News

Pantex biologist, Canadian scientist to study birds this weekend

Pantex wildlife biologist Jim Ray will be teaming up with York University researcher Dr. Kevin Fraser from Toronto this weekend to help study the movements and behaviors of Purple Martins.

Ray, Fraser and several volunteers will be capturing the Martins, which are the largest member of the swallow family in North America, and affixing small geolocator tracking devices to help expand scientific knowledge about the birds. The geolocators were provided by the Department of Energy and Pantex in connection with a Presidential directive to help study and preserve migratory birds.

“Purple Martins are declining in some areas of the United States, and it is critical we continue to learn about their year-round needs and protect them,” said Ray, who studies a variety of wildlife species in his work at Pantex.

Ray said Purple Martins have been popular among bird watchers since early settlers found Native Americans providing the birds with living quarters in hollowed-out gourds. Providing birdhouses has been a popular pastime for birders ever since.

“I’ve been fascinated by Purple Martins since I was exposed to them when I went to graduate school in South Dakota,” Ray said. “Although I have been studying and promoting them for 25 years, it took me 16 years to attract my first nesting pair.”

Martin aficionados like Ray place specially constructed bird houses in their yards. Ray, who along with Fraser holds a permit to capture the birds, has banded more than 10,000 Purple Martins. Since 2007, geolocators – which weigh 1.5 grams and estimate the location of the birds by recording sunrise and sunset times – have expanded the scientific knowledge of the birds’ movements. Researchers discovered the small birds spend up to a month and a half flying south to Brazil in the fall, but return north to their U.S. breeding colonies in only two weeks during spring.

The Purple Martin Conservation Association (www.purplemartin.org) supports geolocator efforts like the one this weekend.
​

CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

More than 100 Pantexans attended the annual Armed Forces Day Celebration at Pantex Wednesday. For more than 15 years Pantex has hosted a lunch and ceremony to honor those who fought to keep our country free. This year, the Pantex Fire Department Honor Guard presented the colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the National Anthem.

More than 700 Pantexans are veterans of the armed forces.

Leadership Group Visits Pantex

Leadership Amarillo and Canyon program participants visited Pantex May 9 and viewed a security weapon display, toured the Firing Site, and experienced the Visitor’s Center. They also received an overview on the history of Pantex. The 10-month Leadership Amarillo and Canyon program is designed to introduce leadership development, networking, community awareness, and social consciousness to those who desire to make a difference in their community. Because Pantex tours are not open to the public, this visit was a unique opportunity to learn about one of the top three employers in Amarillo.

Senior executives from The Babcock & Wilcox Company visited Pantex today to tour the facility and meet with key leaders. Here, executives pose with “Freedom,” the Plant’s 125-pound fiberglass American Quarter Horse sculpture.

About the photo:
Left to right: B&W Senior VP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary James Canafax, B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery, B&W President and CEO Jim Ferland, and George Dudich, B&W Technical Services Group president.

Area middle schoolers build renewable energy vehicles

​B&W Pantex sponsored its Electric Battery Car Race Saturday as part of the annual Science Bowl Competition. Nearly 30 teams from middle schools across the Texas Panhandle competed in the races, which were won by Bovina Middle School. Panhandle Junior High came in second and Dumas Junior High was second.

Area middle schoolers work to build renewable energy vehicles

A record number of middle school teams will gather Saturday to put their engineering and building skills to the test at the annual B&W Pantex Electric Battery Car Race.

The race, which is part of the National Science Bowl, will pit 29 teams of car builders against each other in a competition to build the fastest battery powered car. The event challenges students to use scientific knowledge, creative thinking, experimentation and teamwork to design and build a car powered by renewable energy.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsors the car races, with different types of propulsion chosen for the cars. In prior years, the cars were powered by solar power or Hydrogen fuel cells. This year, DOE chose electric battery cars. Teams were given kits a month ago to assemble into the fastest, most stylish car they can create.

“This is always an exciting, enjoyable event for our area middle schools,” said race coordinator Debra Halliday. “It’s a fun and exciting way for us to encourage a new generation of inventors and engineers.”

The races start at 9 a.m. Saturday in the Tascosa High School cafeteria. Each race will feature four cars running down a 20-meter track, as well as a competition for car design, craftsmanship, creativity and the most appealing design.

All Amarillo media is invited to attend the races, which will run through the morning, with a pause for lunch from 11 a.m. to noon. The finals will take place after lunch and should be concluded by 12:30 p.m. Interviews with race organizers, coaches and students will be available.

The two senior leaders of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) visited the Pantex Plant Tuesday to tour the facility and deliver a message of support to the workers.

U.S. Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Calif.) told an assembled group of Pantexans he was aware of the critical work done at Pantex through his role as the HASC chairman, but seeing it firsthand really made an impact.

“When I saw that weapon being put together, I was so thankful that you’re all here to do this work,” McKeon said.

McKeon traveled to Pantex with HASC vice chairman, U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, whose district includes the Pantex Plant. Thornberry talked about the challenging budget situation facing all levels of government and the importance of maintaining the capabilities of facilities like Pantex.

“What you do here is very, very important, and it needs to be protected,” Thornberry said.
After taking questions from several Pantexans, the two Congressmen concluded the all-hands meeting with a few final words of encouragement.

“(Pantex) is a crown jewel,” McKeon said. “You’ve kept us safe for many years, and you should be congratulated for that.”

Workers at the Pantex Plant last month finished the largest concrete pour to date on the High Explosives Pressing Facility, completing the last of the elevated soffits, which are part of the roof deck/second story of the building.

The pour marked the completion of approximately 50 percent of the construction on the 45,000 square-foot facility, which will combine high explosives operations from numerous outdated buildings into one state-of-the-art facility which will help to bolster Pantex’s status as the DOE’s High Explosives Center of Excellence for HE manufacturing.

Construction of the $65 million facility is expected to be complete next year. The construction effort is being managed by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and the design effort/plant support is being led by B&W Pantex/CH2MHill.

Engineering workshop for Girl Scouts gaining popularity

A group of female engineers from Pantex are working to develop a Girl Scout cookie of a different sort: a Smart Cookie.

The Smart Cookie program started in January with a half dozen young women engineers from Pantex who decided to pass on their love of engineering to the next generation with a workshop for Girl Scouts. The program has taken off in the intervening months, with more engineers and more Girl Scouts coming together for a workshop sequel this weekend.

“The response to the first event has just been phenomenal,” said Savannah Gates, a process engineer at Pantex who helped start the program. “We thought there were a lot of girls out there who would be interested in engineering if they just had a little encouragement. It’s extremely gratifying to find so many girls showing an interest.”

The number of women engineers who are involved in the project has doubled, and a much larger group of Girl Scouts is expected at the workshop this weekend.

Gates said the workshop will teach engineering principles with a pair of projects. In the first, hard candies and diet soda will make an effective, if messy, demonstration of propulsion concepts. The second half of the workshop will show what it’s like for an engineer to work on a real project, with the girls building structures that must meet height and load bearing standards, all while staying on budget.

The future for the program looks bright, with plans underway to enlist experts from Pantex in areas as diverse as math, science and information technology, for future events with the Girl Scouts.

All Amarillo media is welcome to cover the workshop, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Girl Scouts headquarters, 6011 SW 45th Ave. Interviews with engineers and Girl Scouts will be available.

Don Cook, NNSA’s deputy administrator for Defense Programs, last week spoke to Pantexans about the future mission of Pantex and the critical role the plant will play in maintaining the nation’s stockpile for decades to come. During the visit, Cook congratulated some of the 100-plus Pantexans who helped to secure the plant and conduct recovery operations during and after the Feb. 25 blizzard that dropped more than 19 inches on the Amarillo area.