For decades, a human mission to Mars has been dreamed, discussed, and even worked toward—but it hasn’t happened yet. And there are many reasons including the significant technical challenges that stand in the way.

For one, it takes a lot of fuel to get there and viable techniques haven’t yet been developed to successfully harness enough energy to launch a rocket on a 33.9-million-mile road trip—and then bring it back.

Also, a trip like that would take a long time. More time spent in space means more potentially harmful effects on the astronauts’ health. Living in low gravity and being exposed to space radiation for long periods of time changes the human body, as NASA is now finding out, thanks, in part, to a recent year-long space mission by UT alumnus Scott Kelly.

Students Get Silver Medal in International Synthetic Biology Competition

A group of six UT students won a silver medal for their performance in the 2018 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Giant Jamboree, an international competition for students interested in synthetic biology.

The undergraduate students who represented UT are:

• Scott Dixon, of Franklin, Tennessee, a senior in chemical and biomolecular engineering
• Brandon D. Kristy, of Knoxville, a sophomore in entomology and plant pathology
• Molly E. Landon, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a senior in chemical and biomolecular engineering
• Ralph B. Laure, of Smyrna, Tennessee, a senior in chemical and biomolecular engineering
• Karl D. Leitner, of Brentwood, Tennessee, a senior in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology
• Morgan T. Street, of Johnson City, Tennessee, a sophomore in chemical and biomolecular engineering

Lynne E. Parker has been named interim dean of the Tickle College of Engineering.

Parker, the associate dean for faculty affairs and engagement for the college, takes the role effective Monday, May 7, as former dean Wayne T. Davis has been selected to lead the UT Knoxville campus as interim chancellor.

“It’s an honor for me to lead the college during this time of transition,” said Parker, a professor in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “I look forward to working with TCE colleagues to maintain the momentum of the college until Dean Davis’s successor arrives.”

Over the course of its history, Estabrook Hall has played host to a number of programs, from mechanic arts to architecture, from civil engineering to computer laboratories.

One of the constants for most of that time was a chassis of a 1920s Dodge Brothers automobile, long since stripped down for use as a model of engineering.

In much the same way that elements of Estabrook will survive to be incorporated into the new building, the Dodge has also found an extended life.

It’s a cold, frosty morning, and your thoughts turn to snuggling under the covers with a cup of coffee while the house warms up. Suddenly, your coffee machine kicks into gear just as the heat begins to rise in your home. No, it’s not your imagination. By merely thinking about it, your home is now cozier, your hot cup of java awaits in the kitchen, and you didn’t have to lift a finger.

The reality of controlling electronic devices using only your brain is closer than you think, thanks to the research of Associate Professor Xiaopeng Zhao.

A drone is the first device Zhao, graduate students Reza Abiri and Soheil Borhani, and undergraduate Justin Kilmarx, have demonstrated the ability to pilot using brainwaves, and they are amazing spectators who have the opportunity to see them make the drone fly without a normal hand-held controller.