Episodes

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 reason...

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 u...

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 ver...

Alexander Betaller, 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, Betaller 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...

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...

Susan Ehrlich, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and a former judge in Arizona, recently wrote a memorandum for the Central Department of Energy Institutional Review Board discussing explicit and implicit biases in human subjects research. Bias is a critically important issue in research, ensuring that biases are addressed and don't exclude participation in human subjects research. In this conversation, Ehrlich shares how she came to be the first author of the memorandum, why it's important and w...

ORAU has a thriving and growing research enterprise. Returning guest Ken Tobin, ORAU's Chief Research Officer, joins host Michael Holtz for a conversation about some new developments in the research arena, including the creation of a research scientist job family. Ultimately, research is good for the company from a performance and employee engagement perspective. The conversation is brief but very impactful.

Dr. Hilary Marston, an internal medicine physician by training, has long had an interest in public health and global health policy. In 2013, she began work at the National Institutes of Health as an ORISE research program participant as at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where she was mentored by Dr. Anthony Fauci and worked on several outbreaks including Ebola, Zika and COVID-19. She also worked for the National Security Council and the White House COVID Response Tea...

Dr. Hilary Marston, an internal medicine physician by training, has long had an interest in public health and global health policy. In 2013, she began work at the National Institutes of Health as an ORISE research program participant as at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where she was mentored by Dr. Anthony Fauci and worked on several outbreaks including Ebola, Zika and COVID-19. She also worked for the National Security Council and the White House COVID Response Tea...

Dr. Hilary Marston, an internal medicine physician by training, has long had an interest in public health and global health policy. In 2013, she began work at the National Institutes of Health as an ORISE research program participant as at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, where she was mentored by Dr. Anthony Fauci and worked on several outbreaks including Ebola, Zika and COVID-19. She also worked for the National Security Council and the White House COVID Response Tea...

We wrap our celebration of National Postdoc Week with an enlightening and inspiring interview with Christina Wildfire, a two-time ORISE research program participant at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Wildfire's research has focused on using microwave energy to revitalize the coal industry. Currently, as an employee at NETL, she works with scientists and industry to reduce carbon emissions. In this conversation with host Michael Holtz, Wildfire discusses her journey into science (she d...

We wrap our celebration of National Postdoc Week with an enlightening and inspiring interview with Christina Wildfire, a two-time ORISE research program participant at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Wildfire's research has focused on using microwave energy to revitalize the coal industry. Currently, as an employee at NETL, she works with scientists and industry to reduce carbon emissions. In this conversation with host Michael Holtz, Wildfire discusses her journey into science (she d...

We wrap our celebration of National Postdoc Week with an enlightening and inspiring interview with Christina Wildfire, a two-time ORISE research program participant at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. Wildfire's research has focused on using microwave energy to revitalize the coal industry. Currently, as an employee at NETL, she works with scientists and industry to reduce carbon emissions. In this conversation with host Michael Holtz, Wildfire discusses her journey into science (she d...

As part of our annual observance of National Postdoc Week, this episode of the ORISE Featurecast focuses on Julie Spencer, Ph.D., an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program researcher, who uses mathematics to track and, in collaboration with other scientists, research how to end human suffering from communicable diseases. In this episode, Julie talks to host Michael Holtz about her ongoing work, how she developed an interest in science and math, the importance of collabor...

As part of our annual observance of National Postdoc Week, this episode of the ORISE Featurecast focuses on Julie Spencer, Ph.D., an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program researcher, who uses mathematics to track and, in collaboration with other scientists, research how to end human suffering from communicable diseases. In this episode, Julie talks to host Michael Holtz about her ongoing work, how she developed an interest in science and math, the importance of collabor...

As part of our annual observance of National Postdoc Week, this episode of the ORISE Featurecast focuses on Julie Spencer, Ph.D., an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program researcher, who uses mathematics to track and, in collaboration with other scientists, research how to end human suffering from communicable diseases. In this episode, Julie talks to host Michael Holtz about her ongoing work, how she developed an interest in science and math, the importance of collabor...

We all deliver and consume information through the lens of our own biases. Individuals can get the same information and have the same resources, but come to wildly different conclusions. Nick Byrd, a researcher in the ORISE Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, uses his background studying philosophy and applied engineering to help people understand their cognitive biases and engage in reflective thinking to de-bias decision-making processes. The intent isn't to change minds o...

We all deliver and consume information through the lens of our own biases. Individuals can get the same information and have the same resources, but come to wildly different conclusions. Nick Byrd, a researcher in the ORISE Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, uses his background studying philosophy and applied engineering to help people understand their cognitive biases and engage in reflective thinking to de-bias decision-making processes. The intent isn't to change minds o...

We all deliver and consume information through the lens of our own biases. Individuals can get the same information and have the same resources, but come to wildly different conclusions. Nick Byrd, a researcher in the ORISE Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, uses his background studying philosophy and applied engineering to help people understand their cognitive biases and engage in reflective thinking to de-bias decision-making processes. The intent isn't to change minds o...

ORAU's work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (NOAA ATDD) is one of the hidden gems of our company. It's not work we talk about often, but it is exciting and compelling Our team's work focuses on climate research, atmospheric chemistry and dispersion, and boundary layer characterization. The Climate Reference Network, in particular, is a series of 114 stations around the country that collect data to monitor climate. Some of t...

ORAU's work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (NOAA ATDD) is one of the hidden gems of our company. It's not work we talk about often, but it is exciting and compelling Our team's work focuses on climate research, atmospheric chemistry and dispersion, and boundary layer characterization. The Climate Reference Network, in particular, is a series of 114 stations around the country that collect data to monitor climate. Some of t...

ORAU's work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (NOAA ATDD) is one of the hidden gems of our company. It's not work we talk about often, but it is exciting and compelling Our team's work focuses on climate research, atmospheric chemistry and dispersion, and boundary layer characterization. The Climate Reference Network, in particular, is a series of 114 stations around the country that collect data to monitor climate. Some of t...

For Jonathan Levine, reading the 2002 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report made it clear that global warming and its effects on those of lower-income households were clearly and swiftly becoming a reality. After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Levine became a participant of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Postgraduate Research Program, studying deep sea gas and oil rising through the ocean. Levine left academia and started his own company called Folia Materials t...

For Jonathan Levine, reading the 2002 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report made it clear that global warming and its effects on those of lower-income households were clearly and swiftly becoming a reality. After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Levine became a participant of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Postgraduate Research Program, studying deep sea gas and oil rising through the ocean. Levine left academia and started his own company called Folia Materials t...