NOTE: This comes from a release by Energy Solutions, a Knoxville Chamber member business.
One Tennessee high school student will be able to worry a little less about paying for his college education. Xinran (Ryan) Liu, a sophomore at Oak Ridge High School, is the 2008 Distinguished Award recipient of the EnergySolutions Foundation scholarship.
Exemplary students from eligible schools in six states were selected to receive $2,000 merit-based scholarships. All recipients were then entered into the competition for the three Distinguished Awards. Ryan was selected from a pool of applicants from Idaho, South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Washington and other Tennessee students to receive the additional $25,000 Distinguished Award scholarship which is to be used in math, science, or engineering studies. Two students in Washington were selected to receive the $5,000 and the $2,500 Distinguished Awards.
This is the second year in a row the top Distinguished Award recipient has been selected from Oak Ridge High School. Mr. Chuck Carringer had the following comments during the presentation, “We are excited for Ryan to receive this prestigious award.” “We appreciate the commitment from EnergySolutions to offer this opportunity to our students again this year”.
The EnergySolutions Foundation began the scholarship program in 2006 as a way to promote the study of math, science, and engineering to encourage the next generation of professionals to seek degrees in biochemistry, chemistry, ecology, engineering, geology, geophysics, mathematics, meteorology, or physics.
Ryan wants to pursue a physics degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has won awards across the spectrum….MathCounts, University of Tennessee Pro2serve Math Contest, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Scholars Bowl, Swim Team, Piano, and Violin. Ryan has always been a straight A student in high school even while taking AP Calculus, AP Physics, and Honors Chemistry, English, World History and Orchestra. According to his AP Physics B instructor, Peggy Bertrand, Ryan read physics books over the summer in preparation for Physics B.
“Ryan is an incredible mathematician in the making and there is no limit on his curiosity, thirst for new challenges, and the pace at which he learns,” said Benita Albert, Mathematics Department Chair, Oak Ridge High.
“The goal of the scholarship program is to help create the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, and engineers for America’s future,” said Jordan Clements, Chairman of the Board for the EnergySolutions Foundation. “This is an excellent opportunity for the Foundation to act locally and get results on a global scale,” said Clements.
“We are pleased to help these motivated students fulfill their desire of a college education," said Steve Creamer, CEO of EnergySolutions. “Because the scholarship program is an extension of our commitment to this great community where EnergySolutions employees live and work, I am so happy for the difference this will make in Ryan Liu’s education,” said Creamer.
The EnergySolutions Foundation will honor the Tennessee recipients at a luncheon on Wednesday, May 28th at the Flat Water Grill.
For more information about the scholarship program, please contact Sharon Templeton at (865)220-1263 or Pearl Wright at (801) 870-1505 or visit our website at energysolutionsfoundation.org.
Note: The following is from Arthur Stewart at ORAU, who shared the comments he received after the recent Science Bowl competition.
The Vols4STEM site identified the 2008 Tennessee Science Bowl as an event worthy of volunteer efforts.
Here are some comments from coaches who brought teams to the competition:
“Our students had a wonderful time and we look forward to participating next year, possibly even with two teams! Our hats off to you and the staff who worked to make this weekend a success." -- Analice H. Sowell, Memphis University School
"My students and I had a great time competing and experiencing the whole event. Thank you for all the time and effort that went into planning it and please pass my appreciation on to all the volunteers and sponsors. It was an amazing experience for the ten students I brought along from our school. Only three are seniors, so most are already looking forward to 2009." -- Laurette Carle, Independence High School
"Thanks for a great tournament this weekend. Although my team did not make it into the playoff rounds, my students enjoyed the experience and are already looking forward to next year's tournament." -- Joe Meko, Franklin Road Academy
“The kids are already planning for next year and have requested to be in more advanced science and math classes so they can be more competitive. My JV captain (rising sophomore) has signed up for 2 AP classes and he has challenged every member of his team to reach outside their comfort zone take at least one honors science or math class next year. You may have created a monster.” -- Bob Gant, Morristown Hamblen High School East
The competitions included 54 teams of students from 34 high schools across the state and involved more than 200 volunteers and 30 sponsors. The Tennessee Science Bowl clearly energizes and rewards the coaches and students, to Tennessee’s longer-term science-education benefit. The event cannot be made sustainable without sustained sponsor assistance.
Science Magazine recently featured a story about a Chicago utility company and its executives donating money to a open a math and science charter high school.
The company hopes to both do good in the community and prepare students for the types of positions the company knows that it needs to fill in the future.
According to the article, the executives are taking a hands-on approach to the school and monitoring its success.
The television program "Good Morning America" today highlighted a documentary called "2 Million Minutes" that looks at how high school students in the United States, China and India allocate time during their four high-school years. The title refers to that period of time.
Ultimately, the film showed that students in India and China were more prepared for careers in math, science and engineering and that more emphasis in their lives was placed on academic excellence. In America, in contrast, Bob Crompton, the filmmaker, notes that emphasis is placed on sports and other skills.
"What I saw in the K-12 schools absolutely shocked me in both India and China. … I became very concerned about the competitiveness of my own daughters' education," Compton said on "Good Morning America." "Between the cultures, students allocate their time quite differently. The difference is the parental expectations of the students, the community's expectations."
Members of the Knoxville business community and Knox County Schools are partnering to initiate students' interest in math and science fields.
In January, the Knoxville Chamber, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, Knox County Schools and the Partnership for Great Schools launched an Internet-based clearinghouse at Vols4STEM.org which will pair educators with science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals to share expertise and work with students on projects relating to their field.
They recently held meetings to organize the project and gain volunteer professionals for the partnerships.
"Vols4STEM is a model for aligning the work force and education," said Cheryl Kershaw, executive director of the Great Schools Partnership.
Note: This release was sent by Pellissippi State Technical Community College. The school is hosting a mathematics competition in April, which may be of interest to middle school students, parents and educators.
Challenging, yet fun, mathematics will be the order of the day on April 25, as middle-schoolers who know their numbers participate in the eighth annual Tennessee Middle School Mathematics Competition at Pellissippi State Technical Community College.
The event, which is hosted by the college’s Math Department, is 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the Pellissippi Campus on Hardin Valley Road. Pellissippi State’s Math Department activities are supported by a grant to the Pellissippi State Foundation from Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
The competition is designed for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, including home-schoolers, in the East Tennessee region who excel in mathematics. Participants will be able to see how their math ability compares to that of other regional students.
The contest is a multiple-choice exam designed by college math professors from Pellissippi State, Austin Peay State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee Technological University, the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee at Martin and Walters State Community College.
Contestants should compete at their grade level and not at the grade level of the math class in which they are enrolled. Students will be permitted to use calculators, including graphing calculators, on the exams.
The registration deadline is March 31, and no registrations will be accepted after that date. The space for students is limited and may fill up prior to the deadline, so early registration is recommended.
To be eligible for the team competition, a school must bring at least four students at each grade level. Schools must limit the number of students at any level to a maximum of 10 percent of grade-level enrollment, or up to 15 students.
Check-in will take place at the Performing Arts Center 7-8 a.m. The competition test is scheduled 8:30-10 a.m., followed by a trip to Zuma Fun Center and then the presentation of awards.
More than $3,000 in trophies and gift cards will be awarded to the top 10 students at each grade level. All students in attendance will receive a free contest T-shirt.
For additional information, contact Jonathan Lamb, associate professor of Mathematics at Pellissippi State, at (865) 694-6699 or jwlamb@pstcc.edu.
Siemens' President and CEO George Nolen had an editorial in the Washington Business Journal recently describing how his company will need young people who are well educated in math and science, yet does not see that population growing to the numbers that the market requires.
"Strengthening America's commitment to math and science is a critical business issue that transcends quarterly results. Over the next five years, the demand for scientists and engineers in this country is expected to outstrip the overall growth rate for other occupations by at least 70 percent. Yet to date, as a nation, we are falling far short in preparing the next generation of Americans for these critical jobs."
Add comment