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Recognitions, April 15

The first half of April brings; five Goldwater Scholars to UT, ranking number one in the nation; eight UT students receive NSF Graduate Research Fellowships; a distinguished professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology receives more than $1.1 million in grants from the Army Research Office; two research projects selected to receive Engaged Scholarship Incentive Grants for fiscal year 2021; Tickle College of Engineering announces their 2020 Faculty and Staff Awards winners; and an interdisciplinary team from UT and the Firefighters Burn Center developed an app to meet recovery needs of burn center patients.

UT Number One in the Nation with Five Goldwater Scholars

UT Number One in the Nation with Five Goldwater Scholars – News

Five students have been named 2020–2021 Goldwater Scholars, ranking the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, first in the country for the prestigious award.

The Goldwater Scholarship Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor US Senator Barry M. Goldwater. The most prestigious undergraduate STEM scholarships in the United States, Goldwater Scholarships are awarded to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. The scholarships provide up to $7,500 annually to cover tuition, fees, books, and room and board. An estimated pool of more than 5,000 sophomores and juniors nationwide applied this year for the Goldwater.

Eight Students Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Eight UT students have been selected to be a part of the 2020 National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

The students receiving fellowships are:

  • Luke Blentlinger of Signal Mountain, Tennessee—Geography
  • Brittany N. Zepernick of Knoxville, Tennessee—Microbiology
  • Fleming, Jody “Morgan” of Clinton, Tennessee—Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • McCullough, Donna “Katie” of Ringgold, Georgia—Microbiology
  • Zachary Jerome of Knoxville, Tennessee—­Civil Engineering
  • Yaw Mensah of Antioch, Tennessee—Electrical Engineering
  • Alec Yen of Tullahoma, Tennessee—Electrical Engineering
  • Spencer McDonald of Knoxville, Tennessee—Aerospace Engineering

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, GRFP has a history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success academically and professionally.

Office of Research and Engagement Announces Incentive Grant Winners

Two research projects have been selected to receive Engaged Scholarship Incentive Grants for fiscal year 2021. The grants, totaling $8,000, are provided as part of UT’s commitment to engagement and the scholarship of academic outreach. These projects enhance the University of Tennessee’s public view of the campus research mission.Projects that emphasized collaboration across disciplines received priority consideration, as well as projects that demonstrate how the faculty scholarship efforts directly impact the local community.

Kristina Gordon, professor of psychology, in partnership with Mary Jane Moran, professor and department head in the Department of Child and Family Studies, and Cheryl Ball, vice president of operations for the Knox County Community Schools Initiative. Gordon’s project, “Evaluating the Implementation of Relationship Education in a Community School Setting” will pilot the delivery of the Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program (PREP).

Anthony Pellegrino, associate professor of education, in partnership with the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences’ Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education and Knox County Schools’ Social Studies Department. Pellegrino seeks to emphasize the use of primary sources to encourage historical thinking as a way to enrich social studies education in Knox County Schools.

Gavrilets Receives Army Research Grants

Sergey Gavrilets, a distinguished professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has received more than $1.1 million in grants from the Army Research Office for study into societal resilience using evolutionary models and theories of revolution.

Gavrilets’ research is funded by the Department of Defense’s Minerva Program, which attempts to predict future socio-political crises in the world and societies’ resilience to various political, economic, environmental, and health-related shocks.

By using new and improved modeling tools, analysts will be able to assess political stability risks, improving predictions and explanations for societal unrest.

Amid COVID-19 Concerns, App for Patient Support Adopted by Burn Center

Sad sleepless patient chatting with her phone

Treating patients with COVID-19 is severely taxing the US health-care system and already there are few hospital beds available to patients.

A mobile app developed by an interdisciplinary team of faculty members at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the medical director of the Firefighters Burn Center in Memphis, Tennessee, will be used to meet recovery needs of newly discharged patients from the burn center and burn patients being treated as outpatients.

By using this mobile app, patients can receive the recovery guidance they require without the need of in-person consultation at overburdened medical facilities.

TCE Announces 2020 Faculty & Staff Awards

Academic and administrative colleagues of the Tickle College of Engineering show appreciation for each other every day as a matter of course. Each spring, the college makes the highest of these acknowledgements official with the annual Faculty and Staff Awards.

The accolades are traditionally observed with a banquet gathering, but due to measures put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, that event has been rescheduled to the fall.

Be sure to visit the TCE website for a complete list of honorees.