DOE recognizes partnership with ORAU for long-time management of Tennessee Science Bowl

Annual competition has been managed by ORAU on behalf of DOE since 1991

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 3, 2012
FY13-03

OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—U.S. Department of Energy ORNL Site Office Manager Johnny Moore recently presented a commemorative plaque to ORAU for its continued support of DOE’s Tennessee Science Bowl, an annual competition aimed at encouraging high school students to excel in science and math and to pursue careers in those fields.

In an accompanying letter addressed to ORAU President and CEO Andy Page, Moore emphasized that coordinating the event, which in 2012 hosted more than 300 students, coaches and volunteers over a two-day period, was a “huge undertaking and [ORAU] staff performed in an incredible manner to make it happen.” Moore added, “I always look forward to the next year knowing the Department can count on [ORAU’s] participation in making the Bowl a success.”

ORAU, which manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education on behalf of DOE, has partnered with the agency to coordinate the Tennessee Science Bowl since it was launched in 1991.

“The Tennessee Science Bowl is a powerful competition that inspires STEM-related academic aspirations in talented students from across the state,” said Page. “Our fundamental mission of advancing science education is a strong complement to the DOE Office of Science’s mission objectives in this same area, and we’re honored to have assisted DOE in meeting this challenge for more than two decades.”

Earlier this year, Knox County Schools’ Bearden High School took top honors at the 2012 Tennessee Science Bowl, which included a $1,000 cash prize, a first-place trophy and an all-expense paid trip to compete in DOE’s National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. The National Science Bowl’s high school competition now involves more than 13,000 students and is the only science competition in the United States sponsored by a federal agency.