{"id":171,"date":"2024-12-17T14:20:10","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T14:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=171"},"modified":"2024-12-17T14:20:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T14:20:10","slug":"partnership-offers-direct-career-path-from-pellissippi-state-to-ornl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/?p=171","title":{"rendered":"Partnership offers direct career path from Pellissippi State to ORNL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr.,<\/strong> left, and Jeff Smith,<\/strong> interim lab director for Oak Ridge National Laboratory, sign a Memorandum of Understanding allowing the lab to partner with the college to offer a new Chemical Radiation Technology pathway for students starting in fall 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s official: A partnership between Pellissippi State Community College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is set to bring new career options to students and a stronger workforce to the national lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 31, representatives from the college and the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s ORNL signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the new Chemical Radiation Technology pathway, an option within Pellissippi State\u2019s multidisciplinary Associate of Applied Science in General Technology degree. Three new classes \u2014 two taught by experienced ORNL scientists \u2014 have been added to the college\u2019s existing curricula, and students who take them will be prepared to enter the workforce at ORNL and other national labs even without first completing a bachelor\u2019s degree. In addition, they\u2019ll visit the ORNL campus during their studies and will be well-positioned for internships and other opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pellissippi State president L. Anthony Wise Jr.<\/strong> called the new pathway \u201ca great example of the work that we want to do\u201d by partnering with organizations that have significant impact in the region. He said around 80 percent of Pellissippi State students stay in the greater Knoxville area after graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a curriculum for students to follow,\u201d Wise said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got opportunities for students to get to the lab, to see what work is like at the lab, to understand what it\u2019s like to be a professional at the lab, and to dream about what it would be like to be a person who worked there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kane Barker,<\/strong> dean of Natural and Behavioral Sciences at the college, said the new pathway was active within a year of the college meeting with the ORNL team, led by Clarice Phelps,<\/strong> a nuclear chemist in the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate. Normally, it takes two years to institute such an option, he said, but students already can register for fall 2023 classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Group<\/a>
Among the Pellissippi State and Oak Ridge National Laboratory leaders attending the signing May 31, 2023, are (seated, from left) Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr.<\/strong> and Interim Lab Director Jeff Smith<\/strong> and (standing, from left) Patty Weaver,<\/strong> vice president of External Affairs; Kane Barker,<\/strong> dean of Natural and Behavioral Sciences; Susan Hubbard,<\/strong> deputy director for Science and Technology; Clarice Phelps,<\/strong> S&T Staff (chemist), Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate; Cynthia Jenks,<\/strong> associate lab director, Physical Sciences Directorate; Jeremy Busby,<\/strong> associate lab director, Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate; Balendra Sutharshan,<\/strong> deputy for laboratory operations; Moody Altamimi,<\/strong> director, Office of Research Excellence; and Kellie Toon,<\/strong> vice president of Academic Affairs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow that we\u2019ve blazed this path, others can follow,\u201d Barker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the new pathway includes elements of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and applied chemistry, among other disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really combining everything a student needs to become a graduate and an employee,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those employees will be crucial to ORNL\u2019s success as it continues to increase and improve production of isotopes for medicine, industry, national security and scientific research, said Jeff Smith,<\/strong> interim lab director. For example, ORNL now produces multiple radioisotopes for cancer treatment clinical trials, and it\u2019s the only place in the world some rare isotopes are produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have capabilities and assets that are unlike anyplace else in the United States,\u201d Smith said, \u201cand we have activity underway already that\u2019s starting to build momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new pathway will let local students take advantage of that, making a career at ORNL \u2014 and making a difference. He noted that Phelps was part of a team involved in discovering a new element on the periodic table: Element 117, named Tennessine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the kind of opportunity that people who come to work for ORNL get,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThey get a chance to do something that, in many cases, really makes an impact on the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on the Chemical Radiation Technology pathway, contact Dean Kane Barker at kmbarker1@pstcc.edu<\/strong><\/a> or 865-694-6695.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information visit https:\/\/energy.gov\/science<\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s official: A partnership between Pellissippi State Community College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is set to bring new career options to students and a stronger workforce to the national lab. On May 31, representatives from the college and the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s ORNL signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the new Chemical Radiation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":176,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171\/revisions\/176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/policies.pstcc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}