The end of September brings; UT students win ASLA Student Honor Award; the UT Institute of Agriculture welcomes a new Assistant Dean of Extension; an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering receives two grants from the Department of Homeland Security; a UT Extension professional is honored with the National Master Gardener Distinguished Early Career Award; an associate department head in the Department of Psychology receives a research grant from the Department of Health and Human Services; a clinical psychology doctoral student receives a National Research Service Award (NRSA) from NIAAA of the National Institutes of Health (NIH); an associate professor in the Department of Psychology receives a national research grant funded by the New Schools Venture Fund.
Tennessee RiverLine Team Earns National Recognition for Community Engagement Program
A team with the Tennessee RiverLine has earned a national award from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). The team received an ASLA Student Honor Award recognizing the Tennessee RiverLine’s Pilot Community Program, a comprehensive communications and public engagement strategy in 2019-2020 that raised awareness of the Tennessee RiverLine vision and empowered the public as a critical participant in the vision’s development locally and regionally. It was the first immersive community engagement program conducted by the Tennessee RiverLine that brought together early supporters of the vision.
UTIA to Welcome New Assistant Dean of Extension
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture welcomes Janet Fox as assistant dean of UT Extension and head of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. Fox is currently serving as head of the Louisiana 4-H Youth Development Program, which serves more than 200,000 youth annually with award-winning, experiential programs.
Fox has almost fifteen years of experience as an administrator, supervising 16 professionals and co-supervising five regional administrators. She is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education and Evaluation where she teaches, advises graduate students and leads the undergraduate internship program.
Zhuravleva Awarded Two Grants from Department of Homeland Security
Mariya Zhuravleva, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, continues to establish herself as a foremost authority on scintillators and to cement the international reputation of the UTK Scintillation Materials Research Center as one of the leading scintillator research facilities in the world. In recognition of her recent work and capabilities, Zhuravleva has been awarded two new grants, totaling 4.8 million dollars, from the United States Department of Homeland Security.
Rutherford County’s Rachel Painter Garners National Honor
A University of Tennessee Extension professional has been recognized nationally for her work with local Master Gardeners. Rachel Painter, Master Gardener coordinator with UT-TSU Extension in Rutherford County, has been honored with the National Master Gardener Distinguished Early Career Award.
Over the past three years, Painter’s efforts have helped the volunteer retention rate increase from 30% in 2016 to close to 75% in 2019. She has also helped pioneer the use of new technologies in Rutherford County, including new outreach efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hardin, Gibbons Receive NIH Grant
Erin Hardin, along with her Co-PI Melinda Gibbons, received a research grant from the Department of Health and Human Services at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) titled “Imagining Possibilities in Post-Secondary Education and STEMM in Rural Appalachia.” The five-year, $1.26 million dollar grant builds on their prior NIH SEPA award for their PiPES Project. They will continue to partner with four high schools in rural East Tennessee (Monroe and Campbell counties), expanding their intervention from all 10th graders at these schools to all ninth and tenth graders, along with additional activities for 11th and 12th graders.
Garner Receives NIH Grant
Alisa Garner, a clinical psychology doctoral student who works with Greg Stuart, received a prestigious national three-year F31 National Research Service Award (NRSA) from NIAAA of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support her dissertation research titled “Extending a Risk-taking Model of Alcohol-facilitated Consensual and Sexually Coercive Hook-up Behaviors Using a Daily Diary Design among College Men.” The grant also includes funds for a stipend and tuition.
Buss Receives New Schools Ventures Grant
Aaron Buss received a national research grant funded by the New Schools Venture Fund with Richard Prather from the University of Maryland titled “Accurate, precise and useful models of the state learner.” The UT subcontract for 2020-21 is $57,000 for direct expenses.