Jan 4, 2021
A portion of the Savannah River Site, south of Aiken, including the Savannah River National Laboratory. File/Steve Ashe/Provided
A Battelle-led team has won the Savannah River National Laboratory standalone management contract, capping approximately one year of procurement and broad speculation about who will lead the scientific institution for the foreseeable future.
The Department of Energy on Tuesday morning unveiled Ohio-based Battelle Savannah River Alliance LLC as the contract awardee, beating out two other bids received by Environmental Management, the department s nuclear cleanup office.
Battelle President and CEO Lou Von Thaer in a statement said it was an honor.
Ralph Courtney s office is a comfortable reminder of his day-to-day work.
On his shelves lie objects meant to comfort the individuals who enter his office: pictures of colleagues and individuals who filter in and out of Aiken County s Tri-Development Center, dolls and other toys, and coloring books with crayons.
More intriguing is the artwork: a drawing of him, created by a special needs individual, and aged illustrations of children and adults displaying their disabilities â blindness or wheelchair-boundness, conditions which many of the differently-abled people who step into the comfortingly cluttered space will be familiar.Â
The desk is really the only piece of furniture that stands out. It is professionally set and tidy, with plaques of accomplishments on the wall hanging above his chair. His laptop is still humming from a long day of use.Â