He will talk about the perceptions and misconceptions of the condition at the Science Forum on Friday.

The Science Forum is a weekly brown-bag lunch series that allows professors and area scientists to discuss their research and the general public to learn about science through a conversational presentation.

The weekly presentations begin at noon on Fridays in Room C-D of Thompson-Boling Arena. Attendees can bring lunch or purchase it at the arena. Each presentation is forty minutes long and is followed by a question-and-answer session. Science Forums are free and open to the public.

A broad range of testosterone levels can be considered normal in men, Namey said. Health issues can arise when testosterone levels fall dramatically. Beyond the expected sexual issues, low testosterone can lead to muscle wasting, osteoporosis, and depression. Namey believes that tests for low testosterone should be improved to take into account this broad range of health effects.

He has written several textbook chapters and papers as well as given lectures on this topic. Namey also writes for healthtap.com and is the top-rated physician in five of their health categories. He was listed in the 2004-05 Consumers’ Research Council of America’s Guide to America’s Top Physicians.

For more information about his work, visit drnamey.com.

Future Science Forums will feature:

• February 15: Linda C. Kah, Ken Walker Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, discussing “Curiouser and Curiouser: NASA’s Curiosity Rover’s Mission in Gale Crater.”
• February 22: Lt. Robby Nix, critical care paramedic for the Rural Metro Fire Department, presenting “Firefighter Paramedics and the Hot Potato Baby—It’s Not What You Think.”
• March 1: Juan Carlos Idrobo, research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, discussing “Exploring the Universe One Atom at a Time.”
• March 8: Dr. Paul Campbell Erwin, professor and head of the Department of Public Health, presenting “John Snow and Cholera: The Foundation for Modern Disease Investigation.”
• March 15: Kevin Hoyt, director of UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, presenting “The Proposed UT AgResearch Gas and Oil Well Research Project.”
• April 5: William T. Bogart, president of Maryville College and professor of economics there, discussing “Cargo Cult Economic Policy: Urban Development and Green Energy.”
• April 12: Stephanie K. Drumheller-Horton, instructor of earth and planetary sciences, presenting “Crocodylian Bite Marks in the Fossil Record.”
• April 19: Devon M. Burr, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences, discussing “The Moon That Would Be a Planet: Saturn’s Giant Titan.”
• April 26: Joan Markel, curator of Civil War exhibits at the McClung Museum, presenting “Digging into Our Civil War Past.”

The Science Forum is sponsored by the UT Office of Research. Click here for more information about the Science Forum.

—

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu)

Holly Gary (865-974-2225, hgary@utk.edu)

The Vol Court spring 2013 program will run through March 12. The workshops will be held at 5:15 p.m. on Tuesdays in Room 102 of the James A. Haslam Business Building.

The Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, housed in the College of Business Administration, is hosting the program. Vol Court will offer students, UT employees, and the community the opportunity to learn from entrepreneurs and business experts about the essentials of getting a company off the ground.

Workshop presenters are from various organizations throughout Tennessee, and all have experience with entrepreneurial companies.

The March 12 session will include a pitch competition in which the top presenting individual or team will win $1,000 and the second-place team will win $500. Students attending Vol Court will have the opportunity to better prepare themselves for the upcoming campus-wide Undergraduate Business Plan Competition.

Session topics are:

• Feb. 5: How to Develop a Business Model
• Feb. 12: Marketing to Your Customers
• Feb. 19: Determining Your Legal Structure
• Feb. 26: How to Choose and Set Up the Business Structure
• March 5: Understanding Financial Statements
• March 12: Pitch Competition

Vol Court is sponsored by the UT Federal Credit Union, the UT Research Foundation, Morehous Legal Group, Tennessee Alumnus magazine, and Pershing Yoakley and Associates.

To learn more about the presenters, sponsors, and each session, visit www.facebook.com/VolCourt.

–

CONTACT:

Joy Fisher (865-974-0520, joy.fisher@tennessee.edu)

Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)

As part of a comprehensive energy conservation project, work is under way in the Jane and David Bailey Education Complex; the Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Building (HPER); the Student Services Building; and the Communications Building.

Old fixtures are being replaced with energy-efficient lights, manual switches are being replaced with on-off sensors, and other upgrades are being done. In some of the public areas of the buildings, “daylight harvesting” sensors cue the lights to remain off when sunlight is bright enough to light the area.

The work, which also includes some sprinkler system upgrades and ceiling work, will cost $2.25 million, funded by monies provided by the state during stimulus years. The new lights will save the campus as much as $500,000 a year. The campus’s utility bill runs about $20 million a year.

“Any dollars we can save is money we can put back into the classroom,” said Dave Irvin, associate vice chancellor for facilities services.

Elsewhere on campus, new construction is equipped with energy-efficient lighting. Buildings slated for major renovations will get the lighting overhaul as part of that work. Eventually, the whole campus will have the more energy-efficient lights.

As the new year gets under way, take a look back at our most popular stories from 2012, based upon the number of people of viewed the story. The Today show broadcast live from Ayres Hall, Volunteers competed in the London Olympics, Lady Vols Legend Pat Summitt stepped down, and our campus landscape saw several changes. 2012 was an exciting year in Big Orange country. What could be in store for 2013?

Are Eco Cars Really Eco-Friendly?

Engineering professor studies the impact of electric vehicles in China.

Rocky Top’s Top Students

New Volunteers are well prepared for freshman year.

The End of an Era

Head Coach Pat Summitt hands over her whistle to new Head Coach Holly Warlick. Summitt is now head coach emeritus.

Inaugural Residents

Students move in to new chapter houses at Sorority Village on UT’s Morgan Hill.

A Legend Comes Home

UT alumnus and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning joins a crowd of thousands to celebrate the re-opening of the freshly painted Peyton Manning Pass.

Breaking Ground on a New Campus Address

The university breaks ground on its first residence hall in more than forty years. The hall is expected to open in the fall of 2014 and house 700 undergraduate men and women.

Carrying the Torch in London

There’s plenty of Big Orange pride on display at this summer’s Olympic games.

More Flora, Less Metal

Study suggests natural areas inspire more active, creative play in children.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The Today show’s fourth hour divas, Kathie Lee and Hoda, broadcast live from the Ayres Hall lawn.

Top 10

Our printmaking, logistics, and nuclear engineering graduate programs rank in the Top 10 among all public and private schools according to U.S. News and World Report (2013).

Fuel for the Journey

Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek shares results of our first three years since we announced our goal to become a Top 25 public research university.

A Jewel on the Hill

Alumnus and Garmin co-founder Min Kao helps dedicate engineering building named in his honor.

All lanes are open in front of Aconda Court at the corner of Volunteer Boulevard and Cumberland Avenue. The building was demolished as part of the new Student Union Project.

A section of Andy Holt Avenue between Pat Head Summitt Street and Francis Street has reopened, and Circle Drive on the Hill is now open to two-way traffic.

However, other campus roads and sidewalks remain partially or completely closed:

• On Lake Loudoun Boulevard, lanes have been shifted and sidewalks have been closed as part of the campus streetscape beautification project.
• Lane shifts and sidewalk work also continue on Volunteer Boulevard in front of the music building project.
• One lane of Phillip Fulmer Way from Cumberland Avenue to Middle Drive remains closed for the duration of the Student Union project.
• Chamique Holdsclaw Drive remains closed while construction continues on the Lawson Athletic Center Addition.

For more information on these closures, contact the Parking and Transit Services Office at 974-6031.

For more information on campus construction projects, visit the Cone Zone.

—

CONTACT:

Charles Primm (865-974-5180, primmc@utk.edu)

The event, “CHINA Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections,” is part of a national day of programming on China involving sixty cities throughout the United States.

UT’s program will begin at 7:00 p.m. with an in-person talk from Robert Daly, director of the Maryland China Initiative at the University of Maryland. The webcast with Locke will begin at 8:00 p.m.

The event, which will be in the Humanities and Social Sciences building, Room 60, is free and open to the public.

This is the sixth annual CHINA Town Hall, sponsored by the National Committee on US-China Relations. As the presidential election approaches, the US-China relationship is in the news for both economic and geopolitical reasons. The town hall is an effort to help Americans understand the relationship between the two countries and answer questions on the issues.

Stephen A. Orlins, president of the National Committee on US-China Relations, will moderate the webcast.

During the pre-webcast talk at UT, Daly will address US-China interactions in higher education. He is a China specialist who has served as a diplomat with the US Information Agency with a focus on US-China relations. He also has worked as a consultant and interpreter for American car and energy companies and for non-profit organizations.

Locke has been ambassador to China since August 2011. Previously, as Secretary of Commerce, he was point person for achieving the president’s National Export Initiative. He also served two terms as governor of Washington, where he helped double the state’s exports to China.

For more information on the CHINA Town Hall event, visit National Committee on United States-China Relations website.

–

CONTACTS:

Suzanne Wright (865-974-4267, swright5@utk.edu)

Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)

The major changes involve the end of the route detour, the addition of another bus, and service to the agriculture campus going to and from the main campus. Beginning Friday, buses will re-enter the agriculture campus after serving Sorority Village, offering Ag students a more direct route to the main campus and the Gate 21 drop-off area.

To avoid confusion, there will be different bus stops/shelters on the agriculture campus depending on whether passengers are going to Sorority Village or to the main campus. Ag campus passengers going to Sorority Village should catch the bus at the bus shelter at Joe Johnson Drive near River Drive. Ag campus students going to the main campus should catch the bus at the shelter on the corner of Service Drive and Joe Johnson Drive. Special signs will be placed at each bus stop/shelter to help inform passengers.

For more information, contact UT Parking & Transit Services at 974-6031 or visit their website.

The sinkhole was discovered over the weekend on Service Drive behind the Plant Biotech Building. It apparently was caused by a broken underground storm sewer. Work crews temporarily filled it in with rock. Repairs will take place on Thursday, August 30, and the road is expected to be drivable by Friday, August 31.

The T shuttle’s Neyland route (formerly the Ag route) has been affected by the sinkhole and shuttle drivers are working to get students from the agriculture campus to the Hill (Gate 21) faster. The Neyland route is traveling a detour route until Friday, August 31.

For more information, call UT Facilities Services at 865-946-7777.

The university appreciates your patience and understanding as we work to resolve the delays in our transit system. If you have questions, please call (865) 974-6031.

A small parking lot on the north side of Hess Hall will be converted into an open-air seating area, sidewalks on both sides of Melrose Avenue will be widened and improved, and additional angled parking will be available on the north side of the street. Handicapped parking spots and a new entrance will be added to the front of the International House.

Hodges Library and the I-House will remain open during the road work, with pedestrian access and employee parking available in the Staff 12 lot next to the I-House.

Limited access to Melrose Avenue for local traffic will be granted on July 26-27. No on-street parking will be permitted until the road reopens on August 4.

For more information on campus road and construction projects, visit the Cone Zone at conezone.utk.edu.

Living Light

Living Light, the university’s energy-efficient, solar-powered house, is traveling to Chattanooga as part of a multi-city tour of the state from July 20-29.

This is the home’s last stop before it comes back to Knoxville where it will reside at the UT Gardens.

The 750-square-foot home will be on the corner of Manufacturers Road and Cherokee Boulevard in front of Renaissance Park in downtown Chattanooga.

The award-winning house will be open for tours from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on most weekdays and from noon to 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Tours of the home are free and open to the public.

To schedule a private tour, please call 864-974-5211 or e-mail livlight@utk.edu.

Living Light became an educational exhibition known as the Tennessee Tour in November 2011 after returning from the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, an international, solar home design competition among collegiate teams. It placed eighth overall and earned high marks in several categories including architecture, energy production, and engineering.

The house has been toured by nearly 50,000 people in its visits to Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, and Washington, DC.

“This project has been a part of our students’ and faculty members’ lives for three years now—from concept to design, development to construction, competition to exhibition,” said Scott Wall, director of the School of Architecture. “Being able to share the sustainable design and solar-power technologies developing at UT with the world has been a remarkable thing. We are very proud of what the Tennessee Tour has achieved.”

The house was recently on exhibit in Washington, DC as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. It was one of only seventeen projects chosen to represent the nation’s land-grant universities during the festival, which commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of land-grant universities and the US Department of Agriculture.

Living Light team members recently won an Honor Citation from the Tennessee chapter of the American Institute of Architects for their work on the home.

The house arrives in Chattanooga in time for the AIA Tennessee Convention, which will be held July 25-27.

The Tennessee Tour is a joint effort of the UT College of Architecture and Design, the UT College of Engineering, and UT Extension—the outreach unit of the UT Institute of Agriculture. It showcases the work of more than 200 students and nine academic programs, as well as the sponsorship and involvement of alumni, businesses, and industry partners like the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Once back in Knoxville, Living Light will undergo a year of testing by faculty and students who will be collaborating with the Electrical Power Research Institute.

For more information about the Tennessee Tour and the Living Light House, visit livinglight.utk.edu.

—

C O N T A C T:

Kiki Roeder (865-974-6713, kroeder@utk.edu)

Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lalapo@utk.edu)

In addition, Olympic gold medalist Benita Fitzgerald Mosley—an alumna and new Alumni Board member—is USA Track & Field’s (USATF) chief of sport performance. She oversees USATF’s high-performance and athlete development programs, Team USA management, elite athlete services, sport science and medicine, anti-doping, coaching education and certification, and national championship meet management. Mosley, a 1984 graduate of the College of Engineering, won gold in the 100-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, becoming the first African American woman and second American woman, after Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1932, to accomplish the feat.

The Olympics begin July 27 and continue through August 12. A schedule of the competitions can be found at www.london2012.com/schedule-and-results.

The following UT alumni will compete on US national teams for the 2012 games:

• Tamika Catchings, 32, will try for her third gold medal as part of the women’s national basketball team. Catchings, a forward, played with the team during its gold medal-winning performances in 2004 and 2008. Currently playing for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, Catchings was part of the undefeated 1997–1998 national championship-winning Lady Vols. At UT, Catchings also was a four-time All-American, and she was named Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year in 2000. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in sport management.
• 

  Photo courtesy of USA Basketball.

  Candace Parker, 26, will return for her second Olympic appearance with the US women’snational basketball team, after helping the team win the gold in 2008. Currently playing with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, Parker helped lead the Lady Vols to back-to-back NCAA national titles. She also was named the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year for 2008. Parker graduated in 2008 with a major in sport management.

• Dee Dee Trotter, 29, is returning to the Olympics for the third time after her gold medal-winning performance in the 4 x 400 meter relay at the 2004 Olympics. In 2008, a knee injury kept Trotter from competing in the Beijing games. This summer, she will run in the 400-meter dash and the 4 x 400 meter relay. Trotter also won gold medals in the 2003 and 2007 World Championships. She graduated in 2005 with a degree in sociology.
• Justin Gatlin, 30, will return to London to try to bring home another gold to accompany the one he earned for the 100-meter dash at the 2004 summer Olympic Games in Athens. That year, Gatlin also won a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash and a silver medal in the 4 x 100 meter relay, and he will be competing in the relay again this year. Gatlin attended UT from 2000 to 2002, winning six NCAA titles during that time.
• Aries Merritt, 26, will head to the Olympics for the first time this year to compete in the 100-meter hurdles. Merritt holds the UT school record in the 55-meter hurdles, and is tied for third in the 60-meter and 110-meter hurdles. As a UT student in 2005, Merritt won the Ed Murphey Award for most outstanding performance, as well as the Most Valuable Track Athlete Award. In 2006 Merritt was undefeated in every 55-meter, 60-meter, and 110-meter hurdles race he finished. In the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, he won the gold medal for the 60-meter hurdles. Merritt attended UT from 2005 to 2007.
• Tianna Madison, 26, will travel to her first Olympic Games to compete in the 100-meter dash and the 4 x 100 meter relay. In her sophomore year at UT, Madison won the 2005 NCAA and SEC Indoor and Outdoor titles in the long jump. She was an All-American, and in 2005, she was named the SEC Indoor Women’s Field Event Athlete of the Year. After leaving UT, Madison turned her focus from the long jump to sprinting. She attended UT from 2004 to 2006.

In addition, two current students and seven alumni will be competing on behalf of other countries.

• Hannah Wilkinson, 20, will make her Olympic debut playing for the New Zealand women’s soccer team. A native of Whangarei, New Zealand, Wilkinson is a 2012 UT signee and part of new Lady Vols soccer coach Brian Pensky’s initial signing class. Wilkinson represented New Zealand at the 2011 Women’s World Cup and the 2010 FIFA Under-20 Women’s Cup.
• Jamol James, 20, will be running for his native country of Trinidad and Tobago in the 100-meter dash and the 4 x 100 meter relay. In 2012 James was named a first-team US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Outdoor All-American. James will be a sophomore this fall.
• Jangy Addy, 27, will represent Liberia for the second time in this year’s Summer Olympics. Addy will compete in the decathlon, an event for which he won the gold medal in the 2011 All-Africa Games. Born in California, Addy is eligible to compete for Liberia because he is a direct descendant of two Liberian citizens. While at UT, Addy was a team captain and an SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He also set a collegiate decathlon record in the 110-meter hurdles and a world heptathlon record in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2008 SEC Outdoor Championships. Addy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and electronic media in 2008.
• Rhian Wilkinson, 30, will enter her second Olympic Games as part of the Canadian women’s soccer team. A native of Quebec, Wilkinson was a member of the Lady Vols soccer team from 2000 to 2003 and was named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2000. She helped the program win its first SEC tournament in 2002. At UT, Wilkinson ranks first in career assists and is tied for third for total goals. Wilkinson has played for the Canadian women’s national soccer team since 2003. She graduated in 2004 with a degree in speech communications.
• Marie-Eve Nault, 30, will make her Olympic debut also playing for the Canadian women’s soccer team. Nault played alongside fellow Quebecer Rhian Wilkinson on the Lady Vols soccer team from 2000 to 2003, and was twice named the defensive most valuable player by her teammates. Nault started all twenty-seven of the Lady Vols’ SEC matches during her time with the team. In total she scored nine goals, six of which would prove to be match-winners.
• Hassaan Stamps, 32, was named national teams coach for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A relay and hurdles standout at UT, Stamps was on UT’s 2001 and 2002 NCAA national championship teams. A two-time team captain, Stamps is also the 2002 winner of the Will Pritchett Award. He graduated in 2003 with degrees in sport management and psychology.
• Octavio Alesi, 25, will swim for Venezuela’s Olympic team for the second time. He will be part of the men’s 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay team. He competed in the 100 meter butterfly in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In his senior season at UT (2007-08), Alesi was named second team All-SEC as a member on the 200 medley relay at the SEC Championships and garnered All-American honors at the NCAA Championship.
• Barry Murphy, 26, will make his Olympic debut swimming for Ireland. He will swim the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter breaststroke. In the 2009 NCAA Championships, Murphy set a new UT record by finishing the 50 meter freestyle in 19.14 seconds. He also earned All-American honors for his efforts in the 200 meter freestyle relay and the 400 meter freestyle and medley relays.
• Martina Moravcikova, 23, will compete in her first Olympics swimming for the Czech Republic. She will compete in the 200 meter breaststroke. She made history last year setting a new Czech Republic long course record in the 100 meter breaststroke clocking in 1:09:23. In her time at UT, Moravcikova was named an All-American in four events, including earning first-team honors as a member of the fourth-place 400 meter medley relay team.

—

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

What is the schedule for the remaining Sorority Village houses?

The Alpha Omicron Pi and Phi Mu chapter houses are on hold while new contractors are finalized. University Housing is accommodating women whose houses will not be ready as they had originally planned.

Houses for Chi Omega and Pi Beta Phi are scheduled for completion in spring or summer 2013.

The development’s final two houses—Zeta Tau Alpha and Delta Gamma—will begin building within the next sixty days.

What about safety and transportation?

The development will be fenced and will incorporate modern security features, including gated access, blue light emergency phones, and security cameras. Sorority women also will swipe their student IDs to enter their houses

The development will become part of the university’s “T” bus service routes. UT students ride free on all “T” routes with their UT ID.

A traffic signal will be installed at the village entrance on Neyland Drive in early August. Exterior landscaping will begin as the first houses are completed this fall. The bulk of the landscaping will be done when the development is completed.

What about parking?

The village will have dedicated Greek Sorority (GS) student parking. In order to qualify for a GS parking permit, an individual must be a sorority member and a resident of the village. A GS permit is valid only in the GS parking area at Sorority Village and in campus unreserved staff and commuter areas between 5:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

Students who will begin the fall 2012 semester living in on-campus housing but who will later relocate to Sorority Village during the 2012-13 academic year will be allowed to purchase a GS permit. For the 2012-13 academic year only, GS permits will be honored in campus non-commuter parking areas in order to accommodate students in this situation.

Who owns the houses and the development?

UT owns the land at Sorority Village, and the sorority chapters will hold an equity interest in their houses. Just like the houses in Fraternity Park, the houses in Sorority Village hold a land lease agreement with the university. Because of this, UT is managing the contracts for the building projects.

How will the Panhellenic Building be used in the future?

The Panhellenic Building—the main meeting facility for fourteen of the campus’s nineteen sororities—will remain open and serve a function for sororities until the spring or summer of 2013.

Some of the University Center functions will be moved to the lower two floors of the Panhellenic Building during the construction of the new Student Union. UT’s ROTC program will move into the upper two floors of the Panhellenic Building during summer 2014.

The program is now housed in the Stokely Athletic Center. The university will renovate Panhellenic to prepare for the ROTC program, once the last of the sorority chapters move out next year.

The ROTC program will move to Hoskins Library after Stokely closes this fall. ROTC will then occupy Hoskins for twelve to eighteen months as renovations to the Panhellenic Building are made to establish the program’s permanent home.

That good news comes from the new Project on Student Debt report, issued by the nonprofit Institute for College Access & Success.

The report shows that graduates of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have less debt than graduates from many of the state’s private colleges. UT graduates also averaged less debt than graduates from two of state’s public institutions, East Tennessee State University and the University of Memphis.

The report gathered information from public and private nonprofit institutions that grant bachelor’s degrees. The report looked at students who graduated in 2010.

Key numbers:

• AMOUNT OF DEBT: Statewide in 2010, students graduated with average of $19,957 in loan debt. Tennessee ranked forty-second in the nation for student loan debt; the national average was $25,250.
• PERCENT WITH DEBT: Forty-six percent of Tennessee’s 2010 graduates faced student loan debt upon graduation; the national average was 58 percent.
• UT STATISTICS: About 48 percent of UT’s 2010 graduates left with debt and their average student loan debt was $19,987.

UT’s student debts statistics have remained pretty steady since 2010.

“Despite tuition raises, we’ve seen an increase in applications and student data suggest the university is finding a way to provide access to our most needy students,” said Richard Bayer, assistant provost and director of enrollment services.

UT’s need-based scholarships include the Pledge, which is awarded to low-income students; the Promise, which goes to students from high schools that don’t traditionally send many students to UT; and the Achieve the Dream grant program for middle-income students.

Only two other southeastern states fared better than Tennessee in the student debt report. Kentucky ranked forty-third, with average student debt of $19,375; Georgia ranked forty-fourth with an average of $18,888. Other low-debt states include Utah, with the least average student debt of $15,509, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, California, Arizona, and Wyoming.

The highest-debt states include New Hampshire and Maine, which topped the list with $31,048 and $29,983, respectively; Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Ohio, Indiana, Rhode Island, and New York.

To read the full report, go to www.projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-data.php.

—

C O N T A C T :

Amy Blakely (865-771-9127, ablakely@utk.edu)

Registration is now under way for “The Best of the Best 2012 Workshop,” which is being co-sponsored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Center for Children’s & Young Adult Literature and the Knox County Public Library.

The workshop will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street The morning session, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, will showcase books through sixth grade, and the afternoon session, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., will showcase books through high school age.

“This workshop is important because it helps energize and inspire teachers, librarians and parents about new books to share with their students and children,” said Miranda Clark, director of the Center for Children’s & Young Adult Literature. “It is such a fun day to mingle with others in the field and share their enthusiasm for the literature and the art of books for children and young adults.”

The workshop will feature talks by experts on current literary trends and showcase some of the year’s best new books. Presenters will include acclaimed blogger Julie Danielson; center board members and local school librarians Lisa Meidl and Emily Davenport; and Cindy Welch, assistant professor and youth services coordinator for the School of Information Sciences.

To compile a list of the year’s best books, “we look at starred reviews from the major children’s literature review journals or titles that catch our eye when they come through the center’s examination collection,” Clark said.

To register, go to kcpl.wufoo.com/forms/best-of-the-best-2012-registration/.

For more information about CCYAL, see www.sis.utk.edu/ccyal/.

—

C O N T A C T :

Miranda Clark (865-974-2305, mclark22@utk.edu)

The Navy has identified the institute as a prime contractor for research and development support through SeaPort-e, the Navy’s electronic platform for acquiring support services in twenty-two areas including engineering, financial management, and program management.

UT’s National Defense Business Institute is one of 385 contractors selected to participate in the revolving contract, which will disperse as much as $5.3 billion over the next several years. The institute will be working with Navy operating commands and agencies and the United States Marine Corps.

“This is an important milestone in broadening NDBI’s capability to provide our research and analysis products and services to a larger defense department market,” said Dave Patterson, NDBI’s executive director. “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide a valuable service to the United States Navy and the nation.”

When asked what this means for the local Knoxville community, Patterson said, “Obviously, this increases our potential for hiring more analysts and staff, but equally important, this adds to the university’s value in supporting a crucial aspect of the US national security agenda.”

Established in 2008, NDBI is the first university-based institute focused on helping the Department of Defense, other government agencies, and the defense industry find innovative, practical solutions that improve the results of their acquisition and business management programs.

NDBI offers academic and research expertise through partnerships with the College of Business Administration and its Center for Executive Education, the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

To learn more about the National Defense Business Institute, visit http://www.ndbi.utk.edu.

–

CONTACT:

Dave Patterson (865-974-1623, dpatterson@utk.edu)

Lola Alapo (865-974-3993, lola.alapo@tennessee.edu)

FYS has announced that its Life of the Mind program for the Class of 2017 will focus on environmental sustainability.

The Life of the Mind program gives first-year students their first taste of UT academic life. A common reading book is used as a tool to challenge students’ thinking and engage them in discussion about important issues and their transition to college.

Life of the Mind books should:

• expose students to the Ready for the World international and intercultural initiative;
• represent a transition or journey that can be related to the first-year experience at UT;
• target specific campus initiatives or current global events;
• have a living author, editor, or representative who can visit campus and talk to students; and
• have fewer than 350 pages and cost less than $20.

To suggest a book that has the theme of environmental sustainability, visit http://torch.utk.edu/lifeofthemind/suggestion.shtml. Nominations meeting the above criteria will be reviewed by a team of faculty, staff, and students to determine the final nominations that reach the book committee in fall. The final selection will be announced before the end of the fall 2012 semester.

Ayres Hall has become the first building on campus to become LEED-certified—at the silver level—by the US Green Building Council and verified by the Green Building Certification Building Institute. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the nation’s preeminent program for design, construction, and operation of high-performance buildings.

Ayres, one of the campus’s oldest buildings, reopened in January 2011 following an extensive two-year renovation that brought the 1921 structure into the twenty-first century. The $23 million project maintained the original grandeur of the building and enhanced energy efficiency. The green makeover resulted in a LEED Silver certification.

“We are quite proud of the LEED Silver certification for Ayres Hall,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “Along with being our most recognizable facility, Ayres now exemplifies our commitment to sustainable campus and building practices.”

Cheek said that many members of the UT community appreciate the careful restoration and its beautiful result. He noted that spending more time and resources on green building practices pays off tremendously over time through saving on energy costs and lessening the impact on the environment.

There are four levels of LEED certification: certified, silver, gold, and platinum. A building’s level of certification is based on a point scale that grades various aspects of a building project, including sustainability of the building site, water efficiency, energy use, materials and resources, and innovation and design.

The Ayres project maintained nearly 97 percent of the existing wall, floor, and roof elements of the building. The original hard wood floors, wooden doors, and wood paneling in the building were refinished and reinstalled. Other green building practices included:

• Low-flow toilets were installed in bathrooms.
• Replacement windows were removed and replaced with historically appropriate and energy-efficient windows.
• Terrazzo in the corridors and halls was repaired and replenished.
• Existing baseboards and wood trim around windows and doors were restored and reinstalled.
• Original slate chalkboards—replaced with new technology and glass boards in classrooms—were refurbished and reinstalled in professors’ offices and in student common areas for collaborative work.
• Some original lighting fixtures were upgraded for efficiency, while new energy-efficient lighting also was added. Lights in classrooms and offices run on sensors and turn on and off as people move through rooms.
• Marble reclaimed from bathroom partitions was used to complete areas where an elevator was relocated.
• The clay tile roof was removed and re-installed in order to make it watertight and to restructure the attic to allow mechanical equipment to be hidden from view.

Students especially appreciate the building’s central heating and air conditioning. Only window units existed before the renovation, giving Ayres a reputation for being one of the hottest—or coldest, depending on the season—buildings on campus. The fourth floor, which was previously closed for nearly thirty years, is now home to a popular study lounge for students.

The 88,256-square-foot building has ten classrooms, three conference rooms, and two specialized classrooms for the Department of Mathematics. The firms Ross/Fowler and Weeks, Ambrose, McDonald Inc. were the architects on the project. The contractors were Southern Contractors and Johnson and Galyon.

Three other UT buildings have received LEED certification. The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences received LEED Silver certification in May 2005. The Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences received LEED certification in November 2011. Both facilities are located on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory campus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The New Norris House, an award-winning home developed by students and faculty in the College of Architecture and Design, received LEED Platinum certification in May 2012. The house is located in Norris, Tennessee.

UT’s Master Plan incorporates sustainable design and building into new and renovated buildings and focuses on adding more open green space and walkways to make the campus more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly.

UT adopted a new building policy in 2007 to make green building the standard for new construction and renovation projects exceeding $5 million. The US Green Building Council is reviewing the new Student Health Building and the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building, both of which opened in 2011.

—

C O N T A C T :

Rebekah WInkler (865-974-8304, rwinkler@utk.edu)

The College of Engineering hosted the AT&T Middle School Introduction for Engineering Systems (MITES) program where minority and female students—groups underrepresented in engineering—got an up-close look at the in-demand field and had fun doing it. The program was for African-American, Hispanic/Latino American, Native American, and female seventh- and eighth-grade students.

“The objective was to provide an introduction to engineering, showcase the applications of math and science, and learn what engineers do in the real world,” said Richard Bennett, coordinator of curriculum content for pre-college summer programs. “The students performed hands-on activities to learn what engineers do and also used iPads to document their activities in construction, medicine, and energy, so they could get a feel for how engineers operate today.”

Participants also explored campus, competed in engineering challenges, cultivated friendships, and gained a jump-start on their academic careers.

Another important component of MITES was emphasizing the importance of mathematics to engineering.

“The math portion of the MITES program was developed with selected material that corresponds to the Knox County eighth-grade math curriculum,” said Michael Gilbert, a mathematics lecturer. “We used interactive, in-class worksheets and follow-up questions for out-of-class assignments to reinforce the concepts we covered.”

Students also worked on projects with researchers in the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT). CURENT focuses on research, education and technology for sustainable energy systems, with an emphasis on power transmission systems.

“Students learned about electricity fundamentals, electromagnetism, motors, generators and solar and wind power,” said Rebecca Oldham, a program resource specialist for CURENT. “The engineering design program challenged students to apply their knowledge through hands-on projects such as building solar cars and designing windmill blades to power a light. Through these activities, we hoped to inspire creativity, problem-solving skills and an interest in engineering.”

The MITES program began in 1997, facilitated by the college’s Engineering Diversity Programs Office. Two one-week sessions were held this year, June 17–22 and June 24–29. Since the beginning of the program, MITES has provided the summer experience to 294 middle school students and has grown from twenty-one participants in 1997 to thirty participants in 2011. AT&T is the corporate sponsor for this year’s program.

Student participants included:

• Tabre Abernathy from Athens
• Miki Benson from Bothell, Washington
• Dayna Blackburn from Chattanooga
• Amy Brown from Pensacola, Florida
• MacKenzie Burton from Sparta
• Nathanael Byers from Kingston
• Allison Campbell from Knoxville
• Trinity Coward from Lavergne
• Jordan Cowen from Spring City
• Sarah Cox from Fayetteville
• Tommie Curry Jr. from Memphis
• Savanna Davis from Fayetteville
• De’Arrion Dorsey from Memphis
• Jessica France from Memphis
• Micah Garcia from Hermitage
• Lindsey Jones from LaFollette
• La’Tia Key from Memphis
• Kortland Martin from Humboldt
• Carrington McGowan from Memphis
• Wilfred Odo from Memphis
• Brieana Ogilvie from Memphis
• Kate Parkes from Fayetteville
• Dorrington Reid III from Humboldt
• Justin Sisk from Fayetteville
• Michael Spitler from Maryville
• Robert Steward from Memphis
• Kainen Stoner from Ten Mile
• Roddrick Tooles from Memphis
• Kestrel Troutman from Sevierville
• Russell Weatherford from Edison
• Erick Williams from Memphis

For more details on the MITES program and other programs, visit www.engr.utk.edu/edp/pre_college.

—

C O N T A C T:

Travis Griffin (865-974-1931, travisg@utk.edu)

Kim Cowart (865-974-0686, kcowart@utk.edu)

Whitney Heins (865-974-5460, wheins@utk.edu)

The One Stop center will open in summer 2013 on the ground floor of Hodges Library. The paperless, wireless environment will give enrolled undergraduate and graduate students one location to access the primary services of the registrar, financial aid, and bursar offices.

A new website, onestop.utk.edu, will simplify information and highlight the many transactions that students can complete online.

“The goal of One Stop is to make our students’ experience in managing enrollment, academic records, financial aid, and payments as smooth, efficient, and friendly as possible,” Provost Susan Martin said.

A new One Stop director will soon be on board. The center will eventually employ twelve One Stop counselors who will process transactions, answer questions, provide information, and empower students to use the online systems designed for self service. UT Human Resources has now posted for the first four positions online. An electronic check-in system will help minimize wait time. The center also will answer questions via a phone bank and through an e-mail address.

Watch the video below for more on the One Stop center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifUdtCZTwJs

Martin said the One Stop initiative is part of UT’s strategic goals for enhancing student support.

“Improving services and support will help students eliminate obstacles, solve problems, and stay on track to graduate. We will create a friendly, service-oriented environment that will work in concert with the latest technology to take care of most things a student will need,” she added.

Construction of the One Stop center will begin this fall. The center will serve all admitted and enrolled students and will work closely with the Student Success Center, college advisors, the housing and dining offices, and the Dean of Students Office. One Stop also will serve parents and families during new-student orientation sessions.

While most front-line service functions of the registrar, financial aid, and bursar will be moving, the staff in those functional areas will support One Stop operations and perform additional functions such as central cashiering, federal loan and Hope scholarship processing, in-depth financial aid counseling, classroom scheduling, Banner management, graduation application processing, and setting the academic calendar, among many other services.

University administrators involved in forming One Stop are modeling the center after successful operations at other universities, like the University of Minnesota.

For more information, visit onestop.utk.edu.

—

Contact: Karen Simsen (865-974-5186, karen.simsen@tennessee.edu)