The Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit in Oak Ridge in May will feature presentations on advanced manufacturing, clean energy and a nuclear renaissance, and national security and cyber security.
The 2018 TVC National Summit is scheduled from May 29-31 at the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge. It will be hosted by Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch in cooperation with U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann.
Agenda topics include: [Read more…]
More than 100 volunteers from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the Rotary Club of Oak Ridge will package 20,000 nutritious meals for Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization, in a few hours on Thursday, March 8.
The event is marking the expansion of a warehouse on ORISE’s south campus by helping feed people around the world.
“Volunteers will follow an assembly-line process to package highly nutritious dehydrated meals comprised of rice, soy, vegetables, and 23 essential vitamins and minerals,” a media alert said. “Rise Against Hunger will distribute the meals primarily to school feeding programs in developing countries around the world.”
ORISE is managed by ORAU, a nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
Winning first place in the 2018 Tennessee Science Bowl is an Oak Ridge High School team that is pictured above, from left to right with their trophy: Steven Qu, Henry Shen, Melody Guo, Joe Andress, and Batu Odbadrakh. (Submitted photo)
ORHS team advances to National Science Bowl
After months of training, studying, and improving their competition skills, 59 high school teams from across the state of Tennessee gathered this weekend to test their knowledge in broad science disciplines including chemistry, biology, physics, and energy.
Oak Ridge High School placed first in the annual competition and received an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., held April 26-30, as well as a $1,000 cash prize and a first-place trophy, a press release said.
The Tennessee Science Bowl is the nation’s third-largest regional competition. Held at Pellissippi State Community College’s Blount County Campus, the regional bowl prepares students to compete nationally with other exceptional students from schools across the country, the press release said. [Read more…]
Undergraduates, graduate students, and recent college graduates may find the research opportunity that meets their career goals during the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Science Education and Workforce Development Virtual Career Fair next week.
The Virtual Career Fair will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday, February 22. It will be hosted by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a press release said.
“The virtual career fair is a great opportunity for students to investigate research opportunities available at ORNL,” said Bill Cox, ORISE group manager. “Participants will have the same ability to ask questions as if they were at a career fair in person.” [Read more…]
Pasquale Fulvio, Ph.D., researched carbon composites during his time in the Higher Education Research Experiences faculty program. (Photo submitted by ORAU)
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is currently seeking college faculty for paid research opportunities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the Higher Education Research Experiences program, a press release said.
This research program provides opportunities for teaching and non-teaching faculty, like Pasquale Fulvio, to use the unique resources of ORNL to enhance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, encourage careers in science and technology, and improve scientific literacy, the press release said.
Appointments will be located at ORNL and generally take place during the summer; part-time appointments may occur during the semester depending on the requirements of the project. Sabbatical appointments may also be available. The program provides stipends based on the certified academic institution salary for faculty, as well as limited travel and housing assistance, if eligible, the release said.
Applications are open year-round, and appointments are made throughout the year with flexible start and end dates, the press release said. [Read more…]
Call for applications closes February 1, 2018
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is accepting applications for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship Program, a 10-week summer program for graduate students pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematics, statistics, or applied mathematics.
To qualify, applicants must be enrolled as a graduate student pursuing a doctoral degree in mathematics, statistics, or applied mathematics at an accredited U.S. college or university, and have a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher, a press release said. For a complete list of discipline areas, visit http://www.orise.orau.gov/nsf-msgi/. Students graduating with a doctoral degree prior to the expected internship start date are not eligible, the press release said.
Selected participants will receive a stipend of $1,200 per week for their participation in the internship and limited travel reimbursement. All applications must be submitted by February 1, 2018. [Read more…]
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education is accepting applications for the 2018 U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Science, Technology, and Policy Program.
Opportunities are available in the areas of policy and marketing for the Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs.
The deadline to apply is January 18, a press release said. [Read more…]
Jason Davis, health physicist at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, received the 2017 Elda E. Anderson Award from the Health Physics Society earlier this year. He is pictured with his wife, Samantha. (Photo by ORAU)
Award-winning health physicist has worked at ORAU since 2009
Jason Davis has been named health physicist for the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, a world-renowned U.S. Department of Energy asset located at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and managed by ORAU.
Davis is a highly regarded health physicist, bringing more than 14 years of experience in health physics and radiological engineering to REAC/TS, a press release said. He has worked in academia as well as for DOE and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His primary area of interest is internal dosimetry, and he has experience in external dosimetry, diagnostic medical imaging, radiation biology, and radiation protection.
REAC/TS is a deployable DOE asset and a leader in emergency medical response to radiological/nuclear incidents, the press release said. The REAC/TS team provides emergency response, advice, and consultation for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation. REAC/TS also offers continuing education for medical personnel, emergency planners, and others on the medical management of radiological/nuclear incidents, as well as decontamination techniques, through instructional and hands-on education. [Read more…]
Chemistry student Kayla Bailey, right, and Associate Professor Matthewos Eshete spent their summer at Kansas State University in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Summer Research Team (SRT) Program. They studied biodegradable nanoparticles’ interactions with proteins in the body to help design more effective vaccines and drug delivery systems, among other applications. (Photo courtesy ORISE/ORAU)
ORISE is currently accepting applications for the 2018 U.S. Department of Homeland Security Summer Research Team Program for Minority Serving Institutions, a press release said.
The purpose of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program is to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in research areas that support the mission and goals of DHS, the press release said. The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) administers this program through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ORISE is managed by ORAU for DOE.
This program provides faculty and student research teams with the opportunity to conduct research at university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers), the press release said. [Read more…]
Energy Secretary Rick Perry drives a 3D printed personal utility vehicle at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility on Hardin Valley Road on Monday, May 22, 2017. His passenger is Craig Blue, director of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs at ORNL. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The U.S. Department of Energy is not responding to questions about Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s advocacy of Oak Ridge or the fiscal year 2018 budget request.
The only question from Oak Ridge Today that DOE has answered is: Will the department have a teleconference to discuss the budget request with reporters? The answer was “no.”
DOE, which could have a funding decrease under President Donald Trump’s budget request, has not responded to any specific questions about the budget itself. Oak Ridge Today has tried about a dozen times in the past month to reach someone in the public affairs office at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C., using emails, phone calls, and on Wednesday night, a five-part tweet to active Twitter accounts for Perry and the DOE press staff.
Oak Ridge Today has sought information from the department since Trump sent the fiscal year 2018 budget request to Congress on Tuesday, May 23. Among other things, the news website has wanted to make sure that it is correctly interpreting the preliminary budget numbers published online by DOE. (See here, here, and here for more information about the budget request.)
According to the information Oak Ridge Today has received and reviewed, some Oak Ridge programs and sites could see funding increases under the president’s budget request, while others could see decreases. The programs and sites that could benefit include the environmental management program (the cleanup work at federal sites), Oak Ridge Office, and Y-12 National Security Complex. Those that could lose funding are DOE’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information, or OSTI; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which is managed by ORAU; and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Oak Ridge Today has sent specific questions about funding for most of these programs and sites to the public affairs office at DOE headquarters, but no spokespeople have responded, not even to acknowledge that the messages were received or to reply with a “no comment.”
Oak Ridge Today has also tried to follow up on Perry’s pledge to be a strong advocate for at least some programs in Oak Ridge. Perry made the pledge at ORNL’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility in Hardin Valley on Monday, May 22. The pledge came after he toured ORNL, the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, and Y-12. During his visit to Oak Ridge and Hardin Valley, Perry learned about the planned Uranium Processing Facility and nuclear weapons work at Y-12, the environmental management program, and advanced manufacturing, 3D printing, materials science research, and supercomputing at ORNL. [Read more…]
A screenshot of the new ORISE website.
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, or ORISE, has unveiled its new website, providing one location for a wide range of resources, a press release said.
The new ORISE website offers a portal for students and graduates looking for STEM internships, fellowships, and other professional development opportunities; information on scientific peer review; medical consultation for radiation incidents through the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, or REAC/TS; worker health studies; environmental and radiological assessments; lab services; and much more ORISE information, the press release said. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.)
“A great deal of user research was performed before work on the actual website began, including conducting focus groups with people who the website is designed to target,” said ORISE Director Jim Vosburg. “We used this research to design the website for ease of navigation and to match the design and content with what our target audience wants and needs.”
The website navigation is primarily based on users identifying themselves, such as students and graduates, educators, scientists, health and environmental professionals, so they can quickly navigate to the areas they want to visit, the press release said.
Top-level navigation also features ORISE capability areas and assets, which allows users to more precisely locate the content that interests them, the press release said. [Read more…]
ORAU recently welcomed Arizona State University and Yale University as its newest sponsoring institutions during the 72nd annual meeting of its Council of Sponsoring Institutions. Oakland University and Villanova University were named new associate members.
“We are honored to have these four institutions joining our growing university consortium,” said Andy Page, ORAU president and chief executive officer. “Membership in ORAU’s consortium broadens the already diverse opportunities these universities provide for students and faculty researchers in many critical areas of science and technology.”
ORAU includes 120 sponsoring institutions across the nation and in England. Now in its 70th year, ORAU originally was formed under the auspices of the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies and consisted of 14 southern academic institutions.
An ORAU sponsoring institution is a nonprofit institution of higher learning granting doctoral degrees in multiple science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, fields. Associate members are institutions of higher learning offering bachelor’s, master’s, or a limited number of doctoral degrees in the STEM fields. [Read more…]
