Oak Ridge Today

President Obama’s trip to East Tennessee explained

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President Barack Obama, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Lamar Alexander, and Rep. John Duncan at Air Force One

President Barack Obama, front; U.S. senators Lamar Alexander, second, and Bob Corker, third; and Representative John J. Duncan Jr. arrive at McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa on Air Force One at about noon Friday. (Photo by Julio Culiat)

 

Before President Obama landed in East Tennessee on Friday, a spokesman explained the purpose of the trip to reporters. The 5.5-hour visit included stops at Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker and Congressman John J. Duncan Jr. were guests, and so was Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.

Eric Schultz, principal deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill would unveil the president’s plan to make two years of community college free for all responsible students no matter their age during the East Tennessee trip. It was a preview of a “cornerstone” of the president’s State of the Union to Congress on January 20.

Separately, during a stop in Clinton, the president announced a manufacturing innovation hub that involves the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]

Photos: President Obama’s motorcade in Oak Ridge

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President Obama Limousine

President Obama is seen in the back of the presidential limousine. (Photo by John Westcott)

 

Many people took pictures and videos when President Obama’s motorcade passed through Oak Ridge, Clinton, and Anderson County on Friday afternoon.

Here are a few, including several by John Westcott and Betsy Prine.

The president traveled to East Tennessee—his first trip to the Knoxville area as president—to announce education and manufacturing proposals that will be presented in his State of the Union speech to Congress on January 20.

Announced at Pellissippi State Community College, the education proposal would provide two years of community college free to anyone who’s willing to work for it. [Read more…]

Obama visit spotlights sports car printed by UT engineers at ORNL

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Shelby Cobra 3D Printed Cobra

University of Tennessee engineering students Andrew Messing and Alex Roschli printed this Shelby Cobra at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The car was on stage during President Obama’s visit to Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

CLINTON—President Obama took the stage at Techmer PM in Clinton on Friday to announce that the University of Tennessee in Knoxville will head a $259 million advanced manufacturing project and that Oak Ridge National Laboratory will play a key role. The president shared the spotlight with a shiny example of innovation, research, and collaboration between the two—a Shelby Cobra 3D printed car.

The car was highlighted during Obama’s visit as an example of the changing world of manufacturing. It was produced with major contributions from a pair of student interns from UT’s College of Engineering—Alex Roschli and Andrew Messing, a press release said.

Roschli and Messing, both seniors in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are doing internships at ORNL, where the car was printed at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. [Read more…]

Inspired by Tennessee, Obama proposes free community college for two years

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Bill Haslam at White House with Barack Obama

This is a screen shot from a White House video filmed during a September 23, 2011, event on No Child Left Behind. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, center, introduces President Barack Obama, right.

 

Inspired by programs in Tennessee and Chicago, President Barack Obama has unveiled a proposal to make two years of community college free for anyone who’s willing to work for it, the White House said Thursday.

The White House said 57,000 students representing almost 90 percent of the state’s high school graduating class applied for the Tennessee scholarship program, which is called Tennessee Promise, in the first year. It provides two years of community or technical college to graduating high school seniors free of tuition and fees.

The federal program is called America’s College Promise, and it could benefit roughly nine million students each year, officials said. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year.

The president is expected to announce the proposal in Knoxville on Friday, when he visits Pellissippi State Community College in Hardin Valley and manufacturer Techmer PM in Clinton. Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will join Obama on the East Tennessee trip. [Read more…]

UT College of Engineering helps kick off robot season; Secret City Wildbots take part

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Oak Ridge Secret City Wildcats

From left to right, Eli Charles, Olivia Mahathy, Steven Charles. and Moire Gabor, part of the Secret City Wildbots from Oak Ridge High School, work on the initial stages of their robot. (Photos courtesy UT)

 

KNOXVILLE—For many, the end of football season usually means attention turns to basketball, but for more than 400 budding scientists and engineers who came to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday it marks the start of something else: robot season.

FIRST Robotics kicked off its 2015 game, Recycle Rush, with a live reveal broadcast online to teams around the world, including 29 teams who gathered at Cox Auditorium on the UT campus.

“Saturday marks the first time that any of the teams get to see the challenge of this year’s game,” said L.J. Robinson, Tennessee’s regional director of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). “The kickoff event is a big deal in its own right, with gatherings held around the world to watch the announcement.

“Certainly, it’s an exciting moment for those new to the competition.” [Read more…]

Pellissippi State confirms presidential visit to college, Techmer PM in Clinton

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

 

Pellissippi State Community College has confirmed that President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Biden’s wife Jill will stop at Pellissippi State Community College during their visit to East Tennessee on Friday.

The college confirmed the visit in an announcement posted on its website. The president, vice president, and the vice president’s wife will stop at Pellissippi State in west Knox County to discuss new initiatives that Obama will propose to help Americans go to college and get the skills they need to succeed, the college said.

Afterward, the three will travel to Techmer PM in Clinton to highlight the administration’s efforts to act to create new, well-paying manufacturing jobs, the announcement said. [Read more…]

President Obama, VP Biden, wife coming to ET on Friday

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President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama

Information from WYSH Radio

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and the vice president’s wife, Jill Biden, are coming to East Tennessee on Friday to announce a new higher education initiative.

The White House announced the Tennessee visit on Saturday as part of a week-long, cross-country tour to promote presidential policies on housing, economic development, and education.

Knoxville media reported that Obama and Biden will visit Pellissippi State Community College and then stop by Techmer PM, a Clinton company that makes additive and colorant systems for industries. [Read more…]

Registration under way for Wilderness First Responder course at Roane State

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Wilderness First Responder

Rescue workers train during Roane State’s Wilderness First Responder course. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

 

Roane State Community College’s Continuing Healthcare and Safety Education Department is accepting sign-ups for its Wilderness First Responder course.

Held at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, the class is designed for those who operate extensively in the outdoors, such as outdoors enthusiasts, wilderness guides, environmental educators, and missionaries, a press release said. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has inaugural New Year’s Day Walk

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UT Arboretum Trail Junipers

UT Arboretum trail junipers (Photo courtesy UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center)

Submitted

Do you want to get some exercise on New Year’s Day? Come to the University of Tennessee Arboretum for a short hike.

If you are overloaded on football, food, and festivities, the UT Arboretum Society is offering a great alternative: the inaugural New Year’s Day Walk at the UT Arboretum at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Former ORNL employee in inaugural engineering Hall of Fame at UT

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UT Mabe Hall of Fame

Clockwise from upper left are William Snyder, Richard Rosenberg, Rinehart Bright, and Henry Hartsfield. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

Former chancellor, astronaut also honored

KNOXVILLE—In 1847, a course offering studies in mechanical philosophies and mechanics appeared in what was then East Tennessee University.

Now, almost 170 years later, the school is the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the course has grown into the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, or MABE, two-thirds of which would have been considered science fiction to those many years ago.

Now, the department is calling upon that legacy as it prepares to open its Hall of Fame.

The honor of being in the inaugural class belongs to a chancellor, an astronaut, an automotive pioneer, and a person who had a longtime presence in various Oak Ridge facilities. [Read more…]

Roane State: Prepare for a health care career in just one to three semesters

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For those interested in behind-the-scenes health care careers, Roane State Community College has a variety of options, and spaces are available for spring semester.

Options include:

  • Healthcare Documentation Specialist (Medical Transcription/Speech-Editing): Students learn to transcribe and edit speech-generated medical record reports dictated by physicians. Healthcare documentation specialists work in physician’s offices, clinics, hospitals, and medical transcription services. Classes are offered online. Opportunities to work from home are available with experience.
  • Health Unit Coordinator: The health unit coordinator courses can be completed in just two semesters. Health unit coordinators typically work in a hospital’s nursing unit. Their duties include maintaining patient records, scheduling tests for patients, ordering supplies, and acting as a liaison between the patient, medical staff, patient’s family, and visitors. Classes are offered in a combination of the traditional classroom and online.
  • Medical Scribe: The medical scribe series of courses can be completed in just one or two semesters. Medical scribes work alongside physicians and document patient care as it happens. All classes are online.

For more information about these options, contact Linda Marsh at (865) 481-2012 or marshls@roanestate.edu. Spring classes begin January 20.

Roane State Foundation High Tea to raise funds for student scholarships

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Linda Brown and Cindy Whaley Plan High Tea

From left, Linda Brown and Cindy Whaley work on planning the Roane State Foundation’s Upstairs/Downstairs High Tea, an event inspired by the PBS hit “Downton Abbey.” (Photo courtesy Roane State)

 

More tea, Lord Crawley?

If you enjoy the PBS hit “Downton Abbey,” then take a moment to experience a taste of manor life at the Roane State Community College Foundation’s Upstairs/Downstairs High Tea.

The High Tea will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, at the Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston.

Tickets are $50 for individuals and $75 for couples, and they will go on sale Monday, January 5. Table sponsorships are available. Proceeds will be used for student scholarships. [Read more…]