Students try their hands at arranging items in glove boxes during the Sixth Annual Science Alliance at the DOE Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. The three-day event included several contests for hundreds of attendees while providing an immersive learning experience.
DOE’s Jud Lilly explains the nuclear fuel cycle to a group of students participating in EM’s 6th Annual Science Alliance, which took place October 6-8, 2015, at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
PIKETON, Ohio—A record 1,255 high school juniors participated recently in the Department of Energy’s Sixth Annual Science Alliance event at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
Of the 29 schools in Pike, Jackson, Ross and Scioto counties, 26 were represented October 6-8 at the Piketon, Ohio event, which informs students about fields related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Besides total participants, record new highs were achieved in total number of students in a single day (507), foreign exchange students from five countries, and registered teachers and chaperones (66).
The event’s interactive demonstrations were designed to match students' interests with potential careers. Students were also informed about post-secondary educational requirements for those careers and what regional universities offer the necessary curricula.
“We believe we have found a winning formula here with the Science Alliance,” said Greg Simonton, who oversees the program for DOE. “We are addressing the nation’s need to attract more students to STEM-related fields of study, and students are learning that opportunity is right next door. Having a career doesn’t necessarily require moving out of the area.”
Representatives from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB), regional universities, Centrus Energy Corp., and DOE prime contractors (Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth LLC, Restoration Services, Inc., and Wastren-EnergX Mission Support) joined DOE in providing demonstration stations and other support for the event. The demonstration stations included a variety of topics, including digital sound, water quality analysis, historical preservation, emergency services, centrifugal force, and recycling.
The participating schools were Adena, Chillicothe, Eastern Pike, Green, Huntington Ross, Jackson, Lucasville Valley, Minford, 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.
DOE Portsmouth Site Director Dr. Vincent Adams said having so many students visit the site and learn about the important work there provides a lot of value to students and the government.
“As many of our nation’s scientists and engineers are reaching retirement age, activities like Science Alliance are a major part of overcoming the challenge of developing the 21st-Century workforce that is so critical for our future,” Adams said. “At the same time, we are providing valuable information to students who are making critical life decisions.”
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