Oak Ridge Today

Four female ORHS students win state, national honors in computing awards

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Four female students at Oak Ridge High School won state honors and one student was a national winner in computing awards given to young women in 2016.

The Award for Aspirations in Computing by the National Center for Women and Informational Technology honors young women at the high school level for their computing-related achievements and interests, a press release said.

Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education.

The four ORHS students were among 11 state winners from Tennessee. The Oak Ridge students are Serena French, Megan Peters, Tina Wang, and Melissa Yuan. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge students experience success at Southern Appalachian Science, Engineering Fair

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Gabe Vacliuc with Poster and Trophy

Oak Ridge High School student Gabe Vacaliuc earned first place for his project titled “dQCuts: Simplifying Molecular Dynamics Datasets Using Higher Order Statistical Signatures” under the mentorship of Arvind Ramanathan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Vacaliuc is pictured above with his poster and trophy at the Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair at the University of Tennessee earlier this month. (Submitted photo)

 

Seventeen research students from Oak Ridge High School competed in the 64th Annual Southern Appalachian Science and Engineering Fair hosted at the University of Tennessee. The competition was held April 4-7 with the awards ceremony on Thursday evening. There were 52 Senior Division projects in competition.

All 17 students are a part of either the Experimental Scientific Research, or ESR, course or Math, Science, and Computer Science Thesis course at ORHS. The ESR course is led by Sharon Thomas and Thesis is led by Tammy Carneim and Jessica Williams.

Gabe Vacaliuc earned first place for his project titled “dQCuts: Simplifying Molecular Dynamics Datasets Using Higher Order Statistical Signatures” under the mentorship of Arvind Ramanathan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Along with a $1,000 scholarship and trophy, Vacaliuc will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, in May to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

“SASEF was a great experience because I was able to get substantial feedback in a professional setting,” Vacaliuc said. “I’m so grateful to SASEF for the opportunity to represent my school at ISEF in May.” [Read more…]

Photo: ORHS places third in DOE’s 2016 Tennessee Science Bowl

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ORHS-DOE-2016-Tennessee-Science-Bowl

Oak Ridge High School placed third at the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual Tennessee Science Bowl this past weekend. The ORHS team is pictured above. From left to right they are Albert Xue, Ting Wang, Joseph Andress, Adithyan Sujithkumar, and Melissa Yuan. (Photo courtesy DOE)

 

Oak Ridge High School placed third at the U.S. Department of Energy’s annual Tennessee Science Bowl this past weekend. The ORHS team is pictured above.

The 2016 Tennessee Science Bowl included 60 teams from across the state on Saturday, February 27, at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus. As the third-place team, the ORHS team received a $500 prize.

Cedar Springs Homeschool of Knoxville finished first, received a $1,000 cash prize and a first-place trophy, and will advance in an all-expenses-paid trip to the DOE National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., from April 28-May 2. Lausanne Collegiate School finished second, and won a $750 cash prize and trophy, and Brentwood High School finished fourth for a $250 cash prize and trophy. [Read more…]

ORHS senior a national winner of Aspirations in Computing Award

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Melissa Yuan

Melissa Yuan

Oak Ridge High School senior Melissa Yuan was chosen as a national winner for the 2016 Aspirations in Computing Award from NCWIT, or National Center for Women and IT.

Yuan was among 35 girls chosen from more than 3,100 applicants nationwide, Oak Ridge Schools said in a press release. She is only the third girl from Tennessee to ever win this award. The second was Patricia Edou from ORHS in 2015.

Yuan will receive an all-expenses paid trip, provided by Bank of America, to the National Award weekend, which includes the Award ceremony and showcase, March 4-6, 2016 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. She will also receive $1,000 and a new laptop.

Yuan is a senior at Oak Ridge High School who is passionate about research and music. [Read more…]

Photos: 9/11 memorial ceremony at ORHS on Sept. 11

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ORHS 9/11 Memorial Moment of Silence

Oak Ridge High School students and staff and police officers and firefighters have a moment of silence at the 9/11 memorial at ORHS on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A September 11 memorial ceremony at Oak Ridge High School paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, and it honored military personnel.

Here are pictures from the Friday morning ceremony.

ORHS 9/11 Memorial Shichen Zhang and Melissa Yuan 2015

Shichen Zhang, Student Council president, left, and Melissa Yuan, Student Council vice president, raise the United States flag to half-staff during a 9/11 ceremony at Oak Ridge High School on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

[Read more…]