University of Arkansas notebook

Terrorism-research director is selected

FAYETTEVILLE -- A new director has been hired for the Terrorism Research Center.

Jeff Gruenewald, formerly a UA assistant professor, started Monday as an associate professor and will begin Aug. 17 as the center's director, said Andra Parrish Liwag, communications director for UA's J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Gruenewald, 38, most recently has been a faculty member at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The center hosts the American Terrorism Study, which tracks people indicted after FBI "terrorism enterprise" investigations.

Brent Smith, who joined UA in 2003, will continue as director until Aug. 16 and retire on Dec. 31, Liwag said.

"I've worked hard to establish a strong empirical reputation for the [center]," Smith, 65, said in an email, stating he wants to spend more time with family. "We have a lot of research ongoing that I believe can make a significant contribution to counter terrorism."

He called Gruenewald "just the right person" for the job.

"As Director, I will be committed to continuing the [center's] focus on funded research, facilitating educational and research opportunities for students, and connecting with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to assist them in the prevention of future terrorism," Gruenewald said in an email.

Gruenewald will be paid a yearly salary of $120,000. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University and a doctorate in criminal justice from Michigan State University. Gruenewald worked at UA as an assistant professor from 2011-2015.

Science conference draws 60 attendees

FAYETTEVILLE -- About 60 academic leaders attended a three-day national conference on science and the environment held June 24-26, said David Graham Hyatt, UA's coordinator of academic sustainability.

The summer meeting of the National Council for Science and the Environment was hosted by the Resiliency Center and supported by the environmental dynamics program.

The nonprofit council aims to boost the use of science in environmental policymaking, according to its website.

" [The National Council for Science and the Environment] looks forward to pursuing concrete outcomes from the meeting, including a strengthened partnership between [the council] and the University of Arkansas to have a greater positive impact in service to science, scholarship, and the environment," Kate Ceste, communications, events and membership manager for the council, said in a statement.

Nuke-site cleanup declared complete

FAYETTEVILLE -- The state Department of Environmental Quality has found that "no further actions are required" after cleanup of a nuclear reactor test site in rural Washington County.

The university, which owns the site, paid for the cleanup with about $24 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. Radiological waste was trucked away for specialized disposal.

The state's environmental department notified UA of its determination in a letter dated June 27. A department spokesman, Jacob Harper, said the state requested "eighty percent grass coverage" before making its final determination.

Separately, the state's radioactive materials licensing authority has cleared the site as meeting requirements for unrestricted use. Aboveground structures were torn down as part of the cleanup, but some buried materials, including the bottom portion of a carbon steel liner, remain at the site, according to a deed notice.

The pilot test facility, known as the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor, operated from 1969 to 1972 but did not actually generate power.

After operations ceased, spent nuclear fuel was removed from the reactor, according to a 2009 historical site assessment. The university took ownership of the site in 1975 "on the premise that SEFOR would be used to train future nuclear engineers," but ceased using the facility in 1986, according to the 2009 document.

Metro on 07/05/2019

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