OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY--EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES
This article also appears in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Review (Vol. 25, No. 2), a quarterly research and development
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ORNL AND ORAU PARTNERS IN EDUCATION
As the effectiveness of the country's educational system is
regularly being called into question, the Oak Ridge area is
emerging as a proving ground for innovative educational strategies
and programs. One of the driving forces behind this educational
renaissance is the long-standing partnership between ORNL and Oak
Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU), which operates the Oak Ridge
Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). This partnership can
claim a share of the credit for developing in Oak Ridge the largest
set of educational programs at a DOE site.
The relationship between these two organizations dates back to the
1946 debate over what to do with the Clinton Engineering
Laboratories (the forerunner of ORNL), which was built in Oak Ridge
for the Manhattan Project. A result of this debate was the
formation of the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS), a
consortium of colleges and universities that was to become Oak
Ridge Associated Universities. This consortium was formed to
promote access to the unique research facilities at Clinton
Engineering Laboratories for students and faculty of universities
in the region.
Seamless organization
Nearly 50 years later, this ongoing relationship provides a
uniquely rich environment for the development of educational
programs; however, maintaining this environment requires a high
level of cooperation between the two organizations.
"Communication is the key to the relationship," says Wayne
Stevenson of ORISE's Science/Engineering Education Division.
"Because ORAU is a university consortium, we handle the recruitment
and processing of program participants. ORNL is a laboratory, so
its staff handles anything related to research. Our staff works
with Ed Aebischer's staff in ORNL's Office of Science Education on
a daily basis. When Ed and I go to Washington to make presentations
to DOE's Office of University and Science Education, we represent
a seamless organization--it's not just two groups showing up at the
same place and the same time."
"This arrangement is unique in the DOE system," says Aebischer. "We
work hard with ORISE to minimize any appearance to partners or
participants that we are two different organi-zations."
The success achieved by this close cooperation has paid off for Oak
Ridge as a whole. DOE contractors in Oak Ridge have the largest set
of educational programs at any DOE site. "What's happening here is
happening throughout DOE," says Chester R. Richmond, director of
ORNL's Office of Science Education and External Relations.
"Secretary of Energy Watkins has provided strong support for
educational activities and has emphasized education as a primary
mission of the department. The reason DOE has looked to Oak Ridge
is the combination of resources at ORNL and ORISE and the links
that exist between these organizations and other regional
institutions, such as the University of Tennessee and the Tennessee
Valley Authority."
The partnership between ORNL and ORAU has produced thousands of
undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and faculty research
appointments and internships at ORNL over the years and has greatly
enhanced the research base of colleges and universities throughout
both the region and the nation. "ORAU is an avenue into the lab
largely because of its extensive network into the academic world,"
says Al Wohlpart, head of ORISE's Science/Engineering Education
Division.
DOE's multilevel University-Laboratory Cooperative Science
Education Program and two newer national initiatives, the Science
and Engineering Research Semester and the Teacher Research
Associates Program, are mainstays of DOE's educational effort in
Oak Ridge. More recently, increasing emphasis has been placed on
the wide range of undergraduate and graduate internship
opportunities and on development of a new ORNL Postgraduate
Research Program designed to strengthen the vital contribution that
postdoctoral appointments make at ORNL. These varied programs
provide research and training opportunities at ORNL in disciplines
ranging from environmental science to analytical chemistry to
genetics research. "The ORNL research divisions have strongly
supported the growth and development of all these educational
programs," says Aebischer. "The things we do in this office could
not happen without the cooperation of the divisions in matching the
research interests of the participants with the research needs of
the Lab."
These programs give participants the type of research experience
that's not available on campus, providing them access to
state-of-the-art equipment and enabling them to collaborate with
world-class researchers.
Joint projects
The latest trend in joint ORNL-ORAU educational projects has been
to broaden their scope to include programs for precollege students
and their teachers--from kindergarten through high school. "We're
doing a lot more at the beginning stages of the pipeline that
ultimately produces scientists and engineers," says Aebischer. "We
have more programs at the elementary and secondary levels, both for
students and for teachers." Some of these programs are described
below.
- The Science and Mathematics Action for Revitalized Teaching
(SMART) program was implemented to combine the resources of
ORNL, ORAU, and schools in Chattanooga, Roane County, and
Harriman to enhance science and mathematics education.
These school systems represent very different urban and
rural environments and diverse student populations.
Established in 1989, the SMART program brings teachers
together with scientists and technical specialists from
ORNL to develop new instructional materials and implement
new teaching strategies. To maximize the impact of teacher
development activities, a communication network has been
established, linking teacher liaisons at each school with
each other and with program administrators at ORAU and
ORNL. Meetings for teachers in each system are held on a
regular basis to allow them to share information and stay
informed about SMART activities.
Over 200 teachers have participated in SMART workshops and
training to assess the needs of their education programs
over the two years of the program's existence. This ongoing
involvement has resulted in system-wide improvements in
science and mathematics programs in participating school
districts.
- Like SMART, the Teachers Research Associates Program,
formerly known as STRIVE, emphasizes helping teachers
develop innovative methods of communicating the importance
of scientific research to their students. This program
gives junior and senior high teachers the opportunity to
spend part of their summers as members of research teams at
ORNL, ORISE, or one of six other DOE research facilities.
A portion of each week is spent exploring ways to
incorporate their research experiences into their teaching
activities.
- The Minority Challenge Program promotes interest in science
and engineering among junior high and high school students
in five counties surrounding Oak Ridge. The program
includes career awareness workshops, visits to college and
university campuses, summer internships, and a summer
science camp where students participate in classes and
laboratory experiments.
- Last year's East Tennessee Regional Science Bowl,
cosponsored by ORNL, ORAU, and Pellissippi State Technical
Community College, drew 26 high school teams from Tennessee
and Georgia to vie for the privilege of competing in the
National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C.
- Area high school students joined hundreds of college
students and faculty members at the third annual Women in
Science and Technology Conference. The conference
highlighted expanding scientific career opportunities for
women in government, medicine, academia, and private
industry through lectures and discussions.
These programs and a host of others are a sign of the continually
expanding commitment on the part of DOE, ORNL, and ORAU to meet the
challenge of providing today's students with the kind of
high-quality science education that will allow them to compete and
succeed in the world of tomorrow.
--Jim Pearce
"ADVENTURES IN SUPERCOMPUTING" PROGRAM AT ORNL
DOE has funded a program to introduce supercomputing concepts into
the high school classroom in Tennessee, Iowa, and New Mexico. The
new program, "Adventures in Supercomputing" (AiS), is being offered
by ORNL; Ames Laboratory, Ames, Iowa; and Sandia National
Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Richard Hicks, AiS coordinator for ORNL, said that the response to
the program in Tennessee has been tremendous. "We had more than 40
schools across the state apply," Hicks said. "I was pleased with
the enthusiasm that all of the teachers expressed about the need
for this type of program in Tennessee." A committee composed of
Tennessee state officials, educators, and ORNL personnel selected
seven high schools from the applicant pool.
AiS is based on a teaching curriculum first developed and tested in
Alabama schools. In this successful program, high school students
produced computer simulations to study heredity, the aerodynamics
of a wind tunnel, the progression of the AIDS virus in a human
body, and the thought patterns of a schizophrenic person.
Under the AiS program, participating schools received free loans
from DOE of four Macintosh computers, which are networked to a
supercomputer manufactured by nCUBE Corporation. The nCUBE
supercomputer, which is a multiple-processor, massively parallel
supercomputer, is being loaned by nCUBE Corporation of Foster City,
California, at no cost to ORNL to implement the AiS program. Bobbi
Hazard, vice president of sales for nCUBE Corporation, stressed
nCUBE's commitment to education.
"Today's students are the researchers and engineers of tomorrow,"
Hazard said. "Exposing students to leading-edge technology, which
normally is available only to the elite in scientific research and
commercial industries, will significantly improve the students'
education, and in the long term, the computer industry as a whole."
--Anne E. Armstrong
(keywords: education, science education, computer education)
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Date Posted: 2/7/94 (ktb)