Three very tired CHS students and one teacher returned to the friendly venue of Calhoun on July 20 after an amazing two week ed-venture to the Secret City of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. For the second year in a row, Calhoun High sent a faculty-student delegation to the Appalachian Regional Commisssion/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Math-Science-Technology Summer Institute. Attending the 18th version of this program were: junior Candy Cason, junior Cody Franks, senior Richard Huie, and biology instructor Terry Bennett. Thirty three students and twelve teachers were housed at the Comfort Inn and were shuttled into the nation’s largest energy research facility each work day. The primary focus for each attendee was a major research topic but each member was also given time to tour the Mouse House (America’s largest stock of genetically pure research mice), the Spallation Neutron Source (the largest US investment ever in a science facility), the world’s first graphite reactor (which effectively separated Uranium 235 from 238 in 1944) and the world’s second quickest supercomputing facility. On Friday the 13th, the student group toured engineering, anthropology and agricultural labs at UTK. They were also special guests of Pellissippi State Community College.
In addition to the lab work and campus tours, the visitors enjoyed a Saturday trip to Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg and Dollywood, a special VIP night with the Tennessee Smokies, shopping trips to Outdoor World and the West End Mall, a movie night at Tinseltown Cinemas and a special bat excursion on the campus of Oak Ridge High. One of the dorm counselors is an Oak Ridge native and she conducted a special tour of the Chapel on the Hill (Oak Ridge’s nondenominational chapel that served thousands of various worshippers in WW2) and the Guest House (which offered rooms for President Eisenhower and renowned scientists like Oppenheimer and Fermi).
On the final day of the institute, all participants and their mentors presented PowerPoint presentations and skits summarizing their research. VIPs at this meeting included Anne Pope, Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, Dr. Thom Mason, director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Dr. Ronald Townsend, President of Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Mr. Bennett and the summer teacher delegation were special guests at the groundbreaking ceremonies of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education’s new research building for educators and attended a reception hosted by the Provost of the University of Tennessee and the City of Oak Ridge to welcome program participants and visiting educators in a summer program from Middle Tennessee State University.
Participants and their research topics and mentors included:
Candy Cason….”Wetlands and Springs” (Environmental Sciences Division, Facilities and Operations Directorate) Mentor: John Smith
Cody Franks….”Nanotechnology/Environmental Health and Safety”….(Center for Nanophase Material Sciences) Mentors: Randy Ogle and Michaela Hall
Richard Huie….”Superhydrophobics”…….(Engineering Science and Technology Division) Mentors: John Simpson and Jackie Collier
Terry Bennett….”Building Envelope Program” (Engineering Science and Technology Division) Mentor: Bill Miller
The Georgia delegation, which tied with Ohio for the most participants in this session, was honored to receive special gifts from Dr. Shirley Davis for the Georgia Appalachian Commission on Higher Education at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega. She was accompanied by James Thompson who is Govenor Purdue’s appointee as the Georgia ARC Commissioner. Program staff encourage all local youth who will be at least sixteen to request applications for the 2008 session of this institute; area teachers of science, math and technology are urged to apply. Teacher participants can earn CEU credits and and $750 stipend for their efforts.
The Calhoun High School 2007 ARC delegation wishes to recognized former superintendent Mike Davis, current superintendent Michelle Taylor, principal Wanda Westmoreland, the CCS Board of Education members and our three very special sets of parents for making this trip possible.