Alyssa Schroder, a senior in sustainability, and Jacob Arbital, a senior in environmental studies, have the big idea of getting UT involved in a national competition called Small Steps, Big Wins, where undergraduates on campus compete against their peers from other schools to complete social and environmental actions. UT is vying for the top spot. To get involved, visit smallsteps.netimpact.org.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqA17rxcggk

Cal MacLean, head of the theatre department, has the big idea of connecting Knoxville’s local musical talents with UT’s Clarence Brown Theatre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKTrY18pTfQ

Peyton Manning, a 1997 communications graduate, shares his big idea of providing leadership and growth opportunities to at-risk children through his Peyback Foundation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Sn3moamFg

Associate professor Kenton Yeager runs UT’s master’s program in theatrical lighting design. He designed and built a one-to-six-scale working theater laboratory to provide students with a safe, accessible way to learn lighting, scenery, sound design, stage management, and more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnx83TEiAxc

College of Nursing instructor Lynne Miller started the Precious Prints Project, a program that partners with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to provide parents who have lost children a tangible remembrance of their child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7ZZWCgsaKM

Jim Boyle, director of the Student Health Center, had the idea of bringing key student services under one roof. The new Student Health Building houses the Student Health Center; the Counseling Center; and the Safety, Environment, and Education (SEE) Center. The building opened in December and is located at 1800 Volunteer Boulevard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQK17YpgAXo

UT senior John Utley is studying mechanical engineering. He’s on the EcoCAR 2 team, working to improve fuel efficiency and reduce harmful emissions through advance vehicle technologies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOR34z7HF1M

When UT alum Min Kao, founder and chairman of Garmin, heard that the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science had outgrown its current home in Ferris Hall, he donated $12.5 million toward a new building to house the department. Kao visited the campus last month to dedicate the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building.

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

Professor Rupy Sawhney, head of the Department of Industrial and Information Engineering, wants to see departments at UT become more involved in their respective communities through their actions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EkflyrUUB0

Andy Rogers, a 2011 graduate who majored in biochemistry and minored in theater, has found a way to combine these areas by creating a musical called “Andy and the Beats,” which focuses on type I diabetes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSZ6NKk4pwM

Mark Walker, a senior studying nuclear engineering, has been working on ways to verify the dismantlement of nuclear weapons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_gz2hDJyWk

Morgan Baltz, a senior studying chemical and biomolecular engineering, has the big idea of engineering better medicine.