The first half of February brings exciting honors and funding awards for UT staff and students: UT AgResearch Announces Award Recipients for Inaugural SPRINT Program; MABE Faculty Named ASME Fellows; Graduate Student in the Department of Bioengineering and Soil Science Receives 2022 Graduate Student Policy Award; Assistant Professor of Design and Structural Technology in UT’s School of Architecture Earns National Diversity Award; Nuclear Engineering Graduate Student Wins IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship
University of Tennessee AgResearch Announces Award Recipients for Inaugural SPRINT Program
The University of Tennessee AgResearch announces four programs as recipients of the new Strategic Planning Research Initiatives, known as SPRINT. The programs will benefit from an investment of $700,000 over two years to conduct preliminary experiments and pursue additional grant funding, as well as new partners. The programs rely on tightly integrated, multi-disciplinary teams to develop creative solutions to major challenges in agriculture and natural resources.
Sarles and Schmitz Named ASME Fellows
Associate Professor Andy Sarles and Professor Tony Schmitz have been named Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). This prestigious honor recognizes ASME members who have been responsible for significant engineering achievements, has no less than ten years of active practice in their respective field, and at least ten years of corporate membership in the society. Only 3,388 out of over 64,000 ASME members have received this honor.
Sarles is director of the Bioinspired Materials and Transduction Laboratory, where his research group studies materials built from biological molecules or bio-inspired assemblies to achieve smart functionality, including sensing, actuation, learning, and computing.
Schmitz is a joint faculty member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and director of the Machine Tool Research Center. His research focuses on manufacturing, machining, vibrations, measurement, and uncertainty analysis.
ESA Selects 2022 Graduate Student Policy Award Recipients
Rounak Patra, Ph.D. candidate in UT’s Department of Biosystem Engineering and Soil Science, is among the 2022 cohort of the Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Awards from the Ecological Society of America. This award provides graduate students with the opportunity to participate in a virtual Congressional Visits Day. Students learn about the legislative process and federal science funding before meeting virtually with their Members of Congress to discuss the importance of federal investments in the biological and ecological sciences.
Guerguis Receives National Diversity Achievement Award
Maged Guerguis, assistant professor of Design and Structural Technology in our School of Architecture, earned a national diversity award recognizing his collaborative research and studio. Guerguis, the McCarty Holsaple McCarty Endowed Professor, received a 2022 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Diversity Achievement Award, which recognizes the work of faculty to achieve diversity and incorporate contributions of historically underrepresented groups.
Reyes Zacarias Wins IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship
Graduate student July Reyes Zacarias is one of 110 female students from 77 countries around the world, and the first UT student from the Dominican Republic, who was selected to receive scholarships under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme. This program offers young women an opportunity to pursue studies towards a master’s in the nuclear field through financial support and practical experience.