ORNL: ORHS senior James Rogers receives UT-Battelle scholarship

Oak Ridge High School senior James Rogers has been named recipient of the 2022 UT-Battelle Scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee.

The competitive scholarship is awarded annually to a graduating senior planning to study science, mathematics or engineering at UT and who has a parent employed by UT-Battelle, managing contractor of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The scholarship is renewable for up to four years and is worth a total of $20,000.

Rogers is the son of David and Melanie Rogers of Oak Ridge. David is a research and development staff member in ORNL’s National Center for Computational Sciences.

Rogers has expressed a passion for physics that led him to form and lead a S.O.U.P., or Students Of Undergraduate Physics, club at ORHS. He plans to focus on plasma physics in college because of the field’s application to fusion energy and the production of clean energy for the future.

He completed the Austin Peay State University School for Computational Physics in 2021, which he says showed him the value of collaboration and building good working relationships.

“As an apprentice/employee and as a leader, I want to contribute to the maintenance of a collaborative environment in my workplace, but also to spread my appreciation of collaboration to others by always being humble, as humility and whimsy are key aspects of a productive work environment,” Rogers wrote in his essay.

His ORHS and academic activities have included Science Bowl, band and Mu Alpha Theta math club. He has also volunteered with Horse Haven of East Tennessee.

Rogers plans to enter UT in the fall.