The Office of Research and Engagement is accepting nominations for three research-related awards to be given during the Chancellor’s Honors Banquet. The banquet is held each spring to recognize students, faculty, staff and friends of the University of Tennessee for their extraordinary achievements.

The Office of Research and Engagement will virtually host Gregg Abate, program officer for unsteady aerodynamics and turbulent flows at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR). AFOSR funds basic research at universities in various physical, information, and engineering sciences. Abate will give a presentation about working with AFOSR generally as well as the goals and interests of his research program in particular.

The Student/Faculty Research Awards are used to advance the scholarship of graduate students and faculty working in partnership. Every award requires a Student PI and a Faculty PI. The benefit to both should be evident in the proposal. Graduate students in those disciplines (e.g., arts, humanities, and social sciences), which traditionally do not conduct collaborative work, and/or do not expect to publish jointly with a faculty member are also eligible to apply. Such applications must show that the student’s proposal is approved by a faculty member and under the faculty member’s direct supervision. This mechanism is intended to help support student research/scholarship/creative activity; give students experience writing grants; and foster the mentoring relationship between faculty and graduate students.

I have been at the university for just over two weeks now and am so grateful for the many messages of welcome I have received from the campus community. Thank you for your warmth and generosity; I am delighted to become one of the newest members of the Volunteer family.

I am extremely grateful to Matthew Mench for leading the UT discovery enterprise for the past eight months, and for guiding our community’s response to the ongoing pandemic. Matthew’s advice and guidance helped ensure that my transition into the university was as smooth as I dared hope for. Thank you, Matthew.

The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine has named Dr. David Anderson as its new Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Anderson had previously served as department head of the college’s Large Animal Clinical Sciences for eight years.

While his clinical expertise is in surgery of beef and dairy cattle, sheep and goats, llamas and alpacas, and pigs, his research interests include surgery, pain management, biomaterials, and translational regenerative medicine. Anderson says he’s honored to have the privilege of working with faculty, staff, and students to advance research for human and animal health. “The research communities at UT offer exciting opportunities to solve complex problems through collaborative teams within and outside of the university system.” Anderson says. “My hope is to create a transformative culture where we can accelerate research and its translation for the good of society.”