Pellissippi State to ORNL: Officials ink path for students to go to work at lab

The Oak Ridger
·3 min read

A partnership between Pellissippi State Community College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory is expected to bring new career options to students and a stronger workforce to the lab.

Pellissippi State President Anthony Wise, left, and ORNL Interim Director Jeff Smith sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in a ceremonial event to commemorate Pellissippi and ORNL's collaboration on creating new classes in Chemical Radiation Technology for the college and work and internship opportunities for students at ORNL. The classes, Radiochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Hazardous Waste Control will be taught by ORNL scientists.

Representatives from the college and ORNL signed on May 31 a Memorandum of Understanding for the new Chemical Radiation Technology pathway, an option within Pellissippi State’s multidisciplinary Associate of Applied Science in General Technology degree.

Three new classes - two taught by experienced ORNL scientists - have been added to the college’s 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’s degree. In addition, they’ll visit the ORNL campus during their studies and will be well-positioned for internships and other opportunities, according to an ORNL news release.

Pellissippi State President L. Anthony Wise Jr. called the new pathway “a great example of the work that we want to do” by partnering with organizations that have significant impact in the region. He said around 80% of Pellissippi State students stay in the area after graduation.

“We’ve got a curriculum for students to follow,” Wise said. “We’ve got opportunities for students to get to the lab, to see what work is like at the lab, to understand what it’s like to be a professional at the lab, and to dream about what it would be like to be a person who worked there.”

Kane Barker, 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, 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.

Clarice Phelps, a nuclear chemist at ORNL, will be one of the instructors teaching the new Chemical Radiation Technology classes at Pellissippi. Phelps helped lead in the development of the new classes and in the collaboration between ORNL and Pellissippi.
Clarice Phelps, a nuclear chemist at ORNL, will be one of the instructors teaching the new Chemical Radiation Technology classes at Pellissippi. Phelps helped lead in the development of the new classes and in the collaboration between ORNL and Pellissippi.

“Now that we’ve blazed this path, others can follow,” Barker said.

He said the new pathway includes elements of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and applied chemistry, among other disciplines.

“We’re really combining everything a student needs to become a graduate and an employee,” he said.

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

Students from Pellissippi State Community College tour the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center on ORNL's main campus watch Brad Skidmore, group leader for Process Coordination, demonstrate a method for irradiation to produce needed isotopes.
Students from Pellissippi State Community College tour the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center on ORNL's main campus watch Brad Skidmore, group leader for Process Coordination, demonstrate a method for irradiation to produce needed isotopes.

“We have capabilities and assets that are unlike anyplace else in the United States,” Smith said, “and we have activity underway already that’s starting to build momentum.”

The new pathway will let local students take advantage of that, making a career at ORNL - 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.

“That’s the kind of opportunity that people who come to work for ORNL get,” Smith said. “They get a chance to do something that, in many cases, really makes an impact on the world.”

For more information on the Chemical Radiation Technology pathway, contact Dean Kane Barker at kmbarker1@pstcc.edu or 865-694-6695.

Pellissippi State President Anthony Wise, left, chats with ORNL Interim Director Jeff Smith at Pellissippi's Hardin Valley campus on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. In the fall, Pellissippi will begin offering classes in Radiochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Hazardous Waste Control to be taught by ORNL scientists.
Pellissippi State President Anthony Wise, left, chats with ORNL Interim Director Jeff Smith at Pellissippi's Hardin Valley campus on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. In the fall, Pellissippi will begin offering classes in Radiochemistry, Analytical Chemistry, and Hazardous Waste Control to be taught by ORNL scientists.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Pellissippi State to ORNL: Students can go to work at lab under pact