OAK RIDGE, Tenn., April 29, 2019 – Sweetwater High School senior William Daniel Brackett has been named recipient of the 2019 UT-Battelle Scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee (UT).
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.
Will Brackett is the son of Scott and Lisa Brackett of Sweetwater, Tenn. Brackett’s father, Scott, works in ORNL's Facilities and Operations Directorate as a complex facility manager.
Brackett’s high school achievements include leading his Scholars’ Bowl team and advocating the establishment of an environmental club dedicated to recycling waste at his school, as well as beginning a YouTube channel for sharing information at the school. A teacher at Sweetwater High described him as “a driving force for change.”
With a high school transcript that includes chemistry, advanced math and calculus for scientists and engineers, Brackett has been accepted to UT’s Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program for engineering undergraduates. His concern for the environment carries over into his scholastic and career goals: Brackett has expressed a desire to pursue studies in chemistry and engineering toward a vision of developing alternatives to carbon-based fuels.
His other activities and interests have included varsity basketball and captaining the school’s track team, as well as working as a tour guide last summer at the Lost Sea, an underground lake tourist attraction located near Sweetwater.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit http://energy.gov/science.
