WASHINGTON, DC – For 40 high school physics honor students from Pittsburgh’s public high schools, it is a chance to glimpse the future of nuclear science and research. The Department of Energy (DOE) invited these students to tour DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tenn., today to meet with scientists to get a first-hand look at the new research tools and career opportunities for the next generation of engineers and researchers. Today’s visit is part of the continuing effort to enhance science and math education opportunities for American students.

In October 2004, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham announced that DOE would partner with educators to introduce a new curriculum in nuclear science and technology in a national pilot program. The new curriculum will be tested for the first time over a two-week period as part of the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Advanced Placement physics course. Through hands-on experiments, interactive learning, and focused reading, students will explore the fundamentals of energy physics, atomic structure, power plant design and operation, safety, and environmental protection. The curriculum, which is being developed in a collaborative effort between Pittsburgh teachers and DOE, also emphasizes important social factors like economics and understanding risk.

“Our Nation will depend on the next generation of technologists from public high schools around the country,” said William D. Magwood, IV, DOE’s Director of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology. “Our goal is to assure that young Americans are acquainted with science to help them decide if they would like to pursue careers in these vital areas. This initiative is an important element in our effort.  The collaboration between the Pittsburgh Public School System and the Department of Energy will be the model for similar partnerships all over the country.”

While visiting the state-of-the-art facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the students will see one of the largest research reactors in the world, visit the construction site of the new Spallation Neutron Source, and tour laboratories where scientists are conducting ground-breaking experiments to develop the fuels, materials, and components needed to develop advanced nuclear energy plants of the future.

Lee Riedinger, ORNL Associate Laboratory Director for University Partnerships, said taking students to facilities such as Spallation Neutron Source, the High Flux Isotope Reactor, and robotics research laboratories in the Nuclear Science and Technology Division is an investment into the Nation’s scientific future.

“The experience that these impressionable students have during their visit to Oak Ridge and other DOE labs often sparks a lifelong interest in science,” Riedinger said. “This program and its participants are a great benefit to the nuclear science and technology field of the future.”

Additional information on the department’s science education initiative is available at www.energy.gov. Information on other DOEnuclear science and engineering educational initiatives that are sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology is available at www.nuclear.gov.

Media contact:   Hope Williams, 202/586-5806

- DOE -

Release No. R-04-369