Program Administration

In administering more than 150 science education programs, the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) prioritizes resources across projects, departments and entities to ensure that each program is tailored to support science education and workforce development.

Research Participation Programs

ORISE matches the needs of national research facilities with the skills and goals of individual students and faculty. In FY09, ORISE assisted nearly 3,900 participants from more than 900 U.S. and foreign colleges and universities in identifying internship, scholarship, fellowship or research appointments that best suited their research career goals. Those appointments involved more than $97M in participant payments, nearly 2,600 domestic and foreign trips, and sponsorship of more than 500 immigration statuses for foreign nationals.

Minority Education Programs

ORISE works to expand the diversity of the scientific and technical fields by actively recruiting participants on an international level, including special outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Education Institutions. As a result, ORISE science education programs exhibit very high placement rates for women and underrepresented minorities.

Mentor Programs

Industry experts who have the commitment and willingness to nurture the next generation of scientists and engineers make excellent mentors. ORISE recruits prospective mentors and provides them with the orientation they need to begin cultivating the future scientific workforce.

Program Evaluation

ORISE conducts ongoing evaluations of its science education programs with the goal to improve on each program’s performance. The evaluations not only document the impact of the programs’ outcomes, but also identify long-term trends in our nation’s scientific and technology workforce.