Oak Ridge National Laboratory: UT-Battelle awards more than $200,000 in grants to 28 nonprofits

UT-Battelle awarded a grant to purchase 1,000 COSI Connects Kits to be delivered to students at Campbell County’s Elk Valley Elementary School, Roane County’s Midway Elementary School, Midway High School and Oliver Springs High School. Credit: Center of Science and Industry
UT-Battelle is supporting high-impact, community-focused programs, managed by 28 local nonprofits, with grants totaling more than $200,000, which will fund multiple outreach efforts from take-home STEM education kits for students to growing STEM Scouts to outfitting a mobile robotics shop.

UT-Battelle manages and operates Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Our grant program levels the playing field for local organizations of all sizes — especially efforts that support K-12 STEM education and career awareness — to receive funding for projects that benefit our community,” said Wade Creswell, ORNL community engagement manager. “We are excited to see these gifts put to great use, and we look forward to a new round of applicants in July.”

For example, one of the grants will go toward purchasing 1,000 Center of Science and Industry Connects Kits, which are science-themed boxes that contain a week’s worth of at-home STEM activities, to be delivered to students at Campbell County’s Elk Valley Elementary School, Roane County’s Midway Elementary School, Midway High School and Oliver Springs High School.

These grants represent a new process that allows local organizations to apply for support through the lab’s Community Engagement Office twice a year. Under the new process, a monthlong application period will be open in January and July with awards given in February and August, respectively. An organization is eligible to receive funding once a year to deliver programs in five categories: civic/cultural, economic development, public awareness, STEM education and volunteerism.

More information about eligibility and the grant application are available on the ORNL website.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.