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.
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