The week of Halloween brings; UT Alumna named Tennessee Teacher of the Year; psychology professor honored with lifetime achievement award; recent UT graduate wins Global Undergraduate Award; veterinary cardiologist receives national award; MABE associate professor named ASME fellow; EECS student is top fellowship/scholarship student in computer science; UT student awarded the 2020 University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Award for Extraordinary Professional Promise in Research.
Alumna Named Tennessee Teacher of the Year
Kami Lunsford, a 2006 University of Tennessee alumna, has been named the 2020-21 Tennessee Teacher of the Year by the Tennessee Department of Education. A 14-year music teacher at Karns Middle School, Lunsford was selected from a group of nine finalists from around the state. Lunsford, who received a $3,000 check from the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents as part of the award, is only the fourth music teacher since 1968 to win Tennessee’s highest award for teaching excellence. She is the fourth UT education graduate to be named Teacher of the Year since 1990.
Burghardt Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Gordon Burghardt, professor of neuroscience and behavior, received the 2020 D.O. Hebb Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award from Division 6 of the American Psychological Association (APA). The Hebb award is the highest honor bestowed by the APA Division 6 and considered a lifetime achievement award. According the the APA website, the Hebb award “honors a psychologist who has made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in behavioral neuroscience and/or comparative psychology.”
Grad Caps Academic Career as Global Winner in Undergraduate Awards
Maya Bian (’20), a recent graduate of the College Scholars program, was selected as a winner in the prestigious Global Undergraduate Awards competition for her work on long-term care in China, where her extended family lives. Funding from The College Scholars Excellence Fund supported Bian’s travel to China as well as Mandarin lessons during her winter break. While in China, Bian stayed at the long care facility where her grandfather lives. She interviewed 14 people in Mandarin, wrote pages of notes, and eventually translated them into English. Bian is one of 40 global winners, only the second UT College Scholar to earn that honor.
Veterinary Cardiologist Receives National Award
UTCVM cardiologist Becky Gompf has received the Lee & Ingle Pyle Service Award from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM). The award is presented annually to an ACVIM Diplomate in recognition of outstanding and dedicated volunteer service to the ACVIM for ten or more years. Dr. Gompf personifies distinguished service and has set a high standard for that service in our college, community, and profession.
Moeller Named ASME Fellow
MABE Associate Professor Trevor Moeller has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), a prestigious honor given to ASME members who have been responsible for significant engineering achievements, had no less than ten years of active practice in their respective field, and at least ten years of active corporate membership in the society. There are currently 3,456 named Fellows out of the over 85,000 ASME members.
Edwards is Top Fellowship/Scholarship Student in Computer Science
Carl Edwards completed his undergraduate computer science degree at UT with great success headed for PhD studies at the University of Illinois. He earned an impressive portfolio of scholarships and fellowships, including the Min H. Kao Scholarship, Thomas and Kathryn Shelton Award, Hope Scholarship, National Merit Scholarship, UT Provost Scholarship, Finner Family Scholarship, UT Volunteer Scholarship, and Schmitt Memorial Scholarship. He also received the Chancellor’s Honors Program Ready for the World grant and the Euroscholars Research Grant from the Office of Undergraduate Research, as well as a Goldwater Scholarship.
Bleker Wins Award for Extraordinary Professional Promise
Computer Science student Carissa Bleker was awarded the 2020 University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Award for Extraordinary Professional Promise in Research. A member of Professor Michael Langston’s laboratory for the last four years, she made seminal advancements in several computer science and data science domains.