Winds of Change - Summer 2017 - 30

CAREER

BUILDER
❚ OAK RIDGE INSTITUTE
FOR SCIENCE AND
EDUCATION (ORISE)

ORISE offers a range
of opportunities in
research and science,
technology, and policy
programs.

ASK A PARTICIPANT
In 2015 Shafer Powell graduated as an
academic all-star at the University of
Tennessee in Knoxville. With a major in
environmental science and a minor in
watershed management, he was recognized
as the Top Underclass Scholar in the
Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science
department, was named to the dean's list
eight times, achieved magna cum laude
distinction, and was inducted into the
Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of
Agriculture. Not surprisingly, he had many
options for internships along the way, but
ultimately chose to follow his environmental
science aspirations at ORISE. He talked with
us about the role the institute played in his
career decisions.

How has your involvement in ORISE
programs evolved? Since graduating from

How did you become involved with
ORISE? When I was pursuing my degree

college, I've been working full time as a data
technician at ORISE through its PostBachelors Research Participation Program.

in environmental and soil science, I had the
opportunity to conduct interesting
research. As one example, I worked with
two other students to design and carry out
a soil tray experiment to determine the
effects of various soil amendments on the
degradation of agricultural mulches. At
about the same time, I was looking for a
summer internship. I saw online that there
was an ORISE research scientist named
Colleen Iversen working on plant soil
interactions, which interested me. I
contacted her and she suggested that I
apply for a summer internship through the
HERE (Higher Education Research
Experiences) program.

My main project now is working on FRED,
the Fine-Root Ecology Database. We
recently released FRED 1.0, a global database
of root traits compiled from published and
empirical data. My work has had me finding
published papers about plant roots,
particularly fine roots, then compiling that
data for the database so that we can make it
available to colleges, researchers, and
modelers. While my internship was paid for
by a stipend, my job now comes with a
salary, benefits, and paid time off.
What have been some highlights of your
time at ORISE? One highlight is that I've

had the opportunity to work on a variety of
projects. I've done lab work and different
types of data work, and worked on the
SPRUCE (Spruce and Peatland Responses
Under Climatic and Environmental
Change) experiment. Through that process,
I've been able to find my own niche.
aises.org

OAK RIDGE ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES

ORISE offers a full range of internship and
employment opportunities in research and
science, technology, and policy (STP)
programs. It is focused on building a STEM
workforce equipped to take on some of the
toughest problems facing the country,
including developing new manufacturing
technologies, investigating alternative
energy sources, and exploring applied
research for countering terrorism.
Based in Oak Ridge, Tenn., ORISE was
established as an official Department of
Energy institute in 1992 to enable the
department's critical scientific, research,
and health initiatives and its laboratory
system. A key aspect of the work at ORISE
is ongoing evaluation of its science
education offerings with the objective of
continually enhancing programs as well as
identifying long-term trends in the nation's
STEM workforce. ORISE is known for its
outreach to minority-serving institutions.

30 WINDS OF CHANGE * SUMMER 2017

A FIRSTHAND
LOOK AT
OPPORTUNITIES
IN GOVERNMENT,
INDUSTRY,
ACADEMIA,
AND TRIBAL
ENTERPRISE
http://www.aises.org
Winds of Change - Summer 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Winds of Change - Summer 2017
