News Features

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education news archive is a collection of news releases and features that support DOE's mission to advance science and energy literacy, from STEM workforce development and scientific peer review to environmental assessments, health studies, and radiation emergency assistance and training.

Official announcements released by ORISE are listed below.

Media Contacts:

Pam Bonee
Director, Communications
Phone: 865.603.5142
pam.bonee@orau.org

Wendy West
Manager, Communications
Phone: 865.207.7953
wendy.west@orau.org

2024

Bringing it all together: Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship alumni discuss their experiences and developing the five-year strategy for STEM education

Three alumni of the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship Program discuss their time in the Fellowship on a recent episode of the ORISE Featurecast. John Galisky, Chris Wright and Kelly McCarthy participated in the development of the five-year strategy for STEM education, an effort to strengthen the government’s commitment in the STEM education ecosystem.
Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Lab hosts delegation from Japan

ORISE’s REAC/TS recently hosted a delegation from the Japan Nuclear Regulation Authority. The Japanese delegation spent a full day at ORNL before coming to the REAC/TS Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory, where they were given a briefing by Dr. Carol Iddins and Dr. Adayabalam Balajee on the role of REAC/TS and the CBL, respectively.
‘The beauty of the library:’ educators discuss the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program and their placement at the Library of Congress

The AEF Program is an opportunity for accomplished K-12 STEM educators to serve in national educational arenas in Washington, D.C. Amara Alexander, an alumnus of the AEF who was placed at the Library of Congress during her time in the program. Alexander and Kelsey Beeghly, a class of 2023-24 AEF Fellow who was also at the Library of Congress, recently completed an interview together for the ORISE Featurecast in which they discussed their experiences.
Postdoctoral fellow at U.S. Army DEVCOM Soldier Center wins 2024 ORISE Ignite Off! competition

Jonathan Blutinger, Ph.D., an ORISE postdoctoral fellow at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Soldier Center, has been named the winner of the 2024 ORISE Ignite Off! competition.
Deep waters: ORISE participants discuss the science conducted on the EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian

The Lake Guardian, the largest research vessel owned by the Environmental Protection Agency, is a hub of research and science on the Great Lakes. Two ORISE participants—Isabel Dunn and Suse LaGory—recently completed an interview on the ORISE Featurecast about what it’s like to live and conduct research on this vessel.
Embracing the uncomfortable: Melissa de Vera discusses Indian Health Services, her career, and the IHS summer internship

Melissa de Vera, an assistant director in the Indian Health Services, recently spoke on the ORISE Featurecast about her career path, and how she has learned to “embrace the uncomfortableness.”
REAC/TS travels to Hungary in support of NATO Vigorous Warrior, Clean Care exercises

This spring, REAC/TS participated in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Vigorous Warrior/Clean Care exercises in Budapest, Hungary. The Vigorous Warrior exercise series is the largest dedicated multinational medical exercise in NATO, organized bi-annually by the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine and a voluntary host nation.
JSTI East offers unique research opportunity for students interested in STEM

ORISE hosted the Joint Science and Technology Institute at Towson University. This two-week, fully funded, residential STEM research experience enables participants to work with scientists and experts to learn about career opportunities in STEM-related fields.
ORISE receives DOE silver award for GreenBuy program, fourth consecutive year

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has been recognized for the fourth consecutive year as a silver-level recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s GreenBuy award for fiscal year 2023.
Boe-Bot robots and a fun introduction to coding

Students from around East Tennessee spent a week in June 2024 building and programming their very own robot, called a Boe-Bot. Each day, students built onto skills they had learned the day before. ORISE hosted the Boe-Bots Academy to encourage students in critical thinking and to inspire a love of STEM learning.
Students experience introduction to coding in two events hosted by ORISE

Learn more about two K-12 summer programs hosted by ORISE designed to introduce the basics of coding to elementary-aged students.
Animal skull, fingerprints and fake blood: Samples help students solve mystery in ORISE forensic chemistry academy

Not all mysteries are a crime, but when teaching students how to solve a puzzle with forensic chemistry skills, a crime scene is a lot more fun and memorable. That’s why participants who registered for ORISE’s Forensic Chemistry Mini-Academy arrived to find crime scene tape outside their academy classroom.
More than a dozen accomplished STEM teachers selected as Albert Einstein Educator Fellows

Fifteen K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers from across the United States have been named 2024-2025 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows. Selected Fellows will spend 11 months serving in a federal agency or U.S. Congressional office in Washington, DC, engaged in the national STEM education arena.
Everything you need to know about ORISE K-12 summer programs

Discover everything you need to know about this summer’s ORISE K-12 programs, including dates and details about the programs.
Students head west to experience once-in-a-lifetime research opportunity

Learn all about JSTI West, a two-week, fully-funded, residential STEM research experience for high school students.
Farragut High School Team 1 wins the 2024 Tennessee Science Bowl

Farragut High School Team 1 was the winning school at the 2024 Tennessee Science Bowl, a fast-paced STEM competition that pits teams of four students against each other in a quiz-show-style contest.
ORISE report shows overall number of health physics degrees decreases to lowest level in decades

The number of undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students who graduated in 2022 with degrees in health physics dropped to the lowest level in decades, while six schools in the survey have either phased out or are in the process of phasing out health physics programs entirely.
ORISE report shows overall number of nuclear engineering degrees decreases to lowest level in more than a decade

The overall number of nuclear engineering degrees awarded in 2021 and 2022 were at their lowest levels in more than a decade. However, the number of doctoral degrees awarded in 2022 was at the highest level recorded since 1966.
CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Nation offers Omaha educators a shot at a $30,000 Makerspace for their classroom

Creating classroom makerspaces is a rapidly growing trend in schools across the country. Omaha educators can win a $30,000 makerspace for their classroom in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mission Possible Makerspace Nation competition.
CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Nation offers Kansas City educators a shot at a $30,000 Makerspace for their classroom

Creating classroom makerspaces is a rapidly growing trend in schools across the country. Kansas City educators can win a $30,000 makerspace for their classroom in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mission Possible Makerspace Nation competition.
CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Nation offers Chicago educators a shot at a $30,000 Makerspace for their classroom

Creating classroom makerspaces is a rapidly growing trend in schools across the country. Chicago educators can win a $30,000 makerspace for their classroom in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Mission Possible Makerspace Nation competition.
Are you a current or former ORISE intern, fellow or mentor?

ORISE is inviting all current and former ORISE interns, fellows and mentors to join its online platform, ORISE Connections, for networking, expanding knowledge and sharing STEM experiences.
The how and why of AI: ORISE’s Artificial Intelligence Mini-Academy empowers students to engage with AI

ORISE’s AI Mini-Academy helped middle school students navigate how and when they should use artificial intelligence.
ORISE Robotics Academy teaches students to build bots and skills

ORISE hosted high school students from around East Tennessee for the weeklong ORISE Robotics Academy (June 3-7, 2024), which seeks to encourage rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders to become engineers, computer programmers and technology leaders of the future.

ORISE scholarship competition featuring Solarpunk art movement connects undergrads with DOE’s Solar Energy Technology Office

Undergraduates applying for the spring scholarship competition were asked to create a Solarpunk art piece that communicates the potential of the technologies funded by SETO: photovoltaics, solar-thermal power, systems integration, manufacturing/competitiveness, soft costs, solar workforce development, and equitable access to solar energy.
A group of the nation’s most accomplished STEM teachers selected as Albert Einstein Educator Fellows

Sixteen K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers from across the United States have been named 2023-2024 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows. Selected fellows will spend eleven months serving in a federal agency or U.S. Congressional office in Washington, DC, engaged in the national STEM education arena.
Collierville High School takes first place in 2023 Tennessee Science Bowl

Collierville High School from Collierville, Tenn., placed first in the annual Tennessee Science Bowl competition and will now compete in the DOE National Science Bowl® in Washington, D.C., scheduled for April 27 – May 1, 2023.
ORISE announces winners of its 2023 Future of Science Awards

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) announced the winners of its 2023 Future of Science Awards. These prestigious awards recognize excellence performed by ORISE participants in the areas of scientific achievement, professional growth, project contributions and leadership.
Bringing imagination to life: CIA Mission Possible: Makerspace Nation contest awards three schools with $30,000 each

Thanks to the CIA Mission Possible: Makerspace Nation contest, three classrooms in Illinois, Nebraska and Missouri now have $30,000 each to create Makerspace labs which will engage students with science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).
Creating world changers: CIA Mission Possible: Operation Advance Technology contest awards five teachers $60,000 each

With the CIA Mission Possible: Operation Advance Technology contest, those possibilities have become a reality. From New Jersey to Montana, five teachers across the United States have been awarded $60,000 in laptops and other advanced technology to engage their students with science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM).
Building the basics: KinderCoding teaches young learners how to code and problem-solve

At KinderCoding, a STEM summer class hosted by ORISE, rising first through third graders got an introduction to coding in a way that was fun and accessible with Sphero Bolt robots. In KinderCoding, students used iPads to program commands, coaching the Spheros around the classroom.
Occupational Radiation Exposure Report released

ORISE prepared the 2021 DOE Occupational Radiation Exposure Report that was released to the public in January 2023. The document presents the results of analyses of occupational radiation exposures at DOE National Nuclear Security Administration facilities during 2021.
ORISE STEM Workforce Development and Health Studies programs collaborate on Institutional Review Board webinar

The ORISE STEM Workforce Development and Health Studies programs partnered to create the Not-So-Formal IRB Survival Guide webinar that was hosted on March 16, 2023 by ORISE Epidemiologist Sara Howard and ORISE Administrator for the DOE Central and Oak Ridge Site IRBs Lindsay Motz.
ORISE beryllium laboratory recertified by College of American Pathologists for eighth consecutive time in 14 years

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) has accredited the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Energy beryllium laboratory in Oak Ridge for the eighth time since the laboratory’s first accreditation in 2009.
Mini-Academy helps middle schoolers weigh the pros and cons of artificial intelligence

Recently, twelve rising seventh to ninth graders attended an Artificial Intelligence Mini Academy sponsored by ORISE. The program was designed to help children and teachers get acclimated to the use of AI in the classroom, a tool becoming more commonplace in the modern world seemingly every day.
3D design helps teachers’ lesson plans pop off the page

In June, ORISE gave teachers of all levels and subjects a chance to explore 3D design in a day-long mini academy. Teachers were instructed to come to the course with some of their own lesson plans in mind, in the hopes that they’d be able to turn those one-dimensional lectures into a three-dimensional learning experience.
Do you speak robot? ORISE Boe-Bots Academy can help

ORISE offered opportunities for students to learn computer science this summer. The Boe-Bots Academy was a week-long day camp for rising seventh through ninth graders that served as an introduction to robotics.
Middle school students get into coding with ORISE Scratch Programming Mini-Academy

Learn about the ORISE Scratch Programming Mini-Academy, including how the students used the Scratch program to create their own video game.
High school students find fun, new skills in ORISE-hosted Advanced Robotics Academy

Learn more about the ORISE Advanced Robotics Academy, including the skills that the participants achieved in the quest to build and program their own robot.
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ORISE Math Exploration Day is ‘sneaky learning’ for students

ORISE Math Exploration Day is designed to help students sharpen skills, reinforce what they have already learned, and simply make mathematics fun. It’s what the instructor calls ‘sneaky learning.’
USDA-ARS fellow wins 2023 ORISE Ignite Off! competition

Amanda Fanelli de Souza, an ORISE postdoctoral fellow in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Research Participation Program, has been named the winner of the 2023 Ignite Off! competition.
ORISE receives DOE silver award for GreenBuy program

The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education was recognized recently as a silver-level recipient of the U.S. Department of Energy’s GreenBuy award for fiscal year 2022. The GreenBuy Award Program recognizes DOE sites for achieving stringent sustainable acquisition goals that go above and beyond the government’s “green” minimum compliance requirements.
ORISE officially presented with renewed DOE VPP Star Site Status

ORISE continued its status as a DOE Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star Site in 2023. Contractors whose programs meet the requirements for outstanding safety and health programs receive Star recognition, the highest level of achievement.

First all-ORISE Ignite Off Competition names ORNL intern as its winner

Amish Mishra, an ORISE participant in the National Science Foundation's Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship (NSF-MSGI) Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), won the 2022 Ignite Off! competition.
CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Nation offers D.C., Baltimore and Richmond educators a shot at a $30,000 Makerspace for their classroom

The CIA sponsors CIA Mission Possible Classroom Transformations competition to promote learning in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) fields. ORISE manages the program, which will award one STEAM educator each in Baltimore, Md., Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., with a makerspace loaded with materials worth $30,000.
Research journal chronicles decades of Million Person Study activities

The latest edition of the International Journal of Radiation Biology (Vol. 98, Issue 4, 2022) features a special issue on the “The Million Person Study of Low-Dose Health Effects.”
ORISE provides logistical support for DOE’s 2022 National Science Bowl

ORISE supported the DOE National Science Bowl by coordinating and managing all NSB pre-planning meetings, travel logistics, procurement of meeting spaces and business amenities, processing payments, and post competition awards for the NSB Finals events.
A selection of the nation’s most accomplished STEM teachers designated as Albert Einstein Educator Fellows

Fifteen K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers from across the United States have been named 2022-2023 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows.
High school teacher from Elkhart, Indiana, attends Joint Science and Technology Institute East

Erica Conley Shannon of Elkhart, Indiana, attended the Joint Science and Technology Institute East, a professional development opportunity to expand her knowledge and experience in science, technology, engineering and math.
ORISE awards $30,000 to winning teachers in D.C., Baltimore and Richmond as part of CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Competition

Three teachers, one each in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Md., and Richmond, Va., were winners of the CIA Mission Possible Makerspace Nation competition and a $30,000 grand prize with which they can purchase makerspace items for their classrooms.
ORISE announces winners of inaugural Future of Science Awards to celebrate its 30th anniversary

To honor the 30th anniversary of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, the organization announced the winners of its inaugural Future of Science Awards. Each winner will receive $1,000 cash and recognition from ORISE.
High school students travel west for Joint Science and Technology Institute

ORISE hosted the Joint Science and Technology Institute (JSTI) at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. This two-week, fully-funded, residential STEM research experience allows current U.S. high school students to engage in research projects mentored by Department of Defense, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory research scientists and other subject matter experts.
ORISE named Silver Award recipient of DOE’s GreenBuy Program for second consecutive year

DOE recognized ORISE as a Silver Level recipient of its GreenBuy Award for FY 2021. The GreenBuy Award Program recognizes DOE sites for achieving stringent sustainable acquisition goals which extend beyond the government’s “green” minimum compliance requirements.

Media Contacts:

2024

2023

2022