April D. McMillan, Ph.D. serves as the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) National Director of STEM Programs and Manager of the Pilots & Program Development Department. She came to the BSA after a twenty-five-year career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as a biomedical scientist. April began her career at ORNL studying the oxidation kinetics of nuclear-grade graphite. Her broad interests in science led her to new pursuits in materials science, where she performed seminal research in the creation and properties of graphite foam – an important new material with some unique thermal, acoustic, and electrical properties. This research was an integral part of her graduate studies in Materials Science Engineering. Combining her undergraduate degree in biology with her materials science research, her work began to focus more on biomedical research, collaborating with major companies such as Zimmer, DePuy, and Johnson& Johnson, as well as in the national security arena. She holds 13 patents; has many publications; and has chaired national and international scientific meetings. Part of April’s time at ORNL was in the Laboratory Director’s office where, among other duties, April was in charge of outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and managed the Joint Faculty Program. Another favorite volunteer activity was to mentor high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in research programs at ORNL.
April’s volunteer service to the BSA includes serving as the Advisor for Venturing Crew 0101 at the L&N STEM Academy in Knoxville; serving as faculty at the Philmont Training Center, the Florida Sea Base, and the Summit Bechtel Reserve; and staffing the 2013 National Jamboree. Prior to joining the BSA as a professional, she served as a member and co-chair of the BSA’s National STEM Committee. In 2013, April led the successful inaugural STEM Trek at Philmont Scout Ranch. April currently serves on the executive board of the Great Smoky Mountain Council as the STEM Nova Chair, has served as staff for Wood Badge and Powder Horn, and was awarded the Silver Beaver for her outstanding volunteer work in Scouting prior to becoming a professional.
