PIKETON, Ohio  ̶  More than 1,400 students and educators are anticipated for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 8th Science Alliance event, scheduled for October 4-6, 2016 at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

That record number of expected attendees continues a trend of growth for the interactive science fair, which began in 2010 and aims to introduce STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects to high school juniors who are making decisions about their futures.

“Our objective here is to broaden horizons for our young people,” said Greg Simonton, DOE project coordinator since the event’s inception.  “We want to introduce them to fields of interest and show them the associated jobs and the kind of education they need to become qualified for those jobs.  We are trying to establish pathways to local careers.”

Of the 29 schools in Pike, Jackson, Ross and Scioto counties, 25 will be represented at the event.  Records numbers are anticipated in a number of categories, including number of students for one day (520, Wednesday, October 5), number of schools for one day (12, Thursday, October 6), and number of students from one school (209, Pike County Career Technology Center).

Representatives from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB), regional universities, and DOE prime contractors (Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth LLC, Restoration Services, Inc., and Portsmouth Mission Alliance) will join DOE in providing demonstration stations and other logistics for the event.  The demonstration stations cover a variety of topics, including plant history, the nuclear fuel cycle, environmental stewardship, business development, and future farming techniques, among many others. 

The schools participating in the event are Adena, Chillicothe, Eastern Pike, Green, Huntington Ross, Jackson, Lucasville Valley, Oak Hill, Paint Valley, Pike Christian Academy, Pike County Career Technology Center, Piketon, Portsmouth, Portsmouth West, New Boston, Northwest, Notre Dame, Scioto County Career Technical Center, Sciotoville East, Southeastern, South Webster, Waverly, Wellston, Western Pike, and Wheelersburg.

Besides providing STEM-related information to students, Science Alliance also addresses one of the nation’s needs for more student involvement in STEM-related subjects.

“There is a bigger picture besides our efforts to assist local students,” Simonton said.  “While opening doors for our students here in southern Ohio, we are also doing our part to tackle the nation’s challenge of becoming competitive in the 21st Century’s global marketplace.”

The Science Alliance is part of the Portsmouth site’s broader educational outreach program which includes, among other activities, the South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl, internships, scholarships, and the Ohio University student ASER project where students summarize the site’s Annual Site Environmental Report.

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