The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Libraries will host Big Orange STEM Saturday for high school and first-year college students from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 2.

Students interested in careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics and their parents are invited to attend the event in the John C. Hodges Library, 1015 Volunteer Blvd.

Big Orange STEM Saturday is free, but participants should register online by Friday, March 25.

STEM Saturday will begin with a keynote presentation by chemist and educator Tam’Ra Kay Francis. Francis, who was once the youngest faculty member in the chemistry department at Fisk University, is committed to improving STEM instruction and mentoring budding young scientists. She is a doctoral candidate in science education at UT.

Following the keynote presentation, students can attend two of four breakout sessions:

Exhibitors will include university STEM programs, Texas Instruments and Oak Ridge Associated Universities. Students and parents will be able to talk with staff from UT programs that foster student success such as VolsTeach, a teacher preparation program for undergraduates in STEM fields, and RISER (Research and Instructional Strategies for Engineering Retention), which targets freshmen engineering students who need to boost their math skills.

For more information, visit http://tiny.utk.edu/boss or contact:

Thura Mack, (865-974-6381, tmack@utk.edu)
Ingrid Ruffin (865-974-3513, iruffin@utk.edu)