The university community is invited to attend. The dedication will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 4 at the John D. Tickle Engineering Building on Neyland Drive.

Tickle and his wife, Ann, will join Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, President Joe DiPietro, and other officials to celebrate the building.

The $23.1 million, five-story, 110,000-square-foot building houses the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and Industrial and Systems Engineering Department. The project began in December 2009. The building opened to students this semester.

The building contains 24 laboratories, three conventional classrooms, one lecture hall, three student work spaces, and 63 faculty and graduate student offices. The laboratories include a high-bay area for both structural testing and asphalt road surface testing. There is also a geotechnical laboratory. The three classrooms promote collaborative learning through the use of movable chairs and Smart Boards.

For more information on the building, visit www.engr.utk.edu/tickle. For more information about the college, visit www.engr.utk.edu/175.

Their patent-pending design is for an ultra-light, high-efficiency solar fiber, with the aim of creating fabric and clothing that would convert light into energy.

To read the full story, visit the College of Engineering’s website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVdw1_fWJOY

The two-year award from DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration is one of 10 granted to regional university transportation centers. The money will advance U.S. technology and expertise in the many modes and disciplines that comprise transportation through research, education and technology transfer.

STC members include UT as the lead institution along with the University of Kentucky, the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama Birmingham, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, North Carolina A&T State University, and Clemson University.

The consortium’s research will focus on the Secretary of Transportation’s strategic goal of improving public health and safety by reducing transportation-related fatalities and injuries.

“The consortium’s theme is comprehensive transportation safety,” said Steve Richards, consortium director. “This grant allows us to improve the safety of all transportation modes in the Southeast through a program of research, education, and technology transfer.”

“Safety must be a fundamental objective of our national and regional transportation systems,” said Dave Clarke, center director. “However, statistics reveal that our region’s surface transportation systems, individually and collectively, face unsurpassed safety challenges. We continue to work to achieve comprehensive transportation safety related to moving people and goods through our region.”

Research findings will be communicated to officials and policymakers for consideration through research symposia, workshops, and publications. The funding also will support graduate students at all participating universities to develop the next generation of safety leaders as well as address critical issues related to the shrinking transportation work force.

“As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for twenty-six years in the House of Representatives, I know the importance of this research,” said US Representative John Duncan, Jr. “It will affect every American in the years to come as we take on the huge challenge of strengthening and modernizing our nation’s transportation infrastructure.”

Additional support came from Tennessee’s Department of Transportation, a long-standing STC partner. In this competition, TDOT Commissioner John Schroer pledged $500,000 to help match the federal funding.

Established in 1972, the UT Center for Transportation Research promotes and facilitates transportation research, education and public service activities at UT. The center’s research and advocacy led to child passenger restraint laws, which Tennessee was the first state in the nation to adopt. This work led to many additional state traffic safety laws, such as the adult occupant protection law. To learn more, visit ctr.utk.edu.

To learn more about the Southeastern Transportation Center, visit stc.utk.edu.

The goals of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration are to provide a critical transportation knowledge base outside the US DOT and to address vital workforce needs for the next generation of transportation leaders. For more information, visit www.rita.dot.gov.

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CONTACT:

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

Lissa Gay (865-974-8760, lissa@utk.edu)

The award is part of the DOE’s 2013 Nuclear Energy University Programs initiative which is awarding $42 million to thirty-eight American universities and colleges for nuclear energy research and development projects focused on innovative solutions.

A proposal by Steven Skutnik, assistant professor in nuclear engineering, was awarded $755,000 to develop new capabilities for a fuel cycle simulator called CYCLUS by building on an Oak Ridge National Laboratory software package for nuclear fuel modeling called ORIGEN.

The resulting tool, called a flexible reactor analysis module, will allow scientists to assess the relative benefits of different choices for managing spent nuclear fuel such as directly disposing of it, storing it for extended periods of time, or reprocessing it to recover materials for reuse as fuel in a reactor.

Many countries choose to chemically reprocess their used nuclear fuel, which can extract more energy out of fuel and reduce the total long-lived waste. However, the United States has a long-standing policy in which used nuclear fuel is designated for direct disposal. Recently, a plan to dispose of spent fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been scrapped, leaving the nation without a long-term home for the radioactive material.

Thus, the DOE is investigating several alternative fuel cycle strategies. Skutnik’s project will help assess how different fuel cycle choices influence factors such as the demand for raw resources, nuclear waste management, and nuclear facility designs.

“We will look at more kinds of fuel cycles by mapping out what the fuel will look like,” said Skutnik. “So, we can look at the effect of irradiating fuel for longer times—which is like squeezing just a little more juice out of an orange—or new reactor types or even speculative fuel cycles, such as those based on reactors which use long-lived waste products from current reactors as fuel for future reactors. Using these tools opens up a lot more doors in terms of both sensitivity and the kinds of scenarios we can look at.”

The goal is to help the public and policymakers understand the impacts and trade-offs of various nuclear fuel cycle options.

“If we’re going to consider significant changes to policies which impact the nuclear fuel cycle, it’s helpful to have tools to tell us what we can expect the impacts are going to be,” said Skutnik.

Collaborating institutions are ORNL and National Nuclear Laboratory in the United Kingdom.

The NEUPs support multifaceted projects to develop breakthroughs for the US nuclear energy industry. Universities lead the three-year projects, working in collaboration with the nuclear industry, national laboratories, and international partners.

For more information on the specific awards, visit www.neup.gov.

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C O N T A C T :

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

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

Matthew Mench, head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, (right) presents Peter Hoffman (left) with the Accomplished Alumni award.

Peter Hoffman, a protector of intellectual property at the world’s largest aerospace company, received an Accomplished Alumni award yesterday.

The 1984 graduate in the mechanical engineering master’s program was honored by the award, which recognizes notable alumni for their success and distinction within their field.

Hoffman is vice president of intellectual property management for The Boeing Company. He is responsible for strategies that protect and generate the highest possible value from Boeing’s intellectual property. Hoffman manages the company’s patent portfolio through licensing of its technical data, images, consumer products, trademarks, and patents.

Hoffman joined Boeing in 1984. Before moving into his current position he served as director of global research and development strategy, where he was responsible for developing technology collaboration relationships with companies, universities, and national laboratories. He has also played a leadership role in the expansion of Boeing’s global technology activities and the establishment of research centers and numerous technology relationships worldwide. Prior to coming to Boeing, Hoffman held positions in international business development and spent fourteen years conducting research in the area of advanced materials and structures.

“I’m honored to be recognized with this award and much of the credit for what I have been able to accomplish professionally goes to solid educational foundation I received at the University of Tennessee,” Hoffman said.

The award was presented by Matthew Mench, head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, during an aerospace engineering senior design class.

Hoffman joins a variety of outstanding alumni who have been featured through the Accomplished Alumni program, including CEOs of major corporations, Olympians, authors, lawyers, musicians, US ambassadors and civic leaders.

To view other Accomplished Alumni, visit the Office of Alumni website.

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C O N T A C T:

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

Haylee Marshall (865-974-5801, hmarshall@utfi.org)

Emily Ward Bivens, an associate professor in the School of Art, was recently featured in the newsletter of the National Performance Network and Visual Arts Network. The national organizations support the work of artists working in visual and performing arts. Bivens is director of foundations in the School of Art and a member of a four-person art collaborative called the Bridge Club.

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Ernest Freeberg, professor and head of the Department of History, spoke at the Decatur Book Festival in Atlanta last month about his new book, The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America. This history of the social and cultural impact of electric light was published this year, and Freeberg has been sharing his findings with audiences across the country. The Washington Post has called the book “a captivating intellectual adventure that offers long-forgotten stories of the birth pangs of the electrical age that are amusing, surprising and tragic.” His talk in Atlanta was part of a series of talks on science and technology.

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Joshua Fu, a civil and environmental engineering professor, has received a certificate and award from publisher Elsevier Limited for his manuscript about Beijing air quality published in a 2007 edition of Atmospheric Environment. From 2007 to 2012, the paper, entitled “Air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympic games” is ranked in the top three most cited articles in the journal, which is one of top journals in air quality and climate change.

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The Geological Society of America’s Penrose Conference will be held in honor of Distinguished Scientist and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Bob Hatcher. The event is March 30 to April 4, 2014, in Asheville, North Carolina. The topic for the upcoming conference is continental collision mountain building processes and focuses on a region of the southern Appalachians that, to quote the society, “represents the primary study locale of Bob Hatcher’s seminal career.” For more information, visit the society’s website.

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Darrin Hulsey, an assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology, has a paper published in the current issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society. The study cast doubt on the old hypothesis that cichlids, a freshwater fish spanning a rainbow of colors and a myriad of shapes reached multiple continents by swimming in place while an ancient supercontinent split up. Instead, Hulsey and his colleagues say the freshwater fish must have undertaken death-defying dispersals by paddling across the salty seas.

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Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Micah Jessup is the Structural Geology and Tectonics Division of the Geological Society of America’s featured essayist for this month. The society invited twelve scientists to submit scientific essays to celebrate its 125th anniversary. One essay is published each month on the society’s website during the anniversary year. To read Jessup’s essay, “Mid-crustal processes in the Himalaya”, visit the society’s website.

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Sandra Mixer, an assistant professor of nursing, is the 2013 recipient of the Transcultural Nursing Society Award. The mission of the society is to enhance the quality of culturally congruent, competent, and equitable care that results in improved health and well-being for people worldwide. Mixer will be honored at its 39th conference in October in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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Mariano Rodriguez-Cabal, a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, has had his dissertation accepted by the journal PNAS. His work demonstrates for the first time that the addition of novel species (exotic invasive species) and the resulting loss of a keystone species leads to the node-by-node disassembly of an interaction web in Patagonia resulting in a cascade of local extinctions. Together, the results demonstrate that simultaneous gains and losses of species are both consequences and drivers of global change that can lead to under-appreciated cascading co-extinctions.

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Jered Sprecher, an associate professor in the School of Art, spent two months this summer as the artist in residence at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas. The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum. The residency concluded with an exhibition of his work at the Chinati Foundation Locker Plant.

This year marks 175 years of engineering at UT.

The College of Engineering is marking the anniversary with a series of events including a gala and dedication of the John D. Tickle Engineering Building on October 4. It is also celebrating forty years of diversity programs. A complete event schedule can be found on the College of Engineering website.

UT’s fastest-growing college, the College of Engineering has experienced significant expansion in enrollment and faculty and also in its national prominence. Since 2007, undergraduate enrollment has increased by 40 percent and doctoral enrollment by more than 60 percent. The college is now producing 20 percent more graduates than it did just five years ago.

The faculty has grown, and the college’s research profile has as well. Research funding has grown by 74 percent in the past five years to $56.8 million. Since 2009, the college faculty has added ten new prestigious Governor’s Chairs, eight endowed fellowships and professorships, and one endowed chair.

The college’s national rankings have also been on an upward trajectory. Its undergraduate and graduate programs are ranked thirty-seventh overall among doctoral ranking public universities by U.S. News and World Report. Its nuclear engineering graduate program is ranked sixth in the nation among all public and private universities.

Engineering was initially located in the former Reese Hall in 1888. Ten years later, classes were moved to Estabrook Hall. Today, the college spans twelve buildings and stretches from the area north of Cumberland Avenue to Neyland Drive. In the last two years, it has added two state-of-the-art facilities—the John D. Tickle Engineering Building and the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building—adding 260,000 square feet of instructional and research space.

“This celebration allows us to showcase the phenomenal progress that our college and university have made since their inception—but the best is yet to come,” said Dean Wayne Davis. “Our undergraduate and graduate student enrollment is expanding. Our facilities are expanding. We continue to move forward in providing a high-quality education to our ever-growing population of engineering students.”

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has placed a special emphasis on developing students in fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to meet job requirements. The Tennessee legislature recently approved the governor’s proposal to invest additional recurring state funding into the College of Engineering to increase the number of faculty, provide additional support staff, and ensure the college’s ability to provide an increasing number of engineering graduates within the state.

“We have made great strides and with the support of Governor Haslam, the state legislature, UT President DiPietro, and Chancellor Cheek,” said Dean Davis, “and our graduates will be a major driving force for the economic future of our state and nation.”

In addition to the 175th anniversary, the college is also recognizing forty years of diversity programs. The Minority Engineering Scholarship Program was established in 1973 to motivate highly qualified African American young people to select engineering careers. Since then, UT has consistently ranked among the Top 50 universities and colleges in the nation for graduation rates of African American engineering students.

“The Minority Engineering Scholarship Program gave me a chance to attend a quality university and prepared me for success in the emerging computer industry,” said Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, former vice president at IBM, and John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. “The program also allowed me to partner with other black UT students who had similar backgrounds and interests.”

For more information about the College of Engineering’s past, present, and future, visit the college’s website.

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C O N T A C T :

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

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

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

The classroom enhancements are made possible through an in-kind software grant with a commercial value of $2.7 million from Siemens PLM Software. The product lifecycle management (PLM) software helps users make better products using complex modeling techniques. The in-kind grant includes Femap^TM software with NX^TM Nastran® software for finite element modeling.

Students in Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Stephanie TerMaath’s three classes will use the software to investigate fundamental concepts in structural engineering, for example how applying different boundary conditions such as loads and supports to a part affects structural performance.

“This technology allows class to be very hands-on,” said TerMaath. “We can interactively investigate customizable problems very quickly instead of me just showing them pictures in a PowerPoint presentation. Use of this software provides a much improved learning environment by providing the flexibility to explore an unlimited number of configurations in real time based on student questions.”

The software will impact close to a hundred students through TerMaath’s classes and research, and is available through UT’s app to anyone at the university who wants to use it.

TerMaath, who used the technology as an engineer at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Applied Research Associates, said this grant gives students access to technology that companies around the world use every day to develop innovative solutions in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, defense, machinery, medical, and electronics.

Being trained on this software also makes students highly marketable for advanced technology jobs.

“This software is very user-friendly and is widely used by industry,” said TerMaath. “Codes can be very frustrating to learn, and students end up spending more time figuring out which button to push instead of working on their analysis. This software eliminates that problem and allows us to focus on the engineering fundamentals.”

TerMaath also will use the PLM software for her own multidisciplinary research in computational structural mechanics which spans problems in civil, aerospace, mechanical and biomedical engineering.

Siemens’ academic program delivers PLM software technology to more than a million students from grade school to graduate school around the world each year.

“Siemens PLM Software is dedicated to equipping today’s students with the knowl­edge and skills necessary to serve in the next generation of engineers. UT serves a key role in filling the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics job skills gap and producing highly quali­fied future employees,” said Bill Boswell, senior director, partner strategy, Siemens PLM Software.

Siemens PLM Software is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management software and services with 7 million licensed seats and more than 71,000 customers worldwide. Femap and NX are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries. Nastran is a registered trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.For more information, visit the Siemens website.

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C O N T A C T :

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

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

Dennis Hopkins, vice president of DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc. (second from right), presents the check for $50,000 to Matthew Mench (second from left). They are joined by MABE Research Assistant Professor David “Butch” Irick (left) and Wayne Davis, dean of the College of Engineering, (right).

The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering’s rolling hybrid vehicle laboratory has received a boost. Denso North American Foundation has donated $50,000 to the lab. The hybrid vehicle laboratory helps faculty prepare students for high-tech jobs in the industry with hands-on design experience. Matthew Mench, department head, said as a local employer and international leader in advanced automotive technology, Denso’s continual support of the department’s programs are critical for their success. For more information, visit the College of Engineering website.

The

To read the full article, visit The Chattanoogan.

A group of UT faculty members and students is trying to change this situation.

Nursing professors in the Global Disaster Nursing program are working with architecture and environmental engineering professors, law enforcement professionals, graduate students, and Clay County community partners to improve the area’s community wellness and disaster preparedness.

The project is made possible through a $1.5 million grant over three years from the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Through a constant flow of communication between the project group and community members, the group will identify, evaluate, and address the health and disaster readiness needs of Clay County.

“This project launches a new nursing model for the nation,” said College of Nursing Dean Victoria Niederhauser. “What makes it truly unique is that it brings together disciplines that rarely work together and integrates the varied skills with planning and knowledge sharing with community members.”

Clay County is an isolated area ranked 119th out of 120 Kentucky counties on major health indicators. Much of the population is ill-equipped to deal with a disaster because of poor housing, few shelters, inadequate sanitation, limited public resources, poverty, and lack of disaster education and essential reserves of food and water.

“The link between wellness and the capacity of communities to recover from disaster is clear,” said Susan Speraw, the project lead and coordinator of UT’s Global Disaster Nursing graduate program. “With Clay County partners as members of the team, this project can result in significant positive change and increase the community’s ability to be resilient in the face of disaster or public health emergency.”

At the same time, the project will train a new generation of professionals to work together to achieve the best possible outcome.

“The collaboration with the nursing program is a fantastic example of how creativity works,” said J. David Matthews, Interior Design program chair. “By bringing together two very different disciplines, we can build amazing new design ideas that cannot be realized independently.”

“We look forward to providing input on reducing the safety concerns of the hospital including potential threats and access issues,” said Don Green, executive director of UT’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center.

Over three years, the group aims to have a comprehensive assessment of the community’s health status, living conditions, and disaster readiness and vulnerability; an enhancement of overall wellness, including structural safety of homes and buildings; and the development of a community that has sufficient disaster preparedness training and resources. The project members will write grants to pay for costly updates and work with UT students and volunteers to implement solutions.

“Flooding in Clay County this year was devastating—compromising homes, health, safety, and sanitation,” said Tracy Nolan, director of community outreach at Red Bird Mission. “With UT’s help and knowledge of best practices, we will identify innovative solutions to local issues, never before attainable.”

“Emergency management is about preparing for uncertainty, and we are so excited to have the additional resources made possible through this grant,” said David Watson, emergency management director for Clay County and executive director of Manchester Memorial Hospital.

Participants include nursing professors Susan Speraw, Moriah McArthur, and Mary Nypaver; architecture and design professors John McRae and J. David Matthews; John Schwartz, environmental engineering professor; Don Green from the UT Law Enforcement Innovation Center; graduate students; the UT Institute for Assessment and Evaluation; and two Clay County community partners, Red Bird Mission and Clay County Emergency Management.

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C O N T A C T :

Susan Speraw (865-974-7586, ssperaw@utk.edu)

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

Zinkle will serve as Governor’s Chair for Nuclear Materials, based in the department of nuclear engineering at UT with a complementary appointment in materials science and engineering. He begins at UT on October 1.

Zinkle comes to UT from ORNL, where he was a UT-Battelle Corporate Fellow and chief scientist for the laboratory’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate. In 2012, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of engineering’s top professional honors. He joined ORNL in 1985 as a Eugene Wigner Fellow. He led the laboratory’s nuclear materials and science technology group from 2001 to 2006 and directed the Materials Science and Technology Division from 2006 to 2010.

Zinkle’s research is important to understanding how structural materials inside fusion and fission reactors react to radiation. His research aims to develop high-performance radiation-resistant materials for advanced nuclear fission and fusion energy applications.

“Steve’s leadership in nuclear materials research is a perfect complement to our talented Governor’s Chairs team and cutting-edge resources dedicated to addressing out nation’s significant energy and resource challenges,” said Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “His expertise will continue to propel our work forward in developing cleaner, more sustainable energy for the nation and world.”

Materials in reactors are bombarded by neutrons that damage their atomic structure, weakening the materials and rendering them less flexible. This shortens the lifespan of reactors and presents safety concerns. Zinkle’s work seeks to develop self-healing materials that return the atomic structure of materials used in fission and fusion reactors to their previous or equivalent positions.

“The energetic neutrons, which are a byproduct of nuclear fusion and fission reactions, act like a cue ball hitting a bunch of billiard balls—or atoms—which shakes up the material’s atomic structure,” Zinkle said. “We are trying to take this jumbled mess and creatively maneuver the atoms into desired configurations, much like the UT band does during halftime performances on the football field. We are exploring several new concepts that might dramatically improve the efficiency of the atomic recombination.”

Achieving this goal could enable a broad range of new fission reactor concepts and resolve a key feasibility issue for the future commercialization of fusion reactors. Zinkle hopes to see the development of these high-performance materials in five to ten years.

Additionally, Zinkle is researching accident-tolerant fuel systems for reactors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan.

He plans to use UT’s two new high-powered electron microscopes and new ion accelerator along with ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor to conduct his research.

“UT’s faculty and suite of tools puts it in a stronger position than any university worldwide to excel at this type of research,” Zinkle said.

In 2006, Zinkle received the US Department of Energy’s E. O. Lawrence Award for his contributions to the scientific understanding of the effects of radiation on the properties of materials and for identifying performance limits for materials in radiation environments. He is also the recipient of the 2010 Robert Cahn Award from Elsevier Ltd., the 2006 Fusion Technology Award from the Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the 1992 Fusion Power Associates David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award, among other awards. He is a fellow of six professional societies, including the Materials Research Society; the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society; the American Nuclear Society; ASM International; and the American Ceramic Society, and is on several boards. He has served as a visiting scientist in Denmark, Germany, and Russia and is an author or co-author of more than 240 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

“Steve has been an invaluable resource to ORNL and our understanding of radiation effects in materials for fission and fusion energy systems,” said ORNL Director Thom Mason. “We look forward to him furthering these contributions through the collaboration with UT talent and sharing his expertise with the next generation of engineers.”

Zinkle received a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering, master’s degrees in materials science and nuclear engineering, and a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The UT–ORNL Tennessee Governor’s Chair Program is funded by the state of Tennessee and ORNL. It is designed to attract exceptionally accomplished researchers from around the world to boost joint research efforts that position the partnership as a leader in the fields of biological science, computational science, advanced materials, and neutron science.

Other UT–ORNL Governor’s Chairs are:

• Jeremy Smith, a computational biologist who came to UT and ORNL from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He was appointed in 2006.
• Howard Hall, an expert in nuclear security who came to UT and ORNL from Lawrence Livermore National Lab. He was appointed in 2009.
• Yilu Liu, an electric grid researcher who came to UT and ORNL from Virginia Tech. She was appointed in 2009.
• Frank Loeffler, a biologist and environmental engineer who came to UT and ORNL from Georgia Tech. He was appointed in 2009.
• Alexei Sokolov, a polymer scientist who came to UT and ORNL from the University of Akron. He was appointed in 2009.
• Robert Williams, a genetics and biomedical researcher who was the Dunavant Chair in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Health Science Center. He was appointed in 2009.
• Thomas Zawodzinski, an energy storage researcher who came to UT and ORNL from Case Western Reserve University. He was appointed in 2009.
• William Weber, a materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He was appointed in 2010.
• Brian Wirth, a radiation expert who came to UT and ORNL from the University of California, Berkeley. He was appointed in 2010.
• Terry Hazen, an environmental biologist who came to UT and ORNL from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was appointed in 2011.
• Ramamoorthy Ramesh, materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from the University of California, Berkeley. He began his position on June 1.
• Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, a materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from The Ohio State University. He began his position on July 1.

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C O N T A C T :

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

A gift from Ralph and Janet Heath through the Heath Family Charitable Fund in the Community Foundation of North Texas has established the Heath Endowed Faculty Fellowship in business and engineering with the goal of enhancing the relationship between the two fields.

Edirisinghe

Chanaka Edirisinghe, professor of statistics, operations, and management science, is the Heath Faculty Fellow in the College of Business Administration. Rupy Sawhney, a professor of industrial and information engineering, is the fellow in the College of Engineering.

This gift answers Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek’s challenge to private supporters to help recruit and retain UT’s most talented faculty.

Ralph Heath received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1970 and his MBA in 1975, from UT. He recently retired as president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. He is a founding and current member of the College of Business Administration’s Aerospace and Defense Advisory Board, a lifetime member of the college’s Advisory Council to the Dean, a member of the College of Engineering’s Board of Advisors, and a recipient of UT’s Alumni Professional Achievement Award. He inspired the College of Business Administration to create its unique Aerospace and Defense MBA program.

“I believe strongly that engineering and business need to become more engaged at the university level so that when our graduates begin to practice and lead in industry they are better prepared,” said Heath.

Janet Heath graduated in 1976 with a degree in food systems administration through the university’s registered dietitian program. She enthusiastically supports the interaction between business and engineering and collaborated with her husband on the proposal for the joint faculty fellowship.

Edirisinghe is the director of the Management Science doctoral program, co-director of the Business Analytics Forum, and director of the college’s Financial Engineering Research Laboratory. He specializes in operations research/management science with applications to financial investments, project management, supply chain coordination, reservoir scheduling, and fleet routing. He is the developer of the financial trading strategy optimization and simulation software called Mi$OFT and a recipient of the prestigious 2009 Citation of Excellence Award by Emerald Management Reviews.

“There is great wisdom, foresight and creativity in this gift from Ralph Heath, born from his lifetime of management experience in both engineering and business,”

said Steve Mangum, dean of the College of Business Administration. “The Heath Faculty Fellowship program provides specific opportunities for two leading faculty members from these two colleges to permeate barriers, be innovative, and initiate constructive dialogue and programming.”

Sawhney is a faculty member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, a joint effort between UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory focused on renewable energy; a 2006 Boeing Welliver Fellow; and a recipient of the Lean Fellowship since 1998. He specializes in the development of supply chain management models and enterprise improvement strategies, and integrating reliability into lean systems. Through his Lean Fellowship, he has worked to develop new methodologies and tools to make US manufacturing more competitive. He has worked with more than 150 industrial and governmental organizations, including UT.

“The Heath Fellowship program provides a unique opportunity to identify and encourage interaction and collaboration between our two colleges,” said Wayne Davis, dean of the College of Engineering.

Funding to recruit and retain top faculty is part of the chancellor’s road map to achieve Top 25 status. Through the Chancellor’s Faculty Challenge, his office funds interest income immediately on all new gifts and five-year pledges that donors intend to establish over a period of time in support of faculty. By providing immediate endowment income to be used for salary support, the chancellor is enabling academic units like the Colleges of Business Administration and Engineering to have an immediate impact in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty.

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C O N T A C T :

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

Cindy Raines (865-974-4359, craines1@utk.edu)

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

Dean was one of the lead inventors of the personal computer and until recently, was chief technology officer for IBM Middle East and Africa. He joined the College of Engineering faculty this fall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7soXTX_8w8

To read more about the celebration and Baine, visit the College of Engineering website.

Read the full story at WBIR.