Governor Earl Ray Tomblin praised four West Virginia students who were chosen to attend a prestigious summer science program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.
Sofia Jimenez of Summers County High School in Hinton, Elizabeth Remias of Clay County High School in Clay, and Kanyon Brogan and Isabella Jimenez of Summers Middle School in Hinton were among a group of students and teachers from across 13 Appalachian states, who spent two weeks participating in a hands-on institute focused on math, science, and technology.
“These young students from Summers and Clay counties learned how critical these skill sets are to the future of West Virginia,” Gov. Tomblin said. “I hope the lessons learned will carry them a long way as they are the future leaders our Appalachian communities.”
Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), of which Gov. Tomblin serves as the ARC States’ co-chair, sponsored the program. Teachers from the 13 ARC states also were invited to participate in professional development for educators, including Gina Thomas and Christy Fitzwater of Clay County Middle School.
Student participants at this year’s 24th Annual ARC/ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) Summer and Math-Science-Technology Institute were assigned projects dealing with supercomputers; the design of novel polymeric materials using computer simulation; the use of computers to design therapeutic drugs to determine their efficacy; and robotic systems engineering. Teachers were divided into four research teams that focused on chemical sciences, physics, energy and transportation sciences and materials sciences.
Since 2000, the summer program has provided a total of 508 high school students and 210 teachers with in-lab learning experiences at one of the nation’s premier national laboratories.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is a unique federal-state partnership established by Congress in 1965 to bring Appalachia into the mainstream of the American economy.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
