The DBEI is a multi-disciplinary research unit housed within the College of Architecture and Design. Faculty associated with each project and the CoAD Assoc. Dean of Academic Affairs and Research govern the initiative.

Faculty

College of Architecture and Design, School of Architecture, Depts. of Interior Design and Landscape Architecture: Tricia Stuth, AIA, Assoc. Professor; Robert French, RA, Asst. Professor; Richard Kelso, PE, PhD, Professor Emeritus; Samuel Mortimer, Lecturer; Valerie Friedmann, Lecturer, David Matthews, Professor and Chair, ID; John McRae FAIA, Professor; Avigail Sachs, PhD , Asst Professor; Ted Shelton, FAIA, Assoc. Professor; Scott Wall, Professor and Director, Architecture; James Rose,

AIA, Senior Lecturer; Matt Culver, Lecturer; George Dodds, PhD, Professor and Assoc. Dean of Academic Affairs and Research; Florence Graves, Business Manager

College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources, Dept. of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, John R. Buchanan, PhD, P. E., Dept. of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and Extension Specialist – Wood Products;  Associate Professor; Adam Taylor, PhD, Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Landscape Design, Brad Collett, ASLA, RLA, LEED AP, Asst. Professor and Int. Chair

College of Nursing (CoN), Susan Speraw PhD, RN, Assoc. Professor; Moriah McArthur, Clinical Instructor, Global Disaster

Nursing Program, Mary Nypaver, PhD, RN, Clinical Asst. Professor

College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical, Aeronautical and Biomedical Engineering: W. Miller, PhD, PE, (joint appts. w/ CoAD and ORNL Building Technology Center); Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Richard Bennett, PhD, P.E., Professor; Jennifer Retherford, PhD, P.E., Lecturer

ORNL Building Technology Center: W. Miller, PhD, PE, Tony Gehl, PE and UT Extension: Tim Cross, PhD, Dean

Mission

The mission of this initiative is to: design, build, and evaluate works of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture that achieve the highest level of design excellence, environmental performance, and social responsibility; create a mechanism for disciplinary, professional, and industry collaboration essential to sustainable design research and funding; and integrate teams focused on the theorization, simulation, construction, data collection, and dissemination of findings for each built work.

Objectives

•      to design and build in the most environmentally progressive manner possible

•      to use completed works to measure, test, and evaluate building system performance

•      to assess the quality, experience and demands of living in designed environments as they pertain to health, wellness, and cultural relevance

•      to disseminate key data to demonstrate the value and impact Design | Build | Evaluate initiatives hold for sustainable design research, public policy reform, experience-based education, and community engagement.

Projects

New Norris House, Phase IV: Demonstration, Testing, Evaluation and Dissemination

(4) Co-PI’s: Architecture, COAD: R. French, RA; T. Stuth, AIA; Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science, CASNR: J. Buchanan, PhD, P. E., Assoc. Professor; CoAD: R. Kelso, PhD, PE, S. Mortimer, Assoc. AIA, V. Friedmann, Ass. ASLA ; CoE/CoAD/ORNL MABE, W. Miller; ORNL Building Technology Center in-kind support: T.Gehl

Supports: (2) u/grad summer research internships 2011 (2) grad. assts. FY2011-12; (1) Research Project Manager (2) summer grad. students w/ funded activities 02-06/2012; (1) grad. asst.(1).5 Research Project Manager, FY2012–13. NNH is critical to providing the first evidence of measured, building performance following design | build, and essential to demonstrating UTK’s and the DBEI’s capacity for grant-making and development funding to support future design | build | evaluate projects focused on sustainable, high performance buildings and environments and their human impact.

Haiti School (Phase I) and Dormitory (Phase II):

(2) Co-PI’s Architecture and Interior Design: J. McRae, FAIA; D. Matthews, Chair, I.D.; Joleen Darragh, March, Research Editor, CoAD; and collaborators w/ CoN, S. Speraw, PhD, RN, and M. McArthur, MSc.

Design, construction support, and testing/evaluation of the architecture and landscape in connection with a secondary school campus in Fond-des-Blancs. Research on Haiti’s renewed focus on replicable models for decentralization and study of the built environment’s impact on society, health and the environment. Extension of UTK work to global audiences.

Green Oak as a Sustainable Building Material

(2) Co-Pi’s A. Taylor, UT Institute of Agriculture Center for Renewable Carbon and  T. Shelton, CoAD (1) Undergraduate Research Student (Forestry) funded. EPA P3 grant (if awarded) will add R. Bennett, PhD, P.E., Professor; J. Retherford, PhD, P.E., Lecturer, CoE; and T. Cross, PhD, Dean, UT Extension and (1) funded GA (CoAD) to the team. Research investigates the use of white oak cants as a regionally abundant, low-energy structural material. The goal is to develop a viable system for construction and prove it through design|build and testing. US codes do not currently address or permit this material.

Casa de Sara: Pre-design

(2) Co-PI’s R. French , T. Shelton; professional collaborator: C. Piñilla (native Bolivian and Knoxville architect, UTK BArch) Completed: Preliminary design of the architecture and landscape in connection with a primary school in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Contact:

Tricia Stuth, AIA

Assoc. Professor, School of Architecture

Phone: 865.974.3238

Email: tstuth@utk.edu

Category: Architecture

Tags: Architecture, Building Performance, Structural Design

The University of Tennessee Humanities Center Knoxville was chartered in July of 2012 as a Center within the College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Thomas J. Heffernan was asked to be the Center’s Director. Dedicated to facilitating and improving research opportunities in humanities disciplines, this new program demonstrates the university’s significant commitment to and support of the humanities. Starting in academic year 2012–13, our first full term of operation, the center welcomed four faculty research fellows from the UT Knoxville faculty and two dissertation completion fellowships to UT Knoxville graduate students. The fellows are selected in a competition vetted by distinguished faculty from outside the University. Those who receive the fellowships are resident in the Center for the academic year following the receipt of their application.

The center will offer its fellows amenities for sustained research similar to those they might enjoy at the National Humanities Center. The center will have its own suite with offices for a director and support staff, individual offices for the fellows, a seminar room, a lecture room, and a common room. The goal of the Center is to provide a space conducive to completing the research projects spelled out in the fellows’ applications. In addition to those competitive fellowships offered by the Humanities Center the Center also extends a working office to all those faculty and advanced graduate students who are the recipients of National Fellowships.

The period of residence for all the center’s fellows is a full academic year. We expect all successful applicants to be in residence in the center during their tenure, as well as to participate in weekly meetings of the fellows. During the year, both faculty and graduate-student fellows will be encouraged to join one of the ongoing faculty seminars appropriate to their research topic. Both faculty and graduate fellows will be expected to make a public presentation of some portion of their current work. It is the expressed goal of the Humanities Center to enrich research in the Humanities on this campus and to increase the  number of external fellowships in the Humanities.

Contact

Dr. Thomas J. Heffernan, PhD (Cantab), LHD

The Kenneth Curry Professor in the Humanities
Departments of English and Religious Studies
Program in Medieval Studies
1111 McClung Tower
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-0430
Phone:  (865) 974-6968

Email: humanitiesctr@utk.edu

Website: http://uthumanitiesctr.utk.edu/default.html

Dr. Tami H Wyatt, PhD, RN, CNE, ANEF, Co-Director of the HITS lab, is an Associate Professor and Chair of Educational Technology and Simulation at the College of Nursing. She has twenty-five years experience as a registered nurse, fifteen years of experience in higher education, and ten years of experience as an instructional designer. Dr. Wyatt has a funded research path in health information technology and expertise in simulation. She has worked with Dr. Li for over four years on health information technology research projects.

Dr. Xueping Li, PhD, Co-Director of the HITS lab, is an Associate Professor and Director of the Ideation Laboratory (iLab) at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at COE. Dr. Li has expertise in complex systems modeling, simulation, scheduling, and optimization, information systems analysis and design, and healthcare. Drs. Li and Wyatt, along with two other business partners, own a small business company, Academic Technology Innovations, which recently sold a health related software application they developed to an international publishing company. The software, Lippincott’s DocuCare, was globally released in July 2012 and is currently used by more than 130 universities with about 10,000 units. The University of Tennessee maintains rights to use and test the software, which is one project currently underway in the HITS lab.

Mr. Tom Berg, Program Director of Partnerships and Technology Transfer, Y-12 National Security Complex is a representative of the Y-12 National Security Complex. Mr. Berg will assist in coordinating varied technology projects associated with Y-12 while providing appropriate Y-12 resources. His involvement is essential as a representative of future collaborative work. Dr. Li currently has an ongoing Y-12 PDRD project with Mr. Berg to simulate and optimize the workflow in Y-12 Occupational Health System (OHS).

Ms. Susan Fancher joins our team March 1, 2013 as the HITS simulation coordinator. Ms. Fancher has experience in simulation training from Indiana University, which is well known for their innovative and progressive teaching programs. Ms. Fancher has experience in grant writing and currently holds four patents with colleagues at Indiana University. Her presence will be a great asset to our team because of her experience in simulation and interests in advancing health information technology.

What We Do

The Health Information Technology and Simulation Laboratory (HITS Lab), an organized research unit at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was founded December 2011. The overall goal of the HITS lab is to advance the science of health information technology and examine ways HITS enhances consumer health and professional health education. This interprofessional ORU brings together the expertise of engineers and nurses to test technology, human computer interaction, and generate knowledge in health information technology. The ongoing efforts and the goals of the HITS lab through FY13 (June 2013), are to establish groundwork for a facility, future collaborations on fundable projects, and purchase required testing equipment for the HITS lab.

This interprofessional ORU is a joint endeavor between the College of Nursing (CON) and the College of Engineering (COE). The Co-Directors, Drs. Wyatt and Li, share a long term goal of developing a federally funded HITS Center, which is possible with the growth and expansion of this ORU. In concert with the growth of this ORU, the Dean of the CON has secured university space to expand simulation learning. Approximately 7,000 square feet of space is being renovated to become a state of the art simulation facility with embedded technology to support testing and technology development. The Development Officers for CON and COE are both actively seeking funding to furnish the HITS lab. The facility, scheduled to open in summer 2013, has a twofold purpose: 1) promote active simulated learning in nursing, engineering, social work and pharmacy students, and 2) be a development and testing facility for health information technology. The Deans of CON and COE endorse this collaborative work and the expansion of this ORU.

Contact

Dr. Tami Wyatt
co-Director of HITS Laboratory
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
College of Nursing
1200 Blvd., Room 239
Knoxville, TN 37996-4180
Phone: 865 974 6804
Email: twyatt@utk.edu

Website: http://ilab.engr.utk.edu/hits/

The faculty and staff that make up CURENT envision a nation-wide or continent-wide transmission grid that is fully monitored and dynamically controlled in real-time for high efficiency, high reliability, low cost, better accommodation of renewable energy sources, full utilization of energy storage, and accommodation of responsive load. The center also incorporates resources into educating a new generation of electric power and energy systems engineering leaders with global perspectives and diverse backgrounds.

Research

Perhaps the most important technical challenge facing our nation over the next several decades is how to address societal energy needs without heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Electric power system transmission infrastructure must play a critical role in any viable solution.

Research at CURENT focuses on:

• Developing new technologies to utilize advancements in power grid wide-area measurement and communication to allow coordinated action on a continental ultra-wide scale.
• Redesigning the control and information structure so it is less hierarchical and can replace, at all levels of the power grid, traditional inflexible operations strategies and facilitate the integration of intermittent renewables.
• Drawing on today’s high performance computing capability to realize large scale and faster than real-time dynamic simulation for predictive control (and fast response) to ensure secure and reliable operation.
• Allowing full use of generation and transmission assets across the interconnected system by incorporating high speed power electronics based controllers.
• Developing advanced power electronic interfaces with wind and solar farms and bulk energy storage and associated controls for high penetration of renewable resources.

Industry & Innovation

Industrial Partners are integral to CURENT’s research program. The center links engineering research to technological innovation through sustained partnerships with industry. This close collaboration helps stimulate technology transfer into commercial products and start-up companies.

Selected Industrial Partnership representatives serve as members of the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) that advises the center on strategic plans, research projects, research implementation, annual funding, and other resource allocations for CURENT and its research thrusts.

Education

Faculty and staff in CURENT also work to create and facilitate educational programs that aim to fulfill the following goals:

• Attract and retain diverse students to engineering.
• Construct an education infrastructure that will train a new interdisciplinary, creative, and adaptable generation of engineers.
• Inspire pre-college and university students to pursue an engineering career.

The center offers several programs for both pre-college and university students:

Pre-college Program

• Research Experience for Teachers (RET)
• Young Scholars Program (for high school students)
• Middle and high school summer programs
• Science Night events
• Lab tours and field trips

University Program

• Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

- 8-week summer program, or
- Academic year program

• Undergraduate concentration
• Senior research projects
• Graduate certificate and fellowships
• Student Leadership Council

Contact

Adam Hardebeck, Communication Specialist
CURENT
University of Tennessee
555 Min H. Kao Building
1520 Middle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996

Phone: (865) 974-9707
Email: info@curent.utk.edu
Website: http://curent.utk.edu/

Faculty and their Research Interests

Dr. Paul Ashdown, Professor
Historical research on media coverage of events; journalism as literature

Dr. Ben Bates, Professor
Evolution of information/media systems and role of 
economics, policy, and technology in shaping development; media/information economics and policy; social impact of media/information systems; social and economic impacts of intellectual property rights policy

Dr. Ed Caudill, Professor
Connection between the history of ideas in the press and in the public; coverage of science in the press

Dr. Peter Gross, Director/Professor
International and comparative mass communication, media, and journalism; media and development, transition, and transformation; politics and media; media ethics; U.S. media history; censorship and press freedom; media and foreign affairs; international information and communication law and policy; foreign- language/ethnic media in the United States and in East Central and Southeast Europe

Dr. Mark Harmon, Associate Professor
Local and national news; political communication

Rob Heller, Professor
Visual arts

Dr. Elizabeth Hendrickson, Assistant Professor
Social media cultivation, media adoption of new technology, and the organizational communication systems found within various mediums

Bonnie Hufford, Instructor
Media education on the high school level

Barbara Kaye, Professor
Uses of communication technology from an audience perspective; offensive language on television

Bob Legg, Associate Professor
Technology of television production; mass communication education

Kelly Leiter, Professor and Dean Emeritus

Mark Littmann, Professor and Hill Chair of Excellence in Science Writing
Writing for the general public about science (especially astronomy); history of science; science writing as literature

Catherine Luther, Associate Professor and Associate Dean
Coverage of social movements nationally and internationally; impact of news

Barbara Moore, Professor
Historical and legal research involving entertainment and news content of television and radio

Amber Roessner, Assistant Professor
History of (sports) media and its intersection with American culture and collective memory; Race, class, gender & the mass media; Critical & cultural studies

James Glen Stovall, Edward J. Meeman Distinguished Professor
Writing for the mass media; web journalism; survey research

Sam Swan, Director of Internationalization and Outreach and Professor
Media management issues; comparison of international media systems

Dwight L. Teeter, Jr., Professor
Legal and historical study of First Amendment rights and the role of the media

Erin Whiteside, Assistant Professor
Sports media; Cultural studies; Feminist theory; Media diversity, sexuality, and gender

Michael O. Wirth, Professor and Dean
Media and telecommunication economics, management, law and policy

JEM Lecturers

J.E. Bumpus, Allyson Devito, Richard Dodson, Dr. Maria Fontenot, Lisa Gary, Jennifer Koella, Ben McWhorter, Syrenthia Robinson, John Shearer, Hubert Smith, D. Renee Smith, Georgiana Vines, Chris Wohlwend

JEM Staff

Deborah Douglas
Bennett Smith, Manager, WUTK-FM
Margaret Cate Grigsby, Website editor

Contact Us

Dr. Peter Gross, Director
School of Journalism and Electronic Media
College of Communication 
and Information
The University of Tennessee
333 Communications Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-0333

Phone: (865) 974-5155

E-mail: pgross@utk.edu

Website: http://www.cci.utk.edu/jem

• Retail and Consumer Sciences
• Restaurant and Food Service Management
• Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism
• Service Management Core

Three concentrations are offered as minors in the RHTM Department: Retail and Consumer Sciences, Restaurant and Food Service Management, and Tourism and Hospitality Management.

Research opportunities are available due to the high level of research productivity in the department. Graduate students are afforded the opportunity to become well-rounded researchers via coursework, special projects, and experience as research assistants. Industry partnerships with many corporate headquarters of leading retailers located in the Knoxville metro area add to the graduate experience. The program offers the opportunity to work on industry-related projects through the Institute for Service Excellence and the UT Tourism Institute.

The Tourism Institute

The Tourism Institute’s mission parallels the RHTM Department’s mission of being the leading provider of hospitality and tourism education, research and economic development in the state. The Tourism Institute seeks to fulfill this mission by partnering with communities to provide education, research, technical, and cultural support to increase the livability of Tennessee communities, and partnering with industry and government to improve the quality of the workplace and to serve as an engine for economic and cultural development.

The Culinary Institute

A career in the Culinary Arts offers the opportunity to be an important part of the country’s fastest growing industry – Hospitality. The food service industry is setting increasingly high standards for its employees. The culinary training curriculum at the Culinary Institute at the University of Tennessee is geared to provide the skills and talents necessary to be a culinarian of significant value in this exciting industry. This certificate program provides the nationally reputed Servsafe Food Service sanitation certificate upon completion of the program. The faculty is comprised of American Culinary Federation certified chefs, all of whom are still working in the industry. The cooking laboratory is actually a full-service restaurant kitchen. The current experience of the teachers, combined with the professional environment of the workplace, will provide all the tools to be successful in the food service business.

Faculty

Department Head

Ann Fairhurst, Professor and Head

Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism

Dean Aaser, Internship Coordinator
Rachel Chen, Associate Professor
Carol Costello, Professor
Wanda Costen, Assistant Professor
Steve Morse, Associate Professor

Retail and Consumer Sciences

Ann Fairhurst, Professor
Youn-Kyung Kim, Professor
Hee-Jin Lim, Assistant Professor
Coleman Piper, Executive-in-Residence
Rodney Runyan, Assistant Professor
Lucy Simpson, RCS Internship Coordinator

RHTM Support Staff

Marcia Johnson, Administrative Specialist I
Judy Loveday, Administrative Specialist II
Pat Shireman, Accounting Specialist III

Contact

Ann Fairhurst, Professor and Interim Department Head
Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management
College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences
The University of Tennessee
1215 W. Cumberland Ave.
110 Jessie Harris Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-1911

Phone: (865) 974-6614
Email: fairhurs@utk.edu
Website: http://csm.utk.edu/

The Center for Enhancing Education in Mathematics and Sciences (CEEMS) was established in 2010 to serve as the organizational unit for projects related to mathematics and science education and the discovery of new strategies that generate effective STEM education in the P-16 arena. CEEMS serves as an interdisciplinary base for the development of proposals to secure external funding for STEM education projects. The intention of the Center is to use these funds not only to prepare effective P-12 STEM teachers, but also to identify, implement, and evaluate the efficacy of novel training strategies and lesson plans that serve the goals of P-16 education in the State of Tennessee.

As a first step to achieving these outcomes, the Center was established to form a collaborative unit between the Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CA&S) and Education, Health, and Human Sciences (CEHHS) to strengthen STEM education in P-16 settings and to secure external funding for innovative STEM teacher preparation programs. Over time, CEEMS will broaden its partnerships and become connected with other units on campus that have a compatible mission, such as National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the College of Engineering, and the Tennessee Solar Conversion and Storage Using Outreach, Research and Education (TN-SCORE).

The University has made a substantial facilities investment in CEEMS because of its initial successes and critical role in assisting the federally-funded effort, First to the Top, to improve P-12 education in the Tennessee. Underway are future plans to engage in First to the Top STEM-related opportunities, such a collaboration with Knox County Schools in the development and implementation of the STEM Academy; develop a STEM hub in this region of the state; strengthen our partnerships with local education agencies; and expand the development and dissemination of the Biology in a Box program. Currently, Biology in a Box materials and lesson plan sets are in use by over 80 local education agencies throughout Tennessee. Teachers and students alike report great satisfaction in using these materials that enable students to engage in hands-on, problem-based learning. Another STEM education proposal focuses on the use of wetlands as a part of an elementary-level science program.

Two external awards which support STEM teacher preparation programs include VolsTeach, a replication of the UTeach model of STEM teacher preparation established at the University of Texas, and Teach/Here, based upon an urban teacher residency model for post-baccalaureate STEM majors. The hope is that this project will do much to attract, prepare, and retain the services of superbly qualified high school math and science teachers in high-need urban and rural schools. Future funding would allow for support of outreach activities, scholarship support and professional development following their placement in high-needs schools, as well as the development of a research methods course and seminar series that will help prepare all VolsTeach program students for engaging their future students in STEM inquiry.

CEEMS goals for the next five years include:

• To submit a minimum of one proposal per year to support STEM teacher preparation and the study of effective and innovative educational strategies.
• To partner with the College of Engineering to develop a minimum of one proposal per year that involves engineering in STEM teacher preparation that emphasizes the application of scientific and mathematical knowledge.
• To identify one or more sources from which to secure funds to expand and research the efficacy of the Biology in a Box program.
• To develop and maintain effective communications with project officers of potential funding sources.
• To provide a source of outreach partners for UTK STEM faculty seeking such affiliations for their research proposals.

Faculty and Staff

Susan Benner, Co-Director, CEEMS

Susan Riechert, Co-Director, CEEMS

Dianna Beeler, Accounting Specialist

Joanie Winborne, Administrative Assistant

College of Arts & Sciences

Chuck Collins, Math Education

Suzanne Lenhart, Math Education

Joan Lind, Math Education

Ted Labotka, Earth and Planetary Sciences

Beth Mullin, Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology

Jon Levin, Physics

Stu Elston, Physics

RJ Hinde, Assistant Dean CA&S, Chemistry

Jeff Kovac, Chemistry

Beth Schussler, Director of Biology Teaching and Learning, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

College of Education, Health and Human Sciences

Mehmet Aydeniz, Science Education

Kristin Rearden, Science Education

Patty Stinger-Barnes, Science Education

JoAnn Cady, Math Education

Lynn Hodge, Math Education

Susan Newsom, Assistant Director, VolsTeach

Nita Ganguly, Science Master Teacher

Theresa Hopkins, Math Master Teacher

Geri Landry, Math Education

Jada Johnson, Advisor/Recruiter, VolsTeach

Contact

Susan Benner, Co-Director, CEEMS
Director, Graduate School of Education
Associate Dean for Professional Licensure
Professor, Theory & Practice in Teacher Education
College of Education, Health & Human Sciences
The University of Tennessee
335 Claxton Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, TN 37996-3400

Phone: (865) 974-9598
Email: sbenner@utk.edu
Website: http://web.utk.edu/~tpte/faculty/sbenner.html

Susan Riechert, Co-Director, CEEMS
Distinguished Service Professor,
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
College of Arts & Sciences
The University of Tennessee
569 Dabney Hall
Knoxville TN 37996-1610

Phone: (865) 974-6187
Email: sriecher@utk.edu
Website: http://eeb.bio.utk.edu/riechert/riechert.htm
Biology in a Box Project: http://eeb.bio.utk.edu/biologyinbox/

Public health practitioners use population-based approaches to prevent disease, injury, and disability and to improve the health of people and their communities. These approaches include: assessing health risks, providing education and encouraging healthier lifestyles, developing health policies to protect the community, and assuring that needed services are available. Notably, research indicates that public health action strategies have been responsible for increasing average life expectancy by 25 years over the past century. Additionally, it has been shown that 70% of premature deaths in the United States are preventable by attention to behavioral choices and environmental stressors. Public health practitioners and agencies also reach out to those high-risk individuals and groups who do not have access to primary care in order to assure that services are available when needed.

The Department of Public Health fosters the development of pre-professional competencies of those with career interests in the disciplines of health, education, public health, or safety. The faculty is committed to research, scholarship, and creative work that results in superior teaching and in service to the community and to the professions.

Departmental Affiliations

• Center for Public Health
• Center for the Study of Youth and Political Violence
• Howard Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy
• Knox County Health Department
• Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU)
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
• University of Tennessee Medical Center
• University of Tennessee Obesity Research Center

Center for Public Health

The Center for Public Health (CPH) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville was established in the fall of 2007 to establish a more comprehensive public health academic environment through expanded teaching, research, and service collaborative opportunities. These efforts build on the existing Master of Public Health program, including the dual MS-MPH in Public Health Nutrition and the combined DVM-MPH within the College of Veterinary Medicine. The Center will coordinate public health-related academic units on campus by creating and facilitating multidisciplinary opportunities which link numerous Colleges and Institutions across campus, the local and regional health departments, and communities throughout the area.

Faculty

Denise Bates, Assistant Professor
Jiangang Chen, Assistant Professor
Paul Campbell Erwin, Professor and Department Head
June D. Gorski, Professor
Charles B. Hamilton, Professor and MPH Program Director
Margaret Knight, Assistant Professor
Clea McNeely, Assistant Professor
Gregory C. Petty, Professor
Paul Terry, Associate Professor

Staff

Debra Butenko, Administrative Support Assistant III
Victoria Mills, Research Specialist II
Fletcher Njororai, Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Judy Reed, Administrative Support Assistant III
Wendy Smith, Administrative Support Assistant III

Contact

Paul Campbell Erwin, Professor and Department Head
Department of Public Health
The University of Tennessee
1914 Andy Holt Ave.
390 HPER
Knoxville, TN 37996

Phone: (865) 974-5041

Email: perwin@utk.edu

Website: http://publichealth.utk.edu/

• Nutrition Science: how the body uses nutrients at the cellular level and in the whole body system plus food and nutrient needs throughout the life cycle in both health and disease states.
• Psychology and Community Nutrition: the influence of attitudes, knowledge and beliefs on food consumption patterns among individuals and groups.
• Communication: the ability to critically evaluate nutrition information and effectively communicate nutrition information to other healthcare professionals, administrators, and the general public.
• Effective Management of Food Service Delivery: foods principles, management, and foodservice operations.
• Careers and Professional Issues: the roles of nutrition professionals in a variety of practice settings.

This program is approved by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) as a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD). Therefore, successful completion of the Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition qualifies you for a verification statement from the program director and makes you eligible to apply for CADE-accredited dietetic internships. Registered Dietitians apply the science of nutrition by utilizing nutrition knowledge to promote health and/or treat disease in hospitals, clinics, community settings, private consulting practices, sports nutrition and corporate wellness programs, newspapers and magazines, food and nutrition-related businesses and industry, pharmaceutical companies, and more. Most of these settings require the R.D. credential for employment. As an alternative to pursuing the R.D. credential, our undergraduate nutrition curriculum also provides an outstanding foundation for pursuing careers in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and other biomedical sciences, as well as graduate study and research careers in nutrition and related areas.

Research, Evaluation and Outreach

The Department of Nutrition has developed many continuing education programs and tools, including the “Promoting Healthy Weight Colloquium”, which will focus on the Bright Futures developmental stage of middle childhood (ages 5-10 years), including nutrition, physical activity, and parenting.

Cultural Competence

Cultural competence can be defined as a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system/agency, or among individuals that enables that system/agency or individuals to work effectively in a cross-cultural situation. The Department of Nutrition is committed to promoting its own organizational cultural competence and that of its students, alumni, faculty, and staff at the individual level.

Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory (HEAL)

Under the direction of Dr. Hollie Raynor, the Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory (HEAL) at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville conducts research on factors, predominantly dietary, that impact on eating regulation and energy balance that can be used to improve behavioral obesity prevention and treatment programs for children and adults. The primary objectives of HEAL, through our program of scientific research, are the following:

• Expand our knowledge of the factors, predominantly food related, that impact on satiation.
• Explore the relationship between eating and leisure-time behaviors to better understand factors that impact on energy balance.
• Develop innovative and effective treatments for children and adults that lead to eating and activity habits that meet current recommendations.
• Improve the effect of state-of-the-art behavioral interventions on weight gain prevention, weight loss, and weight loss maintenance in children and adults.
• Provide training to students interested in applied obesity research.

Infant, Child, and Adolescent Nutrition (ICAN) Laboratory

The Infant, Child, and Adolescent Nutrition (ICAN) Laboratory at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville conducts nutrition research involving children from birth through adolescence as well as pregnant women and mothers.

Faculty

Cellular Molecular Nutrition

Guoxun Chen, Assistant Professor
Jason Collier, Assistant Professor
Jay Whelan, Professor and Department Head
Michael Zemel, Professor
Ling Zhao, Assistant Professor

Public Health Nutrition

Melissa Hansen-Petrik, Research Assistant Professor
Betsy Haughton, Professor
Katie Kavanagh, Assistant Professor
Hollie Raynor, Associate Professor
Marsha Spence, Research Assistant Professor

Staff

Julia Gouffon, Director, Affymetrix Center
Karen Wetherall, DI Director

Contact

Jay Whelan, Professor and Department Head
Department of Nutrition
The University of Tennessee
1215 W. Cumberland Ave.
229 Jessie Harris Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-1920

Phone: (865) 974-6260
Email: jwhelan@utk.edu

Website: http://nutrition.utk.edu/

Research Laboratories

Applied Exercise Physiology Laboratory

The Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies’ Applied Physiology Laboratory houses equipment available for graded, maximal testing, as well as equipment used for fieldwork, biochemical assays, muscle fiber analysis and body composition assessment.

Applied Sport Psychology Lab

The Applied Sport Psychology Laboratory provides a space for research focused in applied sport psychology, specifically (but not limited to): sport psychology service use, coaching effectiveness, social psychological experiences of female athletes, body image in sport, and cultural sport psychology. In addition, faculty connected with the lab conduct individual performance consultations and/or workshops, graduate student supervision of consultations, and teaching performance consulting skills and strategies to graduate students.

Biomechanics Laboratory

The Biomechanics/Sports Medicine Laboratory at The University of Tennessee is housed in a facility of 3,000 square foot for subject preparation, warmup, and testing, data processing and analysis, and teaching in biomechanics. The actual lab area is petitioned into several designated areas for (1) a main data collection area that features a 9-camera high-speed motion capture system mounted on adjustable (vertically and horizontally) rails and three force platforms mounted on a mounting structure flexible adjustment of the force platforms’ positions to accommodate a variety of data collection needs; (2) a secondary data collection area featuring a 6-camera high-speed motion capture system mounted on adjustable tripods around a treadmill and unweighing system ; (3) a balance testing area; (4) an isokinetic testing area; (5) an in-house computer lab with six networked PC computers; (6) 3 office partitions for graduate students; (7) a large and a small storage area for equipment and testing products. Current research projects in the lab focus on the biomechanics of athletic footwear and medical orthoses, lower extremity loading during dynamic movements, lower extremity injury mechanisms and prevention, gait mechanics following total joint replacement, and gait retraining using real-time feedback. The lab is capable of evaluating and analyzing gait, footwear and medical orthoses, locomotion and sports techniques, and other aspects of biomechanics.

Motor Behavior Laboratory

The focus of the Motor Behavior Laboratory is directed towards identifying and understanding the factors that mediate motor performance, the learning of motor skills, and the control of goal-directed actions. Research is conducted to test hypotheses, develop theory-based knowledge that applies to practical settings, and solve practical problems related to goal-directed actions and skills.

Faculty

The research interests of each faculty member can be found on their individual webpage within the online departmental directory.

David R. Bassett, Jr., Professor: Exercise Physiology
James Bemiller, Associate Professor: Sport Management
Dawn P. Coe, Assistant Professor
: Exercise Physiology
Joy T. DeSensi, Professor and Associate Dean of the 
Graduate School: Socio-Cultural Studies and Sport Management
Lars Dzikus, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies: Socio-Cultural Studies
Jeffrey Fairbrother, Associate Professor and Interim Department Head: Motor Behavior
Leslee A. Fisher, Associate Professor: Sport Psychology
Gene Fitzhugh, Associate Professor: Physical Activity Epidemiology
Rob Hardin, Associate Professor: Sport Management
Gene Hayes, Professor: Therapeutic Recreation
Sarah J. Hillyer, Clinical Assistant Professor: Socio-Cultural Studies; Director of the Center for Sport, Peace, & Society
Ashleigh M. Huffman, Clinical Assistant Professor: Socio-Cultural Studies; Assistant Director of the Center for Sport, Peace, & Society
Clare Milner, Associate Professor: Biomechanics
Fritz G. Polite, Clinical Assistant Professor: Sport Management
Dixie Thompson, Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs: Exercise Physiology
Sylvia Trendafilova, Assistant Professor: Sport Management
Steven Waller, Associate Professor: Recreation and
Sport Management
Angela Wozencroft, Assistant Professor: Therapeutic Recreation
Rebecca A. Zakrajsek, Assistant Professor: Sport Psychology
Songning Zhang, Associate Professor: Biomechanics

Coordinators and Professional Staff

Larry Y. Brown, Internship Coordinator
Emile Catignani, Physical Education Activity Program (PEAP) Coordinator
Margy Wirtz-Henry, Faculty Associate and Admissions Coordinator
Lynnetta Holbrook, Administrative Supervisor III
Pamela Andrews, Senior Research Assistant

Department Support Staff

Sarah Bicknell, Administrative Support Assistant III
Jane Johns, Administrative Support Assistant III

Contact

Jeffrey Fairbrother, Associate Professor and Interim Department Head
Department of Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies
The University of Tennessee
1914 Andy Holt Ave.
322 HPER Bldg.
Knoxville, TN 37996-2700
Phone: (865) 974-3616

Email: jfairbr1@utk.edu

Website: http://web.utk.edu/~sals/