September is National Preparedness Month, an observance to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. Disaster and pandemic preparedness have been among ORAU’s capabilities for decades. In this episode of Further Together, a team of preparedness experts gather to discuss preparedness in the pre-9/11 era, post-9/11 work, pandemic preparedness and so much more. This is the first of a two-part conversation with Freddy Gray, Julie Crumly, Rachel Vasconez, Mary Connelly, Will Artley and Linda Hodges. To learn more about ORAU's preparedness capabilities, visit https://orau.org/preparedness/index.html.

If Lauren Shaffer's 10-year-old brother had not been required to interview someone who lived through the period of history depicted in the book, "Number the Stars," she and the rest of her family may never have heard the story of her great-grandfather's flight from Nazi Germany, or of her grandmother living in hiding for over a year before visas could be secured to get out of the country, or of Uncle Willy, who risked his own life to save a number of Jewish families from the extermination camps. After sharing the story for the first time, her grandmother spoke to classrooms and school groups in Michigan and Florida for years. Now, the torch has been passed to the younger generations of the family to continue to bear witness and keep history from repeating itself. Lauren shared this story as part of ORAU's annual Heritage Day, sponsored by the Diversity Council. We are honored to that she agreed to share the story again for Further Together.

Keri Cagle, ORAU director of science and technology and ORISE director of scientific technical resource integration, is willing to bet she has the best team in the entire ORAU enterprise. They're close knit, they work hard, and they have experienced loads of successes over the past year and beyond. Leading a team like hers bring her joy, as does the optimism she feels about the anticipated growth of ORAU. She wear two (and probably more) hats at ORAU, while also pursuing a doctoral degree, building a new house and spending time with her family. Learn more about Keri during her conversation with Michael Holtz for this episode of Further Together.

Isaac Clark, an ORAU program specialist, leaned into his creative side to write a children's book called Batchy's Busy Day. Batchy spends one very busy day attempting to help his friends with basic chores but ends up causing more problems than he solved. Clark is donating a portion of proceeds from the book to the International OCD Foundation, which helps people with OCD access mental health services and support resources. Clark experiences OCD himself, which he talks about during this conversation with Further Together host Michael Holtz.

Jason Black, Ph.D., an associate professor of information systems at Florida A&M University, is the apple who didn't fall far from the tree. His mother was a computer scientist for IBM Watson in the 1960s who later taught at FAMU. Because of her work, Dr. Black was around and worked with computers for much of his life, including coding games that he would charge his friends a quarter to play. Today, he is leading a data science consortium for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions. Michael Holtz and Dr. Black had a great conversation. Join them for great insights into the world of data science.

In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, host Michael Holtz talks about the National Science Foundation Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship, which is managed by ORISE. The conversation includes Ryleigh Moore, a doctoral candidate and program participant; Marissa Torres, Ryleigh's mentor; and Jennifer Burnette, the program manager. Ryleigh talks about the many avenues she has open to her because of the program and the potential that exists. She says she is excited about the future and wants to do something where she can help the most people.

Kristy Kistner, ORAU's Director of Performance Excellence, knows a thing or two million about quality standards and assurance practices. So much so, in fact, that she was one of three United States experts invited to join an international ad hoc group established to examine the feasibility of converting International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9004 into a quality assurance standard with stated requirements for organizations to achieve. Currently, 9004 is a series of best practices for ongoing quality assurance. Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau discuss the work of this ad hoc group, Kristy's role and ORAU and how she became the organization's quality expert.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck more than a year ago, ORAU Workforce Solutions was poised to help their customers manage the transition from work-from-work to work-from-home. Amanda Hurley, Workforce Solutions section manager, reflects on how the technology her team uses every day set them up for success during a time of incredible change. Virtual career fairs, video interviews and more have long been part of Hurley's team's workflow. In this episode of Further Together, Hurley describes how her team weathered the pandemic for their customers, job candidates and her team. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused all of us to adapt and adjust in some way at the organizational level, the individual level and beyond. How organizations adapt and cope with COVID will impact our organizational culture for five years and perhaps longer. Jeff Miller, Ph.D., ORAU Senior Vice President and Director of ORAU Government Services, presents the evidence for how the stressors of the last 14 months will stay with us for years to come. This is a not-to-be-missed conversation.

Workplaces across the country shifted to remote work to protect people from the fast-spreading coronavirus a year ago, including national laboratories and other federal research agencies. At one point, 80% of ORISE research participation program participants were working remotely. The task to make that shift was enormous, considering RPPs are not designed for remote work. With expert guidance from the ORISE workforce development team and by deploying the technology we've all become used to over the last year, the transition to remote work went smoothly. So did the transition to remote teacher professional development and student STEM education programs, thanks to the K-12 STEM Education team. How did they do it, how will this impact programs for the future, and what happens next? We discuss all of this and more in this extended episode of the ORISE Featurecast.

Dr. Phil Bourne, Stephenson Dean of the School of Data Science at the University of Virginia, didn't set out to be a data scientist. Rather, Bourne, who hails from Australia, began his career as a physical chemist. He got interested in the computational part of physical chemistry, which led him to become an expert in compiling huge data sets. Among his many accomplishments, Bourne served as associate director of data science at the National Institutes of Health. During this conversation, Bourne talks about his career path, the importance of data science, and the "school without walls" that he leads at UVA. Data science is cross-cutting, and is part of many aspects of our lives whether we know it or not.

The Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program was established in 2000 to support unclassified basic research in areas of interest to the intelligence community. Funded primarily by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the program annually supports several Postdoctoral Fellows from U.S. accredited colleges, universities, and U.S. Government laboratories across the country. In this episode of the ORISE Featurecast, host Michael Holtz sits down virtually with Helena Liuag, IC postdoc program manager; Nebila Lichiheb and Yun Tao, two postdocs participating in the program; and Kevin Lafferty, research advisor. The conversation covers everything from how the program works, to the types of research opportunities available, to the day in the life of a postdoc working from home during a pandemic. Postdoctoral students interested in applying should visit https://orise.orau.gov/icpostdoc/. Deadline to apply is February 26, 2021.

Dr. Adayabalam Balajee, director of the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site Cytogenetic Biodosimetry Laboratory, is a busy and prolific researcher. Most recently, he co-authored a manuscript in partnership with colleagues at the University of Tennessee that was recently published in Nature Communications. He has also developed the Chromosome Challenge, which gamifies the identification of dicentric chromosomes with the ultimate goal of recruiting people to assist with the identification process in the event of a radiation emergency. Not unexpectedly, he has other projects in the pipeline. ORISE Featurecast hosts Jenna Harpenau and Michael Holtz spent some time catching up with Dr. Balajee last month. Join us for a great conversation.

In this episode of Further Together, the ORAU Podcast, host Michael Holtz talks with Renee Cummings, data activist in residence and criminologist at the University of Virginia School of Data Science. In this wide-ranging, important and hopeful conversation, Cummings discusses data science ethics including the ethics of Artificial Intelligence; diversity, equity and inclusion in AI development; algorithm authenticity and accountability; data integrity and so much more. She riveted the audience during an ORAU-hosted data science webinar in December 2020 and has the same impact during this conversation.

ORAU's 127-member University Consortium enables us to leverage the research capabilities of members and those of our subject matter experts to collaborate on research projects that meet the needs of our federal and industry partners. Through ORAU-Directed Research and Development (ODRD) funding, future research projects will be focused around public health, data science and analytics, and diversity, equity, and inclusion studies.

Ken Tobin and Cathy Fore from ORAU's Research and University Partnerships Office discuss ORAU's research priority areas, how RUPO serves as matchmaker and convener for universities and federal agencies, and their excitement for the future of research at ORAU. Join us for an interesting and enlightening conversation.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sara Alert™ was developed to automate the monitoring of individuals exposed to or infected with COVID-19. In partnership with MITRE, ORAU’s goal is to leverage existing Sara Alert™ technology to protect the health of students and faculty on campus by creating a tool customized to university needs, Sara Alert™ Academic. Sara Alert™ Academic enables students and faculty to enter their symptoms daily, providing real time insights to university health staff working to contain the spread of the virus on campus. Sara Alert™ Academic can help universities safely operate campuses through increased efficiency in tracking potential cases, leading to earlier containment of the virus and reduction of burden on resources. The system can also help universities track vaccine uptake for COVID-19. While Sara Alert™ Academic was developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the system is useful for any public health emergency, include influenza and other illness outbreaks. Michael Holtz and Jenna Harpenau had an in-depth conversation with the ORAU team behind Sara Alert™ Academic. Join us for this important conversation.

Those of us who work here say it frequently: ORAU is a family. Few of us, though, can say that with 50 years of company experience under their belts. Betty Bowling retired at the end of November from her role as a program specialist working with the ORISE EPA Research Participation Program, just one of the many positions she's held in the company over the years. Jenna Harpenau and Michael Holtz talk to Betty about her first job at ORAU, how business has changed from key punch cards and cocktail hour in the president's office to the modern, leading edge organization we are today. Join us for a fun and interesting conversation.

Talking about how rough 2020 has been borders on cliche at this point, but makes it no less true. From a global pandemic seemingly raging out of control to the economic fallout of decisions made to protect people to personal challenges that have occurred for many of us on top of all of that, 2020 has been difficult. But, as you'll hear in this special episode of Further Together, the ORAU podcast, there is a silver lining if you are willing to look for it. And, there is always, always something for which to be grateful. We hope you enjoy this episode. Thank you to the ORAU employees who shared their stories. Thanks to everyone in our audience for listening. Happy Thanksgiving!

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.

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.

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.

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, entrepreneur 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.

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!