UT Professor Zhili Zhang’s Need for Speed

Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it – unless you’re Zhili Zhang, Associate Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering.

The University of Tennessee professor built a career around laser diagnostics and optical imaging, research that enables the visualization and study of ultrafast processes.

The Office of Community Engagement and Outreach has announced the 2019 mini grant winners. The mini grants are awarded to projects that support engagement and outreach activities.

Soybeans exhibit symptoms of dicamba injury.  Photo by G. Rowsey, courtesy UTIA.

Higher temperatures and mixing glyphosate with dicamba lead to increased atmospheric concentrations of dicamba, according to scientists with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture.

Tom Mueller and Larry Steckel, both professors in the UT Department of Plant Sciences, examined dicamba measurements following an application to soil inside a humidome. The dicamba formulations examined were diglycolamine (Clarity) and diglycolamine + VaporGrip (XtendiMax). Both formulations were applied as a mixture with glyphosate (Roundup PowerMax), and XtendiMax was also applied alone. Applications were made across a range of temperatures and monitored for 60 hours. Researchers then used air samplers to collect dicamba from the atmosphere within the humidome.

A team of students from UT’s Tickle College of Engineering will soon put months of hard work to the test as they participate in NASA’s Mars Ice Challenge.

By being only one of nine teams chosen for the finals—and having made the last round for the third consecutive year—the team has already shown its expertise, but is aiming for more.