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For the week of Jan. 14, 2011
Welcome back to campus for the beginning of the Spring 2011 semester! We are resuming our Friday publication schedule, so if you have any submissions for @COE, please send them to Julie Stansberry in the Engineering Communications Office at [log in to unmask]
Engineering Professional Practice Announcement
Prep for Success...
…with Engineering Professional Practice spring events.
Engineering Professional Practice spring event dates have been set. The events are open to all undergraduate engineering students who are interested in obtaining a co-op or internship.
The Jan. 20 Information Session will kick off a series of “Prep for Success” workshops, which are geared toward preparing students to succeed at the March 3 Spring Engineering Fair and March 4 Interview Day. Each event will focus on specific information needed for students to excel during the competitive process of obtaining a co-op or internship position. Attendance at all events is highly encouraged, but not required.
Prep for Success: “Information Session”
Jan. 20 (Thursday) – 5 to 7 p.m., UC Shiloh Room
This session will primarily cover the types of jobs engineering majors perform and which employers hire which engineering majors, as well as the economics of co-op. The session will also cover the Engineering Professional Practice student registration process, where to obtain a resume template and the differences between a co-op and an internship.
Prep for Success: “Promoting Yourself”
Jan. 31 (Monday) – 5 to 7 p.m., 210 Alumni Memorial Building
This workshop will cover tips on how to prepare an effective resume, dressing for success, how to work a co-op/internship fair, and communication techniques that will set you apart from your competition.
Prep for Success: “Networking Essentials”
Feb. 7 (Monday) – 5 to 7 p.m., 210 Memorial Building
This workshop will cover the basics of networking with others and how to grow your network of supporters who can help you reach your goals. Also, discover how to learn about an employer culture, how to research employers, and basics of business ethics.
Interview Schedule Deadline
Feb. 18 (Friday) – Last day to schedule interviews before the fair
Feb. 18 is the last day to be added to employers’ interview schedules before the fair. Students are added on a first-come, first-serve basis, and openings fill quickly. To maximize opportunities, students are encouraged to set an appointment with their office advisor (Joyce or Suzanne) any time between now and early in the spring semester to discuss potential interviews; students should bring their spring class schedule with them to this appointment.
Prep for Success: “Interview Strategies”
Feb. 22 (Tuesday) – 5 to 7 p.m., UC Crest Room
This workshop will cover what employers want to see and hear during an interview; clothing and grooming tips that create a professional appearance; dining etiquette; things to say and do that will enable you to make a positive, lasting impression; and how to follow up with an employer after an interview.
Spring Engineering Fair
March 3 (Thursday) – 4 to 7 p.m., UC Volunteer Ballroom
Students are invited to attend dressed professionally and prepared to discuss co-op and internship opportunities with engineering employers. All engineering students are encouraged to attend for networking opportunities and potential interviews from employers who are filling their own interview schedules at the fair. Student ID is required at check-in.
Interview Day
March 4 (Friday) – Neyland Stadium East Skyboxes
Engineering Fair interviews will be held in the Neyland Stadium East Skyboxes; students with interviews should enter at Gate 26 next to Estabrook Hall.
Stay up-to-date with Engineering Professional Practice information and events by clicking the “Like” button on the program’s new Facebook page, following the program on Twitter, visiting its Web site at www.coop.utk.edu or calling 865-974-5323.
Students, please note: If you receive a co-op or internship offer, please contact Engineering Professional Practice for help with paperwork and any preparations you may need – [log in to unmask], 865-974-5323 or 310 Perkins Hall.
Engineering Professional Practice Student Feature
Featured student: Rick Wheeler
Rick Wheeler is a civil and environmental engineering major who accepted a Summer 2010 internship with Gresham, Smith & Partners in Nashville.
“I worked in the transportation department of Gresham, Smith & Partners on the SR 840 project as an inspector," Wheeler said. "I was in charge of making sure that all the contractors I oversaw installed all of their products properly and in a timely fashion. I was in charge of finding out how much of the product they produced and paid them accordingly as well.
“I learned a lot about how to manage a project, and when to dedicate your time to the more important problems and delegate littler problems to others.”
In regard to a challenge he encountered, Wheeler said, “I had to learn to drive a stick shift. Luckily, the project I was working on was the construction of an interstate so there were several miles of unused road to travel on.”
Wheeler offered the following advice to other students considering this employer: “Volunteer for everything you can, so you can see every aspect of the company and the area that you are working in.
“This job required a lot of time outside, so if heat is not your thing then this internship is not for you … Not everyone uses or knows about the most up-to-date way of practicing engineering, so you must learn how to work with all kinds of generations of engineering, even if the style of practice is a little dated.”
Wheeler said the most valuable benefit he received by accepting the position was “the experience of seeing the knowledge and theory I learned at school apply to the real world. As an engineer, I believe to be able to design something, you should have knowledge of how it is constructed.”
Following his internship with Gresham, Smith & Partners, Wheeler began a co-op position with Turner Universal in Brentwood, Tenn., and is pictured at Turner during his first rotation, during the Fall 2010 semester.
Students may read more about their peers’ co-op/internship experiences by logging into their Engineering Professional Practice profile via www.coop.utk.edu, clicking “Resource Library” (on the left margin) and selecting “Students at Work – In Their Own Words.” For information on engineering co-op and internships, contact Engineering Professional Practice at [log in to unmask] or 865-974-5323.
Student News
LeaderShape Institute Accepting Applications
Apply now for the opportunity to attend a six-day institute that will be hosted specifically for 60 selected UTK students on May 11-16, 2011. Applications are now available at http://sold.utk.edu/leadershape/ and are due by Feb. 1, 2011.
Read more about LeaderShape here.
Please also join us at our upcoming interest sessions:
-Jan. 18, 6:30 p.m., Humes Multi-Purpose Room
-Jan. 26, 6:30 p.m., University Center Crest Room
Society of Women Engineers Scholarships
The 2011-2012 academic year upperclass application for SWE Scholarships opened Dec. 1 for sophomores and above. Sophomores can apply through Feb. 15. Freshmen can create a profile now, but their application will not be available until March.
For more information, visit the SWE Scholarship page.
DOE-NE Issues Scholarship, Fellowship Request for Applications
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) has issued its 2010 Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) scholarship and fellowship Request for Applications (RFAs).
DOE-NE has committed approximately $5 million to fund undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships for U.S. nuclear science and engineering students.
Students can now apply through www.neup.gov. Applications are due Feb. 16, 2011.
DOE plans to notify students in late April 2011 of its selections. Scholarships and fellowships will be awarded this summer.
Please contact [log in to unmask] if you have any questions!
National Hydropower Association Offers Scholarship
The National Hydropower Association is currently offering a $2,000 scholarship. To qualify for the scholarship, each applicant must meet the following criteria:
(1) Applicants must be current college sophomores or juniors who will be college juniors or seniors beginning Fall 2011, or graduate students with a minimum cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) GPA who are enrolled in a full-time undergraduate or graduate course of study at an accredited four-year college or university; (2) Applicants must be students with an equivalent GPA at an accredited vocational technical school or program.
Applicant must be a United States citizen or legal resident. Applicant must be pursuing a program of study that is related to the hydropower industry: engineering, sciences (biology, fisheries, and hydrology), communications and environmental studies.
The postmark deadline to submit applications is Feb. 15, 2011. Guidelines and application forms are available at www.hydro.org.
The recipient of the scholarship will be invited to the association's annual conference in Washington D.C. to accept the award in front of 500 leaders within the hydropower industry. The recipient will also be given free admission to all parts of the conference (April 4-6, 2011).
Volkswagen Distinguished Scholars Program
Graduate and undergraduate students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are eligible to apply for a new research internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, sponsored by Volkswagen Group of America and administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.
The Volkswagen Distinguished Scholars Program, now in its second year, will offer students the opportunity to participate in a 10-week internship at ORNL on research projects of interest to the auto manufacturer.
Applicants must:
-be a junior or senior, or a graduate student who has not yet completed course work
-be a U.S. citizen
-hold a grade-point average of 3.5 or better
-be in a degree field of interest to VW, specifically science, technology, engineering, or math
-have an interest in the automotive industry.
Research projects for VW interns may involve low-cost carbon fiber; battery storage; biofuels, engines, and emissions; intelligent transportation systems; or sustainable manufacturing.
Key date: Feb. 12, 2011, submission of application
Details: http://www.orau.org/volkswagen/
Research Exhibition News
The University of Tennessee’s 15th Annual Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement will be held March 30-31, 2011, in the University Center Ballroom. The event highlights research and creative projects completed by UTK students in collaboration with a faculty mentor.
Cash awards will be presented in each division. The standard award is $200 plus any division match or supplement. Top awardees could receive as much as $650.
Winners may submit their projects to the Office of Research to be considered for the summer internships.
The Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement is sponsored by the University of Tennessee’s Office of Research; it is supported by the Office of the Chancellor.
Application forms due: Feb. 11, 2011
Abstracts due: March 4, 2011
Further information is available at http://research.utk.edu/undergrad/. Contact Jane Taylor at [log in to unmask] or 974-0437.
TransCanada Looking to Fill Student Positions
TransCanada, a North American energy infrastructure company, is looking for talented people who have energy for change, can build powerful partnerships, and deliver sustainable results.
Location: Thompson's Station, Tenn.
Contract Type: Student, Full Time, Summer Term
General Information: TransCanada is currently looking for two qualified students to fill engineering summer student positions at Thompson's Station. One position will be working in the office, and the other will be working in the field.
The targeted start date is May 30, 2011, and will run until Aug. 26, 2011.
Responsibilities:
- Engineering drawing updates
- Project management assistance
- Creating reports
- Project estimating
- Engineering
Qualifications/Competencies Required:
- Positive attitude
- Good interpersonal skills
- Able to work in a team and independently
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Proficient at Microsoft Word, especially Excel spreadsheets
Posting closes Monday, Jan. 31, 2011.
To learn more about the guidelines and to apply, click here.
Tutors Needed!
Attention Graduate and Undergraduate Students:
The Thornton Center is looking for qualified tutors for the Spring 2011 semester. The hours are flexible. Graduate Students will start at $11/hour and undergraduate students start at $9/hour. You must have a 3.0 GPA or better. If you are interested, please e-mail [log in to unmask]
Math Announcement
Students, please note:
The Math Department is located in Ayres Hall.
The Math Tutorial Center is in the basement of Ayres Hall.
Permission for Math classes is given by Tina Murr, who is located in 225B Ayres Hall, 974-1478.
The Math Main Office is located in 227 Ayres Hall.
Faculty News
UT Prepares for Faculty Appreciation Week
Faculty Appreciation Week is being planned for Feb. 14-18, 2011. In preparation, the Office of Communications and Marketing is collecting stories about great UT faculty members. Do you work with someone who is an extraordinary teacher? Do you know a dedicated researcher whose work should be recognized? Do you have a colleague who deserves a special pat on the back? Send your stories to [log in to unmask]
Professor Travels to China to Lecture in Conference
Dr. Michael W. Berry, professor and associate head of Engineering and Computer Science, traveled to China on Dec. 15 and stayed until Dec. 22 to give the following lectures in Chengdu:
"Using Nonnegative Tensor Factorization for Topic, Scenario, and Sentiment Detection and Tracking." Keynote, 2010 International Conference on Computational and Information Sciences (ICCIS)
"Discovering Gene Functional Relationships Using Nonnegative Matrix Factorization Models of Biomedical Literature." Computer Science Colloquium, Southwest Petroleum University
Governor's Chair Professor, Colleagues Publish Two Papers
Dr. William J. Weber, Governor’s Chair professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, along with H.Y. Xiao, published Pressure induced structural transformation in Gd2Ti2O7 and Gd2Zr2O7, J. Physics: Condens. Matter 23 [3]: 035501 (2011). Weber also published Defect- and strain-enhanced cavity formation and Au precipitation at nano-crystalline ZrO2/SiO2/Si interfaces, Nucl. Instrum. and Methods in Physics Research B 269 [2]: 126-132 (2011) along with P.D. Edmondson, Y. Zhang, F. Namavar, C.M. Wang and Z. Zhu.
Professor, Director of UT Nonwovens Research Laboratory visits Mumbai to Speak at International Conference
In December, Gajanan Bhat, professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the University of Tennessee Nonwovens Research Laboratory (UTNRL), visited Mumbai India, to give a special talk at the Bombay Textile Research Association’s Golden Jubilee Celebration event. In this international conference on Technical Textiles, Dr. Bhat presented his research on “Nonwoven Technical Textiles: Recent Developments and Future Opportunities.” Co-author Chris Eash, a research associate at UTNRL, also attended the conference. Both Dr. Bhat and Eash visited Aim Filtertech in Pune, the only dedicated meltblowing company in India. There is continuing research collaboration between Aim Filtertech and UTNRL in the development of next generation filter media using micro and nanofibers.
A Big Thanks...
FIRST Kickoff Volunteers – Thanks to everyone who helped make our first FIRST event a great success! The weather was challenging, but your willingness to adapt to conditions helped make registration, the video presentation, lunch, our workshop, and distribution of kits go smoothly.
This event was a COE-Outreach iniative with Dr. Parang as the host and Dr. Hamel presenting a workshop to help the high school teams plan their robotic projects.
If you have not seen it, the News Sentinel had an article on the event in Sunday’s paper. Click here to view it. As you all know, we will be counting on you as volunteers for the FIRST Smoky Mountains Regional event later this semester. Bring your friends!
Career Services Announcements
Graduate Student Workshops: CVs and Resumes
Tuesday, Jan. 25
Career Services – 108 Dunford Hall
Curriculum Vitae for Academia- 4 p.m.
Resumes for Industry- 5 p.m.
These workshops for master's and Ph.D. students will cover techniques, formatting and strategies for writing your CV specifically for academic positions or your resume for industry positions. Attend one or both sessions.
[log in to unmask]
http://career.utk.edu
Summer Job and Internship Fair
Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2-6 p.m., UC Ballroom
If you are looking for a summer job and/or internship, this is the perfect venue. Keep in mind that internships are available year-round...not just during the summer. Sample employers include:
• Amazon
• Bechtel Corporation
• Belden
• Burlington Northern Santa Fe
• Frito-Lay
• General Dynamics Bath Iron Works
• Johnson & Johnson
• Reckitt Benckiser
• Royal Mouldings
• Shaw Industries
• TVA
• Unilever
• Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
• And More!
For a complete list of registered employers, please log onto www.career.utk.edu and click on the link to the Summer Job and Internship Fair under Upcoming Events.
4th Annual Dining Etiquette Workshop for Engineers
Tuesday, Feb. 15, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
This event is open to College of Engineering juniors and seniors. Registration begins at 5 p.m. at the University Center Hermitage Room. This workshop is essential for those who wish to brush up on their dining etiquette. Space is limited to 50 participants, so be sure to register for the workshop before Feb. 11. Log into your Hire-A-Vol account and look for the event under “Attend Events." If you have any questions, contact Career Services at 974-5435 or www.career.utk.edu.
Employer Information Session
The following companies will be on campus hosting open information sessions regarding their organization and/or employment opportunities for anyone that is interested in learning more. Additional information session times are listed in your HIRE-A-VOL account, which can be accessed at www.career.utk.edu.
Walt Disney World College Program
Feb. 9 and Feb. 10
6:30 p.m., University Center Crest Room
Learn more about the WDW College Co-Op and Internship Program
PepsiCo
Feb. 16
6 p.m., University Center, Suite 220
Learn more about PepsiCo’s Supply Chain Development Program
Siemens Corporation
Feb. 23
6 p.m., University Center, Suite 225
Learn more about career opportunities
PepsiCo
March 2
6:45 p.m., University Center Shiloh Room
Find out about PepsiCo’s Sales and Operations Development Program
Schlumberger
March 3
6:30 p.m., University Center, Suite 220
Find out about Field Engineer positions
Newell Rubbermaid
March 8
7 p.m., University Center, Suite 220
Meet with reps to discuss full-time and internship opportunities
Kimberly-Clark
March 23
6:30 p.m., Career Services Office, 100 Dunford Hall
Find out about full-time and internship opportunities
Students who need an appointment to review their resume, discuss their job search or who have any career-related questions are encouraged to contact the College of Engineering Career Consultant, April Gonzalez at 865-974-5435 or via e-mail at [log in to unmask]
For more information, visit the Career Services Web site.
If you have submissions for @COE, the college's electronic newsletter, please send them to Julie Stansberry at [log in to unmask] by noon on Thursdays.
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