Forty-two students and 19 teachers from high schools in areas covered by the 13-state Appalachian Regional Commission recently spent two weeks learning about science opportunities at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Marie Westfall of Oak Ridge Associated Universities says a long-range program goal is to encourage students to consider careers in math, science or engineering.
"The idea is to bring students who don't have opportunities where they're from and they don't get to see a lot of employment options - they certainly don't see scientific employment options," Westfall says. "What we're trying to do its to show the benefits and the rewards of further education."
Westfall says the teachers benefit, too.
"Teachers are able to take the excitement of the science at ORNL back to the classroom," Westfall says.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.