Wehr wins national award

Odessa High School science teacher Jeff Wehr has added yet another accolade to his impressive resume. He is one of only five recipients in the nation of the Siemens Founders Award.

This award is given in recognition of an individual or school for encouraging students to participate in math, science or technology research programs and efforts to provide the necessary support consistent with Siemens Foundation mission of enhancing math and science in American high schools. Only five educators are selected from across the United States each year. The Siemens Founders Award is given in honor of Albert Hoser, founder and chairman emeritus of the Siemens Foundation.

The Siemens STEM Academy provides an all-expenses paid trip to Washington D.C., presenting the award during a black-tie ceremony at George Washington University. Wehr and his wife Julie Wehr will attend the ceremony at which he will receive this national honor.

Along with this honor, the Siemens Foundation provides an opportunity to participate in a hands-on summer research immersion program at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee this summer (STARs program). The STARs program is a two-week professional development course designed to empower teachers to bring the excitement of authentic research into the classroom and inspire students to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.

Working in small groups, teachers will collaborate with ORNL scientific teams to conduct individually designed research projects that will give them real-world experience to bring back to their classrooms. This immersion into authentic research, professional scientific collaboration and educational enhancements will provide insight, resources and scientific contacts to the participating teachers.

Thousands of educators apply to attend this elite research retreat, yet only twenty are selected each summer. Having been selected for the Siemens Founders Award, Wehr has automatically been accepted into the STARs program this summer along with the other four Siemens Founders Award recipients.