Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)

Shaping the Future of Science

Spotlight

  • ORISE Beryllium Lab recertified by College of American Pathologists

    ORISE Beryllium Testing Laboratory Manager Melissa Jones

    The ORISE Beryllium Lab was recently recertified by College of American Pathologists after no deficiencies were identified, and as a result the lab will continue to maintain its CAP certification. This marks the fifth consecutive inspection with no deficiencies and the 16th time the lab has become CAP-accredited.

  • TEACHERS—Are you looking for professional development courses to keep your skills sharp this summer?

    Group of K-12 STEM teachers engaged in professional development activity

    Register TODAY for our summer STEM courses! ORISE offers a variety of STEM opportunities to equip educators with valuable STEM skills and learning experiences. Our K-12 teacher programs allow educators to research alongside our nation’s leading scientists, explore STEM curriculum resources, and strengthen their classroom instruction.

  • Justice honored with Good Scout Award

    ORISE’s Leigha Justice honored with Good Scout Award

    Justice, senior manager with ORISE STEM WD, was honored with the 2025 Good Scout Award for her significant contributions to scouting and the community, her passion for giving back, and her impactful work in supporting educational programs.

  • Connel Ching’anda, Ph.D.— USDA fellow researches mitigating fungal infections in Texas corn

    USDA-ARS: Connel Ching’anda

    The research project of Connel Ching’anda, Ph.D, is focused on comparing the performance of different commercial biocontrol products that mitigate aflatoxin contamination of Texas corn. A native of the Republic of Malawi, a country in Southeastern Africa, Ching’anda saw firsthand the struggle of farmers to produce crops.

ORISE News

Spring into Engineering Design Student Challenge

Get ready to be creative with your spring cleaning! ORISE invites students to repurpose something around the house and walk through the engineering design process to determine a new use for it. 

STEM Competitions for K-12 Students

How science helps solve problems: An FBI Visiting Scientist Program conversation

Gene Peters is the chief of Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research at the FBI Laboratory in Virginia, where he leads research staff to develop new capabilities in, improve existing methods for, and strengthen the foundations and defensibility of science applied to forensic, counterterrorism, and intelligence challenges. His team's research spans forensic aspects of anthropology, molecular biology, analytical chemistry, genetics, geology, microbiology, statistics, toxicology, and physical sciences involving pattern evidence. In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, Peters discusses the importance of the FBI Visiting Scientist Research Program. He also discusses how many of the researcher that join him have been inspired by what they see on shows like "CSI." For Peters, his TV inspiration was "Quincy MD." He says that while that TV show didn't actually spur an interest specifically in forensics, it did spur an interest in using science to solve problems.

ORISE Featurecast logo