WCHS student selected for ORNL Program

A Whitley County High School student was selected to participate in the annual summer learning program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN.

Blake McCullah will participate in the high school program this summer along with 48 other students from 10 states within the Appalachian region from July 7 to July 20.

Students are selected by the Appalachian Regional Commission and approved by the governor.

The program helps students explore the fields of science, math and technology.

This program gives students the opportunity to work in professional laboratories with skilled leaders in order to complete one of the six hands on research projects:

1. Introduction to data visualization
2. Robotic Systems and Engineering Development
3. Climate Systems Science, Modeling, and Communication
4. Build a Supercomputer
5. Fiber-Optic Interferometer and its Application to Sensing
6. Designing Experimental Automation for Extreme Environments

Students will find out which research team they will be placed on once they arrive at the program.

Students will have the opportunity to present their research at the end of the program. Those presentations will be open to the public, but the program is hoping to live stream the presentations so that those who are unavailable to attend can see the research the students have worked hard on during the summer, said Jennifer Tyrell, an education project manager at Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

Not only will students have the opportunity to participate in research projects, they will also get to participate in events such as an escape game at Breakout Knoxville, go to Clingman’s Dome, Clark Center Park, Rainforest Adventures Discovery Zoo, Dollywood, a Tennessee Smokey’s baseball game, Museum of East Tennessee History, The University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Riverboat Company, McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture and Navitat Knoxville.

The program is free to participants, and it informs students about potential internships after high school.