The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has been given a 2014 Legacy of Stars award.
This is the third consecutive time ORISE has received the prestigious designation and only one of 10 such awards granted nationwide in 2014, a press release said. ORISE first achieved this designation in 2008.
The award is presented by the U.S. Department of Energy, and it recognize outstanding safety and health performance.
ORISE is managed for DOE by Oak Ridge Associated Universities. [Read more…]
Oak Ridge Associated Universities will have its Extreme Classroom Makeover for the seventh year. Teachers within 50 miles of Oak Ridge can file an intent to apply by October 15. (Image courtesy ORAU)
Local teachers within 50-mile radius encouraged to file intent to apply by Oct. 15
Oak Ridge Associated Universities is now accepting applications for its $25,000 Extreme Classroom Makeover competition. Now in its seventh year, the competition provides the latest educational technologies to update one teacher’s classroom. Interested teachers must file their intent to apply no later than October 15.
The contest is open to public school math and science teachers who teach grades third through 10th and are located within a 50-mile radius of Oak Ridge. Entrants must have the written consent of their principals and, if chosen, be willing to have their 2015-2016 classroom experience highlighted on the Internet and in various media outlets. Teachers, students, and even parents whose children are benefiting from this initiative will be invited to blog about this year-long experience on the Extreme Classroom website. [Read more…]
ORAU Executive Vice President Eric Abelquist, left, and ORAU Senior Associate Director for Scientific Assessment and Workforce Development Tony Lester, right, present ORAU employee Jody Crisp with a $1,000 check to help her new nonprofit organization that supports local police officers and their families, the SCOTT Foundation, named in honor of her late husband. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
SCOTT Foundation provides support to area police officers and their families
Oak Ridge Associated Universities donated $1,000 to help jumpstart a new nonprofit organization, the SCOTT Foundation, founded by one of its employees in honor of her late husband.
After Jody Crisp’s husband, Scott, died in 2013 following a swimming pool accident, she said she wanted to make something good come of it. She founded the Sharing Compassion for Officers Through Tributes, or SCOTT, Foundation, named in honor of her late husband. Established in 2013, the SCOTT Foundation provides financial assistance for various expenses of fallen, seriously injured, or ill police officers and their families throughout East Tennessee.
Allen “Scott” Crisp spent his career in law enforcement. He served with the Clinton Police Department, Anderson County Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Air Marshal, and B&W Y-12 as a special response team security police officer. [Read more…]
Free seminar draws upon lessons learned at Uranium Processing Facility Project
Health and safety experts from Oak Ridge Associated Universities and a communications specialist from Consolidated Nuclear Security, the new contractor at the Y-12 National Security Complex, will discuss effective safety communications during Safety Fest TN in Oak Ridge this week.
The ORAU experts are David Duncan and Jeffrey Miller, and the CNS communications specialist is Kathryn King.
Their seminar, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, informs organizations on how to improve the effectiveness of safety communications by first examining how communication breakdowns contributed to well-known safety catastrophes, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an ORAU press release said. They will also present detailed instructions on how to develop an effective safety communications plan, methods for implementing and monitoring the plan, and techniques for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of safety communications.
“Successful case studies will be presented including experiences from the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility Project, where the effectiveness of safety communications has dramatically improved over a three-year period after implementing these methods,” the press release said. [Read more…]
Ann Gehl
Oak Ridge Associated Universities has announced that Ann Gehl, who has nearly 30 years of medical technology and laboratory experience, has become the manager of the Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Laboratory. ORAU manages the lab for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Gehl is replacing Linda Nichols, who has decided to step down from her role as lab manager after 12 years but will continue working in the lab as senior technologist and quality control specialist. Gehl joined ORAU in January 2014 and has been working with Nichols since then to transition work responsibilities.
“We are pleased to bring someone with the Ann’s caliber of experience to lead our staff and continue building upon our outstanding reputation as a high-quality DOE laboratory,” said Donna Cragle, vice president at ORAU. “At the same time, we also wish to thank Linda for her exceptional leadership over these many years and are excited that she will continue as a valued member of our lab team.”
Prior to joining ORAU, Gehl worked at the University of Tennessee Medical Center for more than 20 years, first as a medical technologist in the Transplant Laboratory and then as senior flow cytometry technologist in the Immunology Laboratory. In that role, she maintained and developed procedures used in processing blood samples to help identify biomarkers for lymphoma and leukemia. She also served as an instructor, teaching flow cytometry to students in UT’s Clinical Laboratory Scientist program. [Read more…]
Neil Brown, right,, a senior majoring in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, discusses his research during the 15th annual ORAU Graduate School Recruitment Fair. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
Following a full day of poster sessions where they presented the outcome of summer research projects completed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, more than 200 students from across the United States gathered at ORNL Thursday for the 15th annual ORAU Graduate Student Recruitment Fair.
Each year, the event is timed to correspond with the ORNL poster session to leverage the students’ excitement over their summer research achievements and to encourage enthusiasm for further expanding their education.
With representatives from the nation’s premier research graduate programs available in one room, the fair provided students the ability to explore possible future educational opportunities, as well as compare and contrast graduate programs. [Read more…]
Arlene Garrison
Arlene A. Garrison, vice president of university partnerships at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, has been elected to serve on the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Garrison, with more than 35 years of experience in science and education, works with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to enhance and expand research participation programs that provide opportunities for faculty and students from ORAU member institutions to work alongside renowned ORNL scientists, a press release said.
Prior to ORAU, she served as a program director for the National Science Foundation and in a number of senior leadership positions with the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]
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.
Arlene Garrison
Arlene Garrison of Oak Ridge Associated Universities has been named a fellow of the American Chemical Society.
Garrison is vice president of university partnerships for ORAU. She was recognized for her outstanding achievements and contributions to science, the profession, and the society during her 35-year career, a press release said.
Garrison is responsible for enhancing ORAU’s scientific research opportunities and expanding partnerships with universities, national laboratories, and private industry, the press release said. [Read more…]
Participants of the 2014 ARC/ORNL/ORAU High School Institute. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
While the majority of young students were using their break from school to enjoy nice weather and a variety of summer activities, 34 exceptional high school students along with 13 teachers from across 12 Appalachian states chose to spend two weeks of their summer vacation participating in a hands-on institute focused on math, science, and technology.
The Appalachian Regional Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge Associated Universities hosted the 25th annual High School Summer and Math-Science-Technology Institute from July 7-18, during which the students and teachers worked on cutting-edge science projects with mentors at ORNL and participated in a variety of East Tennessee tours and activities.
Students were nominated by their state governor and chosen to participate in the program by ARC. They were selected based on their potential to excel in math and science, to continue in higher learning, and to influence others in their communities as the leaders of tomorrow.
Since 2000, the program has provided a total of 542 students and 223 teachers with in-lab learning experiences at one of the nation’s premier national laboratories. In addition, they have had the opportunity to visit some of the area’s most popular educational and recreational attractions. [Read more…]
Kristy Kistner
New director has more than 16 years of quality assurance and project management expertise
Oak Ridge Associated Universities has named Kristy Kistner director of its Office of Quality. In this position, Kistner will direct and coordinate the quality management system and quality assurance across ORAU, including responsibility for maintenance of ORAU’s ISO 9001 registration and compliance with the U.S. Department of Energy contractor assurance requirements.
Kistner has more than 10 years of quality assurance and project management experience at ORAU, a press release said. She had been serving as the project manager for the Office of Quality, where she was instrumental in ORAU attaining its ISO 9001 certification. She also managed quality management system initiatives, conducted quality assessments, led assessment teams, and ensured compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements relative to quality. [Read more…]
ORAU President and CEO Andy Page, left, presents a $125,000 check to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital President and CEO Keith Goodwin in support of the hospital’s $75 million expansion project. (Photo courtesy ORAU)
Oak Ridge Associated Universities will donate $125,000 to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital during the next five years in support of the pediatric facility’s $75 million expansion project.
Children’s Hospital is undergoing a 268,000 square-foot expansion project for a new five-story building located at the corner of White Avenue and 21st Street near downtown Knoxville. The space will serve a 16-county service area by expanding services for children with chronic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis and other special needs, a press release said. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2017.
“As a federal contractor and nonprofit focused on strengthening America’s scientific research and education enterprise, ORAU has a strong history for cultivating the next generation of scientists and engineers,” said ORAU President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Page. “But all that effort would be for nothing if it weren’t for the health and vitality of our children. ORAU has decided to support Children’s in this effort not only because the future of our workforce depends on community assets like this, but also because it gives us the opportunity to invest in our employees’ children.
ORAU has approximately 1,000 employees in 14 locations across the nation with about 850 of those employees in East Tennessee.
