of Anderson County

Posted October 25, 2022 • 00:33:47

It's annual giving time at ORAU, and for the third year in a row Michael Holtz sat down with Naomi Asher, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County (and surrounding, let's be real), to talk about how UWAC and its partner agencies meet some of the basic needs of individuals living right here in our communities. Joining this year's conversation are Janet Wood, vice president of community engagement at Emory Valley Center, and Kayla Simon, executive director of ASAP of Anderson County. These organizations and many others who receive United Way funding are doing great work and make donated dollars stretch as far as humanly possible. Give a listen to learn more, and then give: ORAU employees, support the Annual Giving Campaign.Learn more about United Way of Anderson County, Emory Valley Center and ASAP of Anderson County.