Further Together the ORAU Podcast

Recent Episodes

Among the Quiet Professionals: Meet Dr. Mark Ervin, new associate director of REAC/TS

Posted November 11, 2020 • 00:29:38

Dr. Mark Ervin has experienced a lot of firsts in his career, but joining REAC/TS as the new associate director in the middle of a pandemic certainly stands out. In this episode, you'll learn about Dr. Ervin's background, work experience, hopes for the future of this ORISE crown jewel, and even hear about the Zen of fishing without bait. Jenna and Michael had a great conversation with Dr. Ervin for this episode of the ORISE Featurecast. We hope you'll join us.

Protecting the health of energy workers: ORAU and the NSSP program

Posted October 28, 2020 • 00:32:37

The National Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP) provides free medical screenings to Department of Energy workers from any DOE site around the country who may have been exposed to hazards in the workplace. The NSSP collects data to help identify if these former workers have developed any health conditions related to exposures that they had in the workplace, as well as identify any health conditions that arise as these workers age. ORAU manages this program for the DOE. In this conversation, we talk to Zac Hubbell, Ph.D., a research associate for the program, and Dr. Lee Newman, director of the Center for Health, Work, and Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health. The CHWE recently named ORAU it's 2020 Partner of the Year for the work our organizations do together for the NSSP.

ARC STEM programs are key to Appalachian economic development

Posted October 14, 2020 • 00:42:19

Every summer for the last 31 years, ORAU has managed a High School Summer Math-Science-Technology Institute and a Middle School Science Academy for the Appalachian Regional Commission. In ordinary times, both of these programs are residential in nature, with students and teachers traveling to Oak Ridge, Tenn., to work alongside researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, tour the area and more. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the programs had to be conducted remotely but participating students and teachers still got the high-quality experience for which these programs are known. In this conversation, Michael talked to Jennifer Tyrell from ORAU's K-12 team, and Wendy Wasserman, communications director for the ARC. We learned that the ORAU-managed programs have served as a template for other educational programs offered by ARC, and that these programs are vital to the economic development work ARC conducts across the region.

ORISE and WAGI Labs are helping kids learn to solve problems in their communities

Posted September 30, 2020 • 00:24:17

This episode of the ORISE Featurecast is a conversation with Chic Thompson, founder of WAGI Labs, and Kayla Canario, ORISE K-12 program manager. ORISE and WAGI Labs are working together to help students learn the concepts of design thinking, entrepreneurship and empathy so they can solve problems in their communities. Together, ORISE and WAGI Labs have created a free game that helps students learn these concepts. Learn all about during this episode of the ORISE Featurecast.

Giving in the time of COVID-19: United Way of Anderson County needs our help

Posted September 16, 2020 • 00:50:32

The coronavirus pandemic has upended so much of how we live, learn, work and play. It has also impacted how we give. In this episode, Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau talk to Naomi Asher, executive director of the United Way of Anderson County, and representatives from three agencies supported by UWAC -- Michael Yates from Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services, Annie Cachiero from Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, and Brent Waugh from Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. We talk about the services each of these agencies provides, how those services have been impacted by the pandemic, how the need is greater now as a result, and how we can all help serve people in need in our communities. Join us for an uplifting conversation!