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Program Information
The U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC) has established a formal Memorandum of Agreement with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for participation in the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) programs. This fact sheet addresses the ORISE program at USAEC entitled The Environmental Management Participation Program (EMPP).

The EMPP program is designed to train scientist, engineers, and technologists for environmental programs, projects and activities on U.S. Army installations.

The Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) operates ORISE for the DOE. ORISE conducts programs in science and engineering education, training and management systems, medical sciences, and energy and environmental systems.

Program Coordinator
Ms. Joanne Salpeas
ORISE Program Coordinator
Commercial (410) 306-9200 ext 106
E-mail: Joanne.Salpeas@orau.org

Visit the ORISE Web site.

To initiate the program, organizations should identify educational requirements and provide an overview of the project. Call or submit your request to the Program Coordinator.

Eligibility Requirements

The Student Internship Program provides high school juniors or seniors, undergraduate students, and graduate students the opportunity to participate in research and development activities of the USAEC. This program is intended to enhance the students' educational development by providing practical experiences closely related to their academic pursuits.

The Postgraduate Internship Program is the primary program. It provides individuals with an associate’s, bachelors, masters, or doctorate credential in an appropriate science, engineering, or technology discipline and practical working experience. This program is intended to enhance participants’ background and experience in their chosen field of study.

The Certificate Program provides individuals who are currently pursuing, or have received within one year of start date, a certificate in an appropriate science, engineering, or technology discipline. This program allows postgraduates to enhance their educational development by gaining practical experience closely related to their academic pursuits.

The Guest Lecturer Program provides travel support and honoraria to consultants from the academic community and the private sector so that they can present technical seminars and colloquia at USAEC. The honorarium rate is based on the individual's credentials. The program is intended to enhance the interactions among technical staff at the Center, the academic community, and the private sector; support technology transfer; and provide learning experiences for the ORISE program participants.

The Faculty Participation Program provides field opportunities to college and university faculty in the areas of science, mathematics, engineering, and other technically related fields. Faculty members receive a monthly stipend based on their regular salaries.

Knowledge Preservation Program

Provides opportunities for retired professionals to assist in avoiding the critical shortages in technical expertise as large numbers of professionals retire. The individual will be paired with post doctorates, junior researchers, and other staff in order to preserve the knowledge that is critical in meeting current and future program commitments.

USAEC Responsibilities

The USAEC Program Coordinator serves as a liaison resolving issues that arise among USAEC, DOE and ORISE. Some of the coordinator's other duties include approving certification and selection forms for USAEC, establishing guidelines for estimating costs, and ensuring that adequate training experience opportunities are provided to all USAEC participants.

The ORISE On-site Program Representatives are responsible for coordinating the funding transfers between USAEC and the DOE/ORISE, finalizing USAEC intern program descriptions, reviewing and recommending stipend rates to the selecting officials, as well as other duties.

Selecting Officials are responsible for identifying their program needs in terms of educational level and field of study and providing a program description and funding source to the ORISE Maryland Program Representative. Other duties include reviewing ORISE candidates' applications and identifying candidates for appointments, determining stipend rates, appointing mentors for candidates, and endorsing requests for renewal of appointments.

Mentors are appointed by the selecting official. The mentor provides much of the hands-on technical training, day-to-day guidance, research support, and helps the participants settle into their new location.

Facts about the Environmental Management Participation Program (EMPP) at USAEC

The training program is the cornerstone of the EMPP. This training includes the orientation course, formal short courses, hands-on-training, and professional conferences. The mentor outlines the training in an Individual Development Plan (IDP). The intent of the IDP ensures that the participants have the best learning opportunity possible, and that the host Army organization benefits from the knowledge, skill, and abilities of the participants during their appointment.

FACTS about ORISE
  • Participants in ORISE programs at USAEC are not employees. Participants are appointed to gain hands-on experience by conducting research. The USAEC Program Coordinator provides oversight of the ORISE program to ensure appropriate training and research experiences for participants. U.S. citizenship is required.
  • Certain travel and relocation expenses may be reimbursed by the ORISE program to participants who submit appropriate documentation.. The selecting official may set a limit at the time of selection. The first year overhead rate is budgeted at 30%. Subsequent years will be estimated at 26% and charges will not exceed this rate.
  • The appointment period for postgraduate research participants is limited to three one year appointment periods. Post doctorates are limited to four one year appointments. Participants may be assigned to locations internal and external to USAEC.
  • Students may be appointed indefinitely as long as they meet eligibility requirements.
  • Appointments are limited to four years for postdoctoral participants.
  • Faculty appointments can be made during the summer or academic year; full-time and part-time appointments are available.
  • Participants must have health insurance coverage prior to appointment; coverage is at the expense of the participant. Health plan coverage is offered to postgraduate participants.
  • Payments to participants are considered stipends and not salaries. The selecting official generally sets a stipend rate commensurate with the salary for an individual entering federal service with a similar educational background.
  • Taxes are not withheld from the monthly stipend. The ORISE reports the stipend to the Internal Revenue Service as miscellaneous income, prizes, and awards. Participants must file tax forms at the end of the year but should consider filing on a quarterly basis.
  • Selecting Officials may provide tuition assistance for participants' continuing education but are not required to do so. Participants are eligible to receive monetary awards.
  • Participants are eligible to receive monetary awards.
  • Since participants in the Research Participation Programs at the USAEC are not employees of the Center, they do not formally earn annual or sick leave. Recognizing that "breaks" in academia calendars are desirable and routinely observed by colleges and universities, the following guidelines are established for participants under 12-month appointments:
    • Up to 13 days per year of absence, excluding weekends and scheduled holidays observed at USAEC are permitted without a reduction in the participant's stipend.
    • Up to 13 days per year of absence are permitted for illness without a reduction in the participant's stipend.
    • Emergency leave for serious family illnesses, death, etc., is to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
    These absences are at the discretion of the participant's mentor. Proportional adjustments in granting absences are to be made for appointments of more or less than 12 months.
  • The selecting official and or the mentor and participant may agree to "unofficial compensatory time," but ORISE has no mechanism for awarding compensatory time or overtime. (This is a USAEC guideline.)
  • At the completion of each appointment period participants are required to complete a questionnaire for ORISE that includes an abstract of the research conducted during their appointment. The mentor is encouraged to prepare a letter of recommendation describing the overall knowledge, skills, abilities, and performance of the participant. The mentor should give the original to the participant for their future employment searches.
ORISE Links
For general information
please e-mail ORAU/ORISE Maryland office:
ORAUMaryland@orau.org
or call 410-306-9200

For recruiting
please e-mail Recruiter@orau.org
or call 410-306-9200



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