The middle of October brings; A team from CURENT wins a R&D 100 Award; a TCE researcher is named an Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Materials Synthesis Investigator; a TCE professor earns the 2020 Peter G. Hoadley Award for Outstanding Engineering Educator and the 2020 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award; a Graduate Research Assistant receives the ASPE Student Scholarship; a professor in the Department of Geography and an associate professor in the Department of Theory and Practice in Teacher Education receive a grant from NEH; an undergraduate student in the Department of Plant Sciences earns the Mendenhall Award from GCSAA.
CURENT, EECS Faculty Win R&D 100 Award, Finalist for Another
The R&D 100 awards are much like the Oscars, but for researchers: It’s an honor just to be nominated as a finalist. Two teams from UT recently had that honor, with one team also named a winner. A team from the Center for Ultra-Wide-Area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT) was chosen as a winner of a R&D 100 Award in the Software/Services category for their Large-scale Test Bed (LTB). Another team from the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) was honored as a R&D 100 Finalist in that same category for their Deep Convolutional Neural Network for N-1 (DCNNN).
Mandrus Selected for Prestigious Moore Investigator Award
Jerry and Kay Henry Endowed Professor David Mandrus plays a critical role in the leading edge of research exploring the properties of materials that help shape our world. Mandrus has been cited many thousands of times over for his part in advancing materials science and has earned several notable accolades.
In recognition of his work, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has named him an Emergent Phenomena in Quantum Systems Materials Synthesis Investigator, a prestigious honor that comes with $1.7 million in funding over five years.
Cox Wins Hoadley Award, State’s Highest ASCE Honor for Educators
Professor Chris Cox was recently honored by the state section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) with its highest recognition for an educator, the 2020 Peter G. Hoadley Award for Outstanding Engineering Educator. Cox also received the 2020 Outstanding Engineering Educator Award from the local Knoxville Branch of the ASCE.
The Hoadley award was instituted by the Tennessee Section of ASCE in 2004 for an engineering educator member of the Tennessee Section of ASCE who has made definite contributions to the education process and to the Society at the National, Section, and/or Branch levels.
Copenhaver Receives ASPE Scholarship
Graduate Research Assistant Ryan Copenhaver is a recipient of the American Society for Precision Engineering (ASPE) Student Scholarship. The scholarship includes a monetary gift, free registration to ASPE’s Virtual 35th Annual Meeting, and free registration for tutorials offered during the meeting.
Copenhaver’s research focuses on a custom chip breaking strategy called Modulated Tool Path (MTP), which ensures that discontinuous chips are generated in turning operations by superimposing sinusoidal oscillations in the feed direction of the cut. Specifically, his research involves predicting cutting stability using the input machining parameters, cutting force model, and structural dynamics.
Alderman, Kenna Receive Grant for NEH Initiative, “A More Perfect Union”
In preparation for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, the National Endowment for the Humanities put out a call for projects promoting a deeper understanding of American history and culture. The initiative, “A More Perfect Union,” provides funding opportunities for projects that advance civic education and knowledge of our core principles of government.
Derek Alderman and Joshua Kenna received a grant to host a three-week summer teacher institute in 2021 titled Geographic Mobility in the African American Freedom Struggle. The institute will provide 25 K-12 educators from across the US with an opportunity to participate in the NEH special initiative by exploring the history of the Civil Rights movement through geographic mobility—given that unfettered geographic mobility is a core democratic principle at the heart of the African American freedom struggle.
Plant Sciences Student Receives National Honor
The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) has presented the Mendenhall Award, the organization’s highest academic honor for undergraduate students, to Brinkley Mull, a senior in the Department of Plant Sciences. The accolade, a $6,000 scholarship, is bestowed upon a single exemplary undergraduate whose future plans include golf course management. No prior UT student has been a recipient.