Oak Ridge Today

Tree workshop dedicated to Pat Imperato to be held at UT Arboretum

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University of Tennessee Arboretum fall scene (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

University of Tennessee Arboretum fall scene (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

 

Pat Imperato

Pat Imperato

A tree workshop at the University of Tennessee Arboretum on Saturday, November 12, will be dedicated to Pat Imperato, a tireless champion of environmental issues, a press release said. Her advocacy was evident in her long history of contributions to the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board and Keep Anderson County Beautiful, the release said.

The workshop will be presented by the Oak Ridge Environmental Quality Advisory Board in partnership with the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. It’s scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, November 12, at the UT Arboretum Auditorium, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Imperato, 69, died in October, but she spent the last several years spearheading work on a “Tree Plan” for Oak Ridge. Imperato was also an outspoken proponent for proper stewardship of city and private lands, and she was interested in community education and outreach, the press release said. [Read more…]

Centrus donates precision surface plate to Roane State

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A precision surface plate donated by Centrus Energy will be used in Roane State’s planned welding program. From left are Keith Barding and Ben Jordan with Centrus Energy and Roane State dean Markus Pomper. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Centrus Energy of Oak Ridge has donated a precision surface plate for use in Roane State Community College’s planned welding certificate program.

The granite surface plate is needed for taking precise measurements. The surface plate, which is kept in a classroom at the college’s Oak Ridge campus, is valued at approximately $10,000 and weighs about 3,000 pounds.

“Centrus has assisted us in many ways as we planned our welding certificate program,” said Markus Pomper, dean of Roane State’s Mathematics and Sciences Division. “They have helped us design the curriculum and provided us with resources such as the surface plate. We are incredibly appreciative of their efforts to help us create a high-quality welding certificate program.”

Pomper said Roane State’s planned welding certificate program, pending approval, will be a one-semester program. The training is needed in Oak Ridge, Pomper said, where work on projects such as the Uranium Processing Facility requires welders with advanced skills. [Read more…]

Roane State, ORHS dual enrollment art program gives students unique experiences, opportunities

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Roane State associate professor of art and design Bryan Wilkerson teaches dual enrollment ceramics at Oak Ridge High School, partnering with ORHS teacher Gisela Schrock. Front from left are student Katie Stewart, Wilkerson, and students Olivia Hoyt and Brennan Whitson. Back, from left, are students Waverly Mullins, Josh Stanfill, Chloe Southmayd, Stevie Logan, Kaitlan Paine, Melena Haynes, Katie Roach and Mary Klages. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State associate professor of art and design Bryan Wilkerson teaches dual enrollment ceramics at Oak Ridge High School, partnering with ORHS teacher Gisela Schrock. Front from left are student Katie Stewart, Wilkerson, and students Olivia Hoyt and Brennan Whitson. Back, from left, are students Waverly Mullins, Josh Stanfill, Chloe Southmayd, Stevie Logan, Kaitlan Paine, Melena Haynes, Katie Roach, and Mary Klages. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Artists working in ceramics must also be part scientist and part engineer, says Roane State’s Bryan Wilkerson, an associate professor of art and design on the college’s Oak Ridge campus.

Oak Ridge High School students involved in the college’s dual enrollment program in ceramics are mastering those challenges as they mold their artistic skills. They are being supervised and taught by Wilkerson and high school art teacher Gisela Schrock.

Wilkerson and Schrock launched the dual enrollment program after meeting at the Knoxville Museum of Art and becoming friends.

“Gisela and I are very different in how we approach teaching art,” Wilkerson said. “I think it’s good for students to get multiple feedback and instruction, but we also communicate so we’re on the same page.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School receives funding from labor education grant

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tennessee-college-of-applied-technology-knoxville

Oak Ridge High School will receive $46,000 from a labor education grant, a press release said.

Oak Ridge Schools is one of six regional school districts that have partnered with the East Tennessee Development District, or ETDD; Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Knoxville, or TCAT-K; and eleven employer partners to be included in the most recent Tennessee Labor Education Alignment Program grant, or LEAP 2.0.

Besides Oak Ridge, the school districts include Knox, Alcoa, Blount, Anderson County, and Maryville. The 11 employers include ALCOA, Cherokee Millwright, DENSO Manufacturing, BHS Corrugated, Gerdau Steel, Interstate Mechanical, Shoffner Kalthoff, SL Tennessee, Aisin, Eagle Bend/Magna, and 3M, a press release.

The $46,000 that ORHS will receive will be used to purchase Amatrol tabletop trainers for electronic, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems. Successful students will demonstrate mastery of skills with these system components through Certified Production Technician certification. Dual enrollment courses with TCAT Knoxville will begin in the fall of 2017, the press release said. [Read more…]

U.S. Homeland Security seeks faculty, students for summer 2017 research

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seeking faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in participating in one of its 10-week programs in summer 2017, including its Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions, and its Homeland Security—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (HS-STEM) Summer Internship Program.

The deadlines for applying for both programs occur in December 2016.

Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions [Read more…]

True grit: Roane State softball player Briar Mays refuses to let cancer stand in her way

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Roane State softball player Briar Mays, left, is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer but intends to return to the squad in the spring. She is pictured with teammate Kacee Hedrick. (Photo by Roane State)

Roane State softball player Briar Mays, left, is undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer but intends to return to the squad in the spring. She is pictured with teammate Kacee Hedrick. (Photo by Roane State)

 

Briar Mays said she started noticing it last September—her right leg and hip were hurting.

During warm-ups and workouts as a freshman member of the Roane State Community College women’s softball team, Briar said she had to use her arms to pull her legs up for some exercises.

Physical therapy was recommended and undertaken, but that didn’t help ease the pain.

Still, the 18-year-old former standout for Forrest High School’s softball team in tiny Chapel Hill, Tennessee, finished out last fall’s season for the Roane State squad, playing left field.

It was only after an MRI in January that Briar received the devastating news: she had cancer. [Read more…]

Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus to host fair for adults who want to go back to college

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Roane State Community College’s Oak Ridge campus will host an information fair for adults who want to go back to college.

The Adult Information Fair will be held on Thursday, November 10, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge campus, which is at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. The fair is free and open to the public.

Adults will be able to learn about Roane State programs, getting academic credit for work experience, and the statewide Reconnect initiative to encourage adults to finish their college degrees. [Read more…]

Owl Prowl at UT Arboretum on Saturday

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owl

Owl Prowl is Saturday. It’s one of the most popular events offered at the University of Tennessee Arboretum.

Owl Prowl is sponsored by the UT Arboretum Society and the Clinch River Raptor Center. Kathy Strunk and Katie Cottrell, naturalists from the Clinch River Raptor Center, will bring live owls for display and will give information about their natural history, a press release said.

Owl Prowl is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22, at the UT Arboretum, which is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Roane State, AC Chamber, CNS Y-12 to host Manufacturing Day celebration, Dream It/Do It kickoff

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Area middle school students will learn about creative, high-tech careers in manufacturing as part of a Manufacturing Day celebration on Friday, October 21, at Roane State Community College’s training facility in Clinton.

The college is teaming up with the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce and CNS Y-12 to host the event, titled the Dream It/Do It Manufacturing Showcase: Think, Create, Build. The event begins at 9:30 a.m., and it will include tours and equipment demonstrations. The public is invited.

Roane State’s Clinton Higher Education and Workforce Training Facility is located at 214 Nave Street. [Read more…]

Watch a free showing of movie ‘Psycho’ Oct. 20 at Princess Theatre in Harriman

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Roane State English professor DeAnna Stephens will introduce a free screening of “Psycho,” regarded as Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece of a psychological thriller, at 7 p.m. Oct. 20 in the Princess Theatre in Harriman.

The R-rated film, often described as “creepy,” is the tale of a woman on the lam who checks into the mysterious Bates Motel, apparently vacant except for proprietors Norman Bates and his mother.

The 1960 movie, now considered a classic, gives audiences a whole new perspective on taking showers and became Hitchcock’s biggest hit. [Read more…]

Education Foundation’s Lawler Scholarship helps student; applications accepted

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Tiffany Potok and Scotland architecture (Submitted photo)

 

Tiffany Potok met students from throughout the world as an honors student at University of Glasgow, one of Europe’s oldest universities. Along with Scottish students, she met Canadians and lived in a flat with students from Brazil, China, Cyprus, and Malaysia during the spring semester this year.

She studied the Scottish enlightenment and took neuroscience courses while there. And she brought home some life lessons as well.

“One of the main take-aways I have is this: We focus way too much on cultural differences and how that separates us,” Potok said. “We need to focus more on what makes us all human.”

She was the recipient of the 2016 Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Student Scholarship, which provided funds to assist with her international studies experience. [Read more…]

ORNL, UT celebrating Bioenergy Day with free event for elementary, middle school students

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bioenergy-day-flyer

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee are celebrating Bioenergy Day 2016 with a free event designed to engage elementary kids and middle schools, inviting them to investigate the world of bioenergy.

Participants include Creative Discovery Museum of Chattanooga, Genera Energy, UT Ag Extension, and UT Forest Service, along with ORNL Manufacturing (3D printing) and ORNL Transportation. [Read more…]