Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Jeff Wadsworth today joined Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham in a commitment to help communities place a greater emphasis on science education.
The Department of Energy, which oversees the nation's national laboratories, announced an initiative to promote science literacy and help develop the next generation of scientists and engineers. ORNL, located in East Tennessee, supports a number of educational programs aimed at elementary and high school students and teachers in the region.
"There is plenty of evidence that we need to do a better job of teaching basic science education to our young people," Wadsworth said. "As one of the world's leading centers of scientific research, ORNL seeks to be East Tennessee's foremost advocate and supporter of science education."
Wadsworth said UT-Battelle, which manages ORNL, divides the company's science education efforts into three categories.
"For teachers, we are helping expand the number of accredited science teachers by funding the University of Tennessee's summer science education workshop for middle school science teachers. For students, UT-Battelle offers more than 100 summer intern slots at the laboratory, summer camps and environmental classes for elementary students, science scholarships to the University of Tennessee, and funding for science competitions for area high schools.
"Perhaps most important, UT-Battelle has provided approximately $230,000 to fund new science laboratories in 23 Tennessee schools. Together, these initiatives are making a real difference in the availability and quality of science education in East Tennessee," Wadsworth said.
For more information on DOE's science education initiative, see the Office of Science website, https://energy.gov/science.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram laboratory managed for the Department of Energy by UT-Battelle