Oak Ridge Today

Roane State Shooting Sports Team athletes earn state honors

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Roane State Shooting Team

The Roane State Shooting Sports Team competed in June in the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program Championships. From left are team member Andy Carey, Assistant Coach Kevin Hembree, team member Lauren Sanders, Assistant Coach James Wattenbarger, team member Nathan Hembree, Head Coach Kenny Carey, team member Nathan Wattenbarger, and team member Cody Chattin. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College Shooting Sports Team athletes won top honors in the collegiate division at the Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program Championships in June in Nashville.

Lauren Sanders of Soddy Daisy won first place in sporting clays and second place in skeet. Andy Carey of Crossville won first place in sporting clays. Nathan Hembree of Crossville won second place in skeet and third place in trap.

Nate Wattenbarger of Crossville and Cody Chattin of Spring City also competed for Roane State.

Coaches Kevin Hembree, James Wattenbarger, and Kenny Carey said they were “very proud of the entire team for their efforts and excellent marksmanship.” [Read more…]

Roane State students construct turtle habitat in Costa Rica

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Roane State costa_rica_class

As part of their study abroad service learning class, Roane State students constructed a turtle habitat for ASVO, a conservation organization in Costa Rica. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Sixteen Roane State Community College students traveled to Costa Rica this summer to build a sea turtle nursery, give needed school supplies to elementary school children, help teach English to college students, and immerse themselves in a foreign culture.

The students were part of a Roane State study abroad service learning class. The class has been offered for the past eight years and gives students the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica and earn college credit in business or education.

Costa Rica is home to four species of sea turtles. Roane State students constructed a nursery that will protect turtle eggs from poachers, tourists, and other harmful elements. The eggs are monitored around the clock until they hatch. [Read more…]

Overall number of health physics degrees drops to lowest level in more than decade

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Despite number of bachelor’s and master’s degrees decreasing, number of doctorate degrees increased significantly

The overall number of students who graduated in 2015 with health physics degrees dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade. This is according to the latest annual study conducted by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which surveyed 22 health physics programs, representing nearly all such programs at the nation’s universities.

The report, titled “Health Physics Enrollments and Degrees Survey, 2015 Data,” showed that a total of 136 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees were granted between September 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015.

Table 1. Health Physics Degrees, 2006-2015

[Read more…]

Roane State launches new program in computer information technology

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Roane State Computer Information Technology

George Meghabghab, right, is the program director for Roane State’s new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology. (Photo by Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College has launched a new program that includes extensive instruction in computer programming and prepares students for valuable tech industry certifications.

Classes for the new Associate of Applied Science in Computer Information Technology begin this fall. Nearly all of the program’s courses can be taken online.

“We are very excited about the computer information technology program,” program director George Meghabghab said. “Our curriculum is closely aligned with the skills tech companies want in their employees.”

Students will learn to develop applications, design and query databases, maintain and secure networks, and more. Course subjects include HTML and CSS, programming, database concepts, JavaScript, and network routing. [Read more…]

Butterfly Festival at UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge on July 30

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Butterfly Festival monarch (Submitted photo)

Butterfly Festival monarch (Submitted photo)

 

Monarch release and UT Insect Zoo are highlights

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will present a Butterfly Festival on Saturday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium and surrounding grounds at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.  It is co-sponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. The gate will be open at 8:30 a.m. Coffee and donuts will be sold from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The event, designed for children and adults of all ages, will take place rain or shine. This educational and fun activity features four speakers, two local native plant vendor,s and artisans. Speakers will give their presentations in the air-conditioned comfort of the Arboretum’s new Auditorium. The food vendors, plant vendors, and artisans will be stationed near the Program Shelter. The monarch butterfly release will take place on the patio outside the Auditorium.

The day’s highlight will be the release of 100 butterflies at approximately 2 p.m., in honor of the 50th anniversaries of UTAS and the Arboretum. We invite children to help release the monarch butterflies, which will be offered at a cost of $10 per butterfly. [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, July 21, from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue. The fair is free and open to the public. [Read more…]

Tee Higgins commits to Clemson

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Wildcats Tee Higgins Catch at Ooltewah Nov. 13, 2015

Oak Ridge junior Tee Higgins (5), shown making a playoff catch against Ooltewah on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015, announced Monday, July 4, 2016, that he has committed to Clemson. (File photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Oak Ridge Wildcats wide receiver Tee Higgins has committed to Clemson. Higgins, who will be a senior this fall, announced his decision in a Bleacher Report video posted on Twitter on Monday.

The video shows Higgins, a five-star receiver who had once been committed to Tennessee, at a barbecue cookout with friends and family. It ends with orange and purple fireworks in the sky.

The 247Sports Composite lists the 6-foot-5, 188-pound Higgins as the nation’s third-ranked wide receiver in the 2017 class. Prep Xtra at the Knoxville News Sentinel reported that he is considered the number one overall player in Tennessee.

Higgins, who won a Mr. Football award in November and was also a Mr. Basketball finalist, chose the Tigers over finalists Ohio State, Florida State, Tennessee, and Ole Miss. [Read more…]

Roane State art students earn honors

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Several Roane State students earned honors in the college’s annual Student Art Show. From left are associate professor Stacy Jacobs; students Marsha Scarbrough, Kaitlan Paine, Erica Ostrander, Ceara Wallus, and Celine Gobert; associate professor Bryan Wilkerson; and student Steven Young. (Photo by RSCC)

Several Roane State students earned honors in the college’s annual Student Art Show. From left are associate professor Stacy Jacobs; students Marsha Scarbrough, Kaitlan Paine, Erica Ostrander, Ceara Wallus, and Celine Gobert; associate professor Bryan Wilkerson; and student Steven Young. (Photo by RSCC)

 

The following Roane State Community College students earned awards for their work in the college’s Student Art Show, held at the end of the spring semester.

Students and their honors were:

  • Celine Gobert of Oak Ridge, first place, third place, Outstanding Achievement in Art, honorable mention;
  • Erica Ostrander of Lenoir City, second place, honorable mention;
  • Steven Young of Rockwood, Anne Powers Promise Award;
  • Ceara Wallus of Oak Ridge, Art Spirit Award for Experimentation in Media, honorable mention;
  • Marsha Scarbrough of Harriman, honorable mention;
  • Gabrielle Morgan of Oliver Springs, honorable mention;
  • Archie Clark of Spring City, honorable mention; and
  • Kaitlan Paine of Oak Ridge, honorable mention.

For more information about Roane State’s art program, visit www.roanestate.edu/art.

This press release was submitted by Owen Driskill of Roane State Community College.

Roane State offering software development course

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Roane State Community College Workforce Development will offer a class for those interested in software development or Web application development.

The course, “Front End, Back End Development Foundations,” will be on Fridays from July 29-August 26 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the college’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

Topics will include HTML5, JavaScript, testing and debugging, object-oriented programming, SQL databases, and more. The cost is $799. [Read more…]

Keppens takes over as head of UT-ORNL Joint Institute of Advanced Materials

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Veerle Keppens

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute for Advanced Materials has named Veerle Keppens as its new director. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

The University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute for Advanced Materials has named Veerle Keppens as its new director.

Keppens, current head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in UT’s College of Engineering, brings a knowledge of advanced materials—substances with properties that go beyond the norm in one or more aspects, such as electronically or chemically—that will allow her to transition to the new role without a learning curve, a press release said.

“Dr. Keppens carries a wealth of materials science knowledge to this position along with a well as a passion for broadening our understanding in these areas of research,” said UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “She has worked well in research partnerships with ORNL and will be a strong leader of the institute.”

UT and ORNL established JIAM in 2005 as a way of bringing together researchers studying those materials, with the impact of that research being as varied as the materials themselves. [Read more…]

Save the Date: UT Arboretum Society Butterfly Festival is July 30

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The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will present a Butterfly Festival on Saturday, July 30, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UT Arboretum Auditorium and surrounding grounds in Oak Ridge.

It is co-sponsored by the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center. The gate will be open at 8:30 a.m. Coffee and donuts will be sold from 9 to 10.

The UT Arboretum is at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

The event, designed for children and adults of all ages, will take place rain or shine, a press release said. [Read more…]

Scottish professor visits Children’s Museum for Weinberg research

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Sean Johnston and Alvin Weinberg Papers at Children's Museum

Professor Sean Johnston, a professor of science, technology, and social studies from the Dumfries Campus of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, searched through the papers of Alvin Weinberg, former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as part of a two-year project funded by the British Academy titled “Trusting the Technological Fix.” (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is well known as a center of play and learning for the young and young at heart. The museum’s lesser-known collections of historic papers recently brought a senior academic historian from Scotland to Oak Ridge for several days of research.

Professor Sean Johnston, a professor of science, technology, and social studies from the Dumfries Campus of the University of Glasgow, searched through the papers of Alvin Weinberg, former director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as part of a two-year project funded by the British Academy titled “Trusting the Technological Fix.”

His visit highlights the value of the collections the museum began gathering in the 1970s to tell the cultural and social history of the area for its Regional Appalachian Center.

“Not only was Weinberg the prominent head of the national laboratory (1955-73), and very much a member of the establishment, but he was somebody who was curious and worried about the wider social implications of nuclear technology,” Johnston said. [Read more…]