Oak Ridge Today

Two UT juniors, including one from OR, awarded prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

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Adam LaClair

Adam LaClair

Benjamin Brock

Benjamin Brock

Two juniors at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, including one from Oak Ridge, have been named 2015 Goldwater Scholars. The two juniors are Benjamin Brock and Adam LaClair.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program awards scholarships to students studying mathematics, science, and engineering. Each scholarship provides a $7,500 award for undergraduate study and research.

Brock, of Jefferson City, Tennessee, is a Haslam Scholar majoring in computer science. He has done research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Edinburgh, and UT.

LaClair, of Oak Ridge, is majoring in mathematics and computer science. He plans to pursue a doctorate in mathematics and wants to teach mathematics at the university level. [Read more…]

ORAU awards $25,000 for Extreme Classroom Makeover

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Charlie Arp 2015 Extreme Classroom Makeover Grand Prize

2015 Extreme Classroom Makeover grand prize winner Charlie Arp and his students. (Photo by ORAU)

 

The idea that technology has the ability to drastically change students’ lives was the focus of one regional middle school teacher’s video submission for the 2015 ORAU Extreme Classroom Makeover competition. His dream of satisfying students’ hunger for technology in the classroom was realized Thursday as ORAU President Andy Page presented Brown Intermediate School science teacher Charlie Arp with a $25,000 technology makeover during a surprise school-wide assembly.

The funding is part of ORAU’s annual Extreme Classroom Makeover competition, now in its seventh year.

In his winning video Arp, explains that when it comes to teaching with technology, the sky is the limit. He describes many new and interactive approaches to teaching math and science, and he insists that, with this grant, he can satisfy his students’ hunger for technology in their day-to-day learning environment. Brown Intermediate School serves students from the city of Sweetwater in the fifth and sixth grades. [Read more…]

UT: Expertise in materials science, additive manufacturing helps draw CVMR to Tenn.

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Michael Hargett and Kamran Khoza of CVMR USA

CVMR President Michael Hargett, left, and Kamran Khozan, chairman and chief executive officer, joined local, state, and federal officials on Friday, March 13, to announce they’re moving company headquarters from Toronto to Oak Ridge, investing $313 million and adding 620 jobs.

 

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd announced last week that CVMR Corporation is relocating its global headquarters to Oak Ridge from Toronto, Canada. CVMR provides materials for additive manufacturing and announced it will create 620 jobs.

During recruitment of CVMR, University of Tennessee officials assisted the state and hosted the company at UT Knoxville to visit with engineering and chemistry faculty and learn about graduate programs, such as the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, as well as internships and co-ops for students, a press release said. UT System officials provided information about technology transfer, the UT Research Foundation, and Cherokee Farm Innovation Campus. CVMR also learned more about the University’s role in leading the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, a $259 million partnership announced by President Barack Obama in January. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum hosts SciGirls Training Saturday

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The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will host a SciGirls Professional Development Training from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, March, 21, for educators interested in teaching science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM.

“SciGirls” is a PBS Kids television series that aims to change how middle school age youth think about STEM. In each episode, bright and curious girls put STEM to work. The show’s web site offers games and projects to connect students in a safe social networking environment. [Read more…]

Honors: St. Mary’s teacher wins Air Force award

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St. Mary's Teacher wins Air Force Award

Teacher of the Year Marsha Sega receives a check from Steven Dillenburg, chapter president on September 24 in the St. Mary’s School library. (Submitted photo)

 

Marsha Sega is the middle school science and math teacher at St. Mary’s School in Oak Ridge. Her work preparing her students to use and excel in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) won her the local Air Force Association chapter’s Teacher of the Year Award earlier this year.

The second part of the award was presented in the form of a check from Stephen Dillenburg, chapter president of the local Air Force Association on September 24 in the St. Mary’s School library, a press release said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools ‘STEMposium’ convenes educators from across country

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Discovery Education and Oak Ridge Schools will host a STEMposium on Thursday. It will be an interactive discussion focused on best practices for providing students with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills they need to succeed in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers, a press release said.

The release said the event will convene educators from some of the most innovative school districts across the country, including Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Houston Independent School District, Grand Prairie Independent School District in Texas, Baldwin County Public Schools in Alabama, Richland School District Two in South Carolina, and the New York City Department of Education.

They will discuss best practices for building a culture around STEM education, the release said. That includes exploring how to implement innovative STEM instructional strategies, and the use of digital content and curricula to drive student achievement. [Read more…]

Roane State professor hopes to inspire girls through undersea classroom

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Jessica Fain Diving

Jessica Fain emerges in the moon pool inside Jules’ Undersea Lodge, the location for Classroom Under the Sea. (Photo courtesy Roane State Community College)

 

The National Science Board’s 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators report contains an all-too-familiar statistic.

Women account for only 28 percent of the workforce in science and engineering jobs. Elementary schools, high schools, colleges, and universities around the country have designed initiatives to boost that number.

Roane State adjunct professor Jessica Fain wants to do her part, and she’s willing to live underwater for 72 days to show that science is cool, for boys and for girls.

“I definitely see those social barriers for girls interested in science,” Fain said. “They don’t want to be labeled as the nerd. We still have this stigma of wanting to be the popular girl and not wanting to be the science geek. I want them to see that it is OK to be the smart, nerdy girl.”

Fain, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology and teaches biology labs for Roane State, will participate in Classroom Under the Sea, a joint project between Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo, Florida. Along with Roane State biology professor Bruce Cantrell, Fain will live and work in an underwater habitat for 72 days this fall (October 4-December 15). [Read more…]

Wounded veteran finds new way to serve by training for career in 3D printing

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Joseph Grabianowski

Joseph Grabianowski

New training program prepares veterans, others to enter advanced manufacturing workforce

While 26-year-old wounded veteran Joseph Grabianowski has inspired Americans with his harrowing war story, someday he may be nationally known for building highly efficient exhaust systems for cars and trucks using 3D printing technology.

Grabianowski—pictured at left at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in front of a 3D printer holding a 3D-printed DOE seal and the plastic material from which it was made—is part of the Energy Department’s inaugural Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advanced Manufacturing Internship. The pilot program is designed to provide accelerated, hands-on career training for veterans and next-generation engineers to prepare them to immediately enter the workforce of the growing advanced manufacturing industry.

Grabianowski stepped on an IED while deployed with his Army unit in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, in May 2012. Damage from the blast required a rare, radical amputation of his lower body. He had long dreamed of being a U.S. Marshal but knew his path would now lead in a new direction. In a December 2013 interview with USA Today, Grabianowski said, “I still love my country…even though I can’t go be a marshal now, I can still go do something that would be a good service to my country.”

Barely two years later, his successful recovery is a testament to his personal will and determination. This self-proclaimed techie now envisions a career for himself in what he calls the “future of manufacturing,” which is additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing. Through this pioneering program offered by the Energy Department’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Pellissippi State Community College, and ORNL, Grabianowski is receiving the training needed to make his career goals a reality and prepare him to succeed in the additive manufacturing world.

“Where this industry is going to boom is right here in Oak Ridge,” Grabianowski said, “and the best engineers in the field are available through this program to teach me.” [Read more…]

Honors: ORNL retiree receives top national award from Women in Nuclear

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Peggy Emmett ORNL Researcher

Peggy Emmett (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory retired researcher Peggy Emmett is the recipient of the 2014 U.S. Women in Nuclear Leadership Award, the organization’s highest honor. The award caps a 51-year distinguished career for Emmett, who was recently recognized at a ceremony in Boston.

The award is in recognition of a U.S. WIN member who has made significant contributions and demonstrated leadership in the organization’s three core values: supporting an environment in nuclear energy and nuclear technologies in which both women and men are able to succeed; providing a network through which women in these fields can further their professional development; and providing an organized association through which the public is informed about nuclear energy and nuclear technologies.

Members of the award committee noted Emmett’s contributions to the education of the next generation and encouragement of STEM careers as evidenced by her creation of the SHADES program as well as numerous other activities. SHADES, a statewide project initiated in 1991, is a series of math and science programs for middle school-age girls and their math and science teachers. The program’s goal is to show girls that the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are fun and interesting and provide excellent career opportunities. [Read more…]

Students explore engineering, design during robotics camp

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ORAU Robotics Camp

Marise Wilson, a student at Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy in Louisiana and Anna Keim, a student at Knoxville’s West High School, use a robot they created to place tennis balls into a container during a week-long Oak Ridge Robotics Camp presented by ORAU and held at its Center for Science Education. (Photo courtesy ORAU)

A recent week-long robotics camp at Oak Ridge Associated Universities was designed to help excite students about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM.

The robotics camp was presented by ORAU and held at its Center for Science Education.

The free day camp allowed teams of middle school students to design, build, program, and test their own robots, a press release said. Students also spent the week competing in various engineering challenges and had the opportunity to speak with robotics engineering research scientists while touring Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s research facilities.

The camp was one of various ORAU-sponsored or administered programs designed to excited students about STEM subjects with the goal of inspiring them to pursue STEM careers, the release said.

Honors: Hemrick of ORNL receives ASM International Silver Medal Award

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James Hemrick

James Hemrick

James Hemrick of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the co-recipient of the 2014 ASM International Silver Medal Award. The award recognizes two mid-career researchers each year—one from academia and one from industry—who have filled leadership roles in the society and made significant contributions in materials science and engineering.

Hemrick’s research focuses on advanced refractory ceramic and insulation materials, mechanical properties of ceramics. and other high temperature materials and mechanical evaluation of nuclear fuel clad materials.

Hemrick, who works in the Materials Science and Technology Division, received his doctorate in ceramic engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He lives in Knoxville.

Guest column: Oak Ridge—a city teetering—which way will it go?

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Bob Eby

Bob Eby

By Bob Eby

Friday, June 20

This week, I experienced great joy and significant sadness. The joy was being with my daughter and son-in-law as she birthed our first grandchild and we brought her home from the hospital in California. It was because I was with them during this joyous time that I missed last Monday night’s City Council meeting, but I did watch it live through Internet streaming (technology is great!). It was during that time that I felt sadness and disappointment. I realized that this wonderful community I have known for 50 years now balances on a tipping point, to fall on a downward spiral or gradually move forward with a great and dedicated effort toward prosperity. Why do I say this?

Last year, the Board of Education hired a new superintendent who brought with him much energy and a vision to re-establish the Oak Ridge Schools to its premier status as not only the number one school district in the State of Tennessee but also the premier district in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in the country. The Board fully supported the vision, though we were recommending a three-year roll-out, which we felt was more realistic and would allow opportunity to adjust the implementation as we and the staff worked together to achieve our goals.

With their recent action, the City Council not only chose not to support this vision, but they very likely have failed to provide our teachers and associated staff the recognition they so deserve with any funding for their first raise (2 percent) in four years. City Council does plan to provide city-employeed staff with a raise. I think it is only right that all employees of our community receive a raise. All school staff and city employees are equally deserving of this recognition of their value to Oak Ridge. [Read more…]