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Familiar faces ask, "Are You Ready?"

Some well-known UT alumni—including some engineers—have pitched in to help spread the word about the Big Orange Give with a video that asks, "Are you ready?" Watch for these celebrity alumni in the video:

• Dr. Mark Dean, co-inventor of the personal computer, who joined the COE faculty this fall as the John Fisher Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Michael Jenkins, guitarist and manager with rock band The Dirty Guv'nahs, who earned his BS degree in the Department of Nuclear Engineering

See who is ready for the Big Orange Give >>

Jim Gibson

College of Engineering announces endowed chair to focus on energy challenges

A gift from a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumnus to the College of Engineering has created an endowed chair to focus on tackling today's energy challenges. The $1.5 million commitment from Jim Gibson, a 1971 graduate in industrial engineering, has established the Gibson Endowed Chair in Engineering.

With key faculty in multiple departments already working on leading-edge energy solutions, the Gibson Chair will be a senior-level professor who can augment current research collaborations and help the college create new clusters of strength. A national interdisciplinary search will begin immediately.

"This gift allows us to leverage funding for engineering provided in Gov. Bill Haslam’s budget in a powerful way. The Gibson Endowed Chair will complement and expand our already considerable scope of work in the energy disciplines," said Dean Wayne Davis.
Read more >>

Dr. Airton Kohls

Federal Highway Administration recommends UT CTR program to national audience

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has listed UT’s Traffic Signal Academy as one of its recommended training programs. The FHWA website says, “Developed by the University of Tennessee's Center for Transportation Research (CTR), this course offers a comprehensive discussion on standards, warrants, installation and maintenance guidelines, liability issues, design, operations and maintenance of traffic signal systems.”

Transportation workforce development is a major activity for CTR, and its Traffic Signal Academy, established in 2010, is one of the highlights of this effort. Headed by Dr. Airton Kohls, the academy helps transportation agencies optimize their existing traffic signal operations, improve benefit-to-cost ratios, maintain signal hardware, and stay abreast of changes in technology.
Read more >>

COE, departmental annual reports available online

The 2013 College of Engineering Annual Report is available for viewing online in PDF form. View it here >>

Other COE publications online include:

• EECS Annual Report >>
• Materials UT >>
• UT NE Update >>
  

McCullock to join COE as new finance director

Kimberly L. McCullock will join the COE administrative staff as the new director of the Office of Finance and Administrative Affairs on Monday, November 4, 2013. Current director Judy Moore will retire in December.

McCullock received her BS in accounting from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. She has fifteen years of experience in accounting and finance, with thirteen years in various financial roles in the medical/hospital field. She has spent the past two and a half years as regional controller for Health Management Associates, a division of Tennova Healthcare in Knoxville.

FACULTY NEWS

Dr. Arthur Ruggles

Ruggles speaks to Texas A&M

Dr. Arthur Ruggles, a professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, presented a seminar titled "Utility of PET Scanners for Flow Interrogation" on Monday, October 14, at Texas A&M University. The talk looked at performance improvements of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanners over the past twenty years and reviewed their use in flow measurement.

Dr. Milton Bailey

Dougherty Award winning Professor Emeritus
Dr. Milton Bailey passes away

Dr. John Milton Bailey Jr., of Knoxville, passed away October 12, 2013, at his home in the Shannondale Retirement Community.

Bailey was a professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and an adjunct participant at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In 1994, he received the Nathan W. Dougherty Award for Distinguished Service in the Engineering Profession, the most prestigious award given by the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee.

Bailey had five patents in the field of electric motor design and control.
Read more >>

STUDENT NEWS

Dr. Huidong Zang

MSE grad, professor publish in Scientific Reports

Dr. Huidong Zang, a graduate from the UT COE Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Dr. Bin Hu, a professor in MSE, and colleagues recently published "Magneto-Dielectric Effects Induced by Optically-Generated Intermolecular Charge-Transfer States in Organic Semiconducting Materials" in Scientific Reports (Nature Publishing Group). The group's research investigated the interaction between magnetic field and a capacitor while using polymer and small molecule as dielectric materials. Zang is currently working as a postdoctoral research associate with the Center for Functional Nanomaterials at Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York.
Read more >>

IEEE Robotics Team

Donate to IEEE Robotics Team

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a professional society for those involved in the engineering electronics and related disciplines, has entered a national robotics team competition annually since 2004. This extremely competitive robotics team consists of students spanning a variety of academic disciplines. The team requests donations toward another successful year of competition and continued engineering outreach to local and state-wide schools.
Read more about the team and how to donate >>

EECS grad student wins at IEEE ECCE conference

Yang Xue, a graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, won Best Presentation for her section at the IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Expo (ECCE), held September 15-19, 2013, in Denver, Colorado. For a listing of awards, photos, and information on ECCE, visit www.ecce2013.org.

Nethika S. Suraweera

PhD candidate Suraweera presents defense

Nethika S. Suraweera, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering under advisor Dr. David Keffer, will present her dissertation defense 2:00-4:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 29, in Room 414E of Ferris Hall. Suraweera's dissertation is titled "Adsorption and Diffusion of Gases in Nano-Porous Materials."
Read more >>

EVENTS

Trapp will give ISE seminar

Dr. Andrew Trapp, at right, will present a seminar on "Finding Multiple Optimal Solutions to Binary Integer Programs" 2:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, October 28, in Room 500 of the John D. Tickle Engineering Building.

The talk is presented by the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
Read more >>

Savara to speak in CBE seminar series

Dr. Aditya Savara, at left, from Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL), will speak on "Endothermic Spillover of Adsorbates and Organic Oxygenate Interactions with Metal Oxide Surfaces" 9:40-10:50 a.m. Tuesday, October 29, in Room 612 of the Dougherty Engineering Building. The talk is presented by the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Read more >>

MABE faculty candidate will present seminar

Dr. Sumanta Acharya, at right, will present a seminar 10:00-11:00 a.m. Tuesday, October 29, in Room 409 of the Dougherty Engineering Building. Acharya is a candidate for the H.H. Arnold Chair of Excellence in Computational Fluid Dynamics in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering. He is currently currently the L.R. Daniel Professor and director of the Turbine Innovation and Energy Research (TIER) Center at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Read more >>

Student leadership conference planned for January

The Clifton M. Jones Student Leadership Conference and Martin Luther King Day of Service is scheduled for January 18, 2014. The program proposal process for presenters will open on November 1, 2013. For information, call the UT Center for Leadership and Service at 865-974-5455 or visit http://leadershipandservice.utk.edu/info_conference.php.

NICS seminar series continues thorugh May 2013

The National Institute for Computational Sciences (NICS) is offering a "Seminar Series on High-performance Computing" every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:10 ET to 3:10 ET through May 22, 2014. The seminar can be joined in-person at UT in Room 233 (Innovative Computing Laboratory [ICL]) of the Claxton building, or online (now from mobile devices) via WebEx.

This series is a joint effort of different leadership organizations—NICS, the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, and ICL—to increase HPC awareness among the academic community. Different topics will be introduced, starting with the most basic and building up to the more advanced aspects of HPC. No registration is required. Instructions for online access and a calendar of topics can be found here >>

CURENT connects with students on Family Engineering Night

The University of Tennessee’s engineering research center CURENT hosted two Family Engineering Nights during the week of October 7-11, 2013, at Green Magnet Academy and Lake City Elementary School.

The events connected nearly 400 students and their families to engineering exhibits which included solar cars, paper helicopters and homemade circuits. Students were also able to interact with robotics teams from L&N STEM Academy and Clinton High School.
Read more >>

OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteers needed for FIRST robotics event

The College of Engineering will be involved again this coming year with the national high school FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competition next semester. Volunteers are needed to help with this large and prestigious competition.

The college will host a kick-off event on Saturday, January 4, 2014, in which area high school teams will watch a video telling them the rules for this year’s competition, and receive their kit of materials. This year organizers are expanding kick-off activities to include a Robot Quick Build event and a demonstration practice field. In March, the college will co-sponsor a FIRST regional competition to be held at the Knoxville Convention Center.

Volunteers are needed to help with the kick-off in January. Please note that this event is the Saturday before classes start for the Spring semester, school is not in session, and organizers will also need some volunteer help to set up on Friday afternoon.

If you would like to be involved please send an e-mail to Roger Parsons, [log in to unmask]. Organizers are especially interested in hearing from students or staff who volunteered last year, that have been involved with this competition in the past, and student engineering organizations looking for a service activity.

Faculty-led study-abroad seeks program development

Faculty members can join representatives from the Center for International Education (CIE) and International Studies Abroad (ISA) to learn about the process and options to design a new faculty-led study-abroad program. Faculty members can design a program to run during any of the regular terms on campus or even embed a semester course with an international component.

Each year the University of Tennessee sends approximately 1,000 students on study abroad programs and over 50% participate on faculty-led programs. It is the most popular choice for students, and faculty who have led programs in the past have described leading study abroad programs as the most rewarding teaching experience they have had.

When: 10:00-11:00 a.m. and 3:00-4:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 30, and 10:00-11:00 a.m. Thursday, October 31
Where:  International House Community Room  
Who: Noah Rost, Assistant Director of CIE, and Lauren Alexander, Associate Vice President of ISA

For more information, contact Noah Rost at [log in to unmask]" style="color:#00746F"> [log in to unmask] or 974-3177.

"Alternative Winter Break" to Costa Rica offered for students

The COE's Global Initiatives program will offer an "Alternative Winter Break" trip to San Miguel, Costa Rica, December 13-20, 2013. Students will stay with a local host family and participate in a service project to build a "non-traditional" sidewalk alongside members of the local community. Side-trip opportunities offer additional cultural experiences. Approximate cost of the trip is $875 plus air fare. A limited number of scholarships are available.

For information, call Judith Mallory at 865-974-9234 or visit http://www.engr.utk.edu/global/upcoming_trips.html.

Survey seeks student interest for oil-well drilling class

A survey is being conducted on the student interest of enrolling in a possible oil-well drilling class for the upcoming spring 2014 semester. If enough interest is generated,  Dr. Don Dareing of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering will propose the class to the department heads provided there are enough participants to enroll in the course. Dareing has been in the oil industry for over half his career and is well versed in the methodologies and procedures involved in drilling, and he has contributed heavily to the drilling technology that is currently in use today.

Students in mechanical, civil, and nuclear should be especially interested in these topics. The class would be a great introductory course for anyone seeking to pursue a career in the drilling industry. Students can sign up here. Please provide your name, email, and major as indicated in the spreadsheet.

Peer Career Advisor jobs open for spring

Career Services encourages students to apply for paid positions as Peer Career Advisors for the spring of 2014. Peer Career Advisors are trained and supervised paraprofessionals who provide career assistance to other students through UT Career Services. Responsibilities of Peer Career Advisors include critiquing resumes, assisting students with the use of the Career Exploration Center, job search strategies, interview skills and promoting UT Career Services.

• Assist other UT students
• Gain valuable communication, active listening, event planning, organizational, presentation and consulting skills
• Participate in leadership opportunities
• Become familiar with job searching and interview
  techniques
• Learn more about your own career development and how to
  effectively market your degree
• And more!
  Read more >>

UT/Pro2Serve Math Contest scheduled for November

The 15th Annual UT/Pro2Serve Math Contest for Tennessee High School Students is a day-long event to be held Thursday, November 14, 2013. Approximately 700 academically distinguished high school students, along with a number of parents, teachers, and chaperons, will be on campus. There is some room for table displays and recruiting efforts in the UC Ballroom and the adjacent rooms during the 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. lunch hour. To reserve a table (at no cost), please contact the Math Department's Connie Mroz at 865-974-2461 or [log in to unmask] with the subject line: "UC Table Reservation." Table reservations should be made by October 25.

Stay up-to-date with Engineering Professional Practice information and events by clicking the “Like” button on the program’s Facebook page, following the program on Twitter, visiting its website 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.

Featured co-op student: Patrick Ryan Berry

This week's student is Patrick Ryan Berry, an aerospace engineering major who accepted a co-op at Jacobs ESCG located in Houston, Texas.

Berry describes the department he worked in and what his main responsibilities were.

“I assisted the Celanese Chemical plant reliability engineering group as a contractor," he said. "I also worked on enhancing the spare parts strategy used by the plant by updating the bill of materials for critical equipment. The next project that I worked on was designing a redundant steam ejector system because the original one had failed, and had the potential to cause serious damage to a critical compressor."

The assignment challenged Berry to step out of his comfort zone to get know people on a more personal level.

"Becoming a more personal and open person is not an easy skill to master, but I have to work on continually improving in that area," said Berry. "I learned that I have a long way to go before I am an incredibly sociable person."

Berry received valuable benefits during his assignment.

"This was a great assignment that allowed me to learn so much and grow as a person and engineer," he said. "The largest benefit that I gleaned from this work term was how to properly manage people to accomplish seemingly enormous task in a limited time frame, and how to create a friendly yet professional work environment."

Students may read more about their peers' co-op 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 [log in to unmask] or 865-974-5323.

What else can you do with your major? You can now receive your degree and a secondary education teaching license with VolsTeach. The VolsTeach program is available to Math and Science majors who wish to expand their career options by earning a secondary education teaching license. Given the current economy VolsTeach offers one degree with two career paths which will make you more competitive in the future job market.

VolsTeach provides:

• early and frequent field experiences
• personal guidance by Master Teachers and program advisors
• the opportunity to have paid exclusive internships during regular and summer terms
• a comfortable learning environment that will further enhance your professional skill set

This is your opportunity to be a part of the program. VolsTeach is open to freshmen, sophomores and juniors who are ready to start a journey that will give them a chance to connect with the community. Become a part of this exciting venture by signing up for the Fall Step 1 course now.

Click on the flier to the right for registration information.

For more information contact VolsTeach Coach, Jada Johnson at [log in to unmask] or visit the program's Facebook page, VolsTeach, for current events, and the program's website, http://volsteach.utk.edu.

Engineering Advising Services

Engineering Advising Reminder:
Be sure to schedule your advising appointment now to be cleared for registration for Spring 2014. Second Session classes (mainly FYS 129 and Physical Education) begin on October 10.

Spring 2014 Undergraduate Advising and Registration Reminders
The Spring timetable is available for viewing on MyUTK.

Spring 2014 Undergraduate Registration Dates:
November 4 & 5 Sophomores (30 to 59 hours earned)
November 25 & 26 Freshmen (less than 30 hours earned)

Students taking EF 151-152 (Honors EF 157-158) or Physics 135-136 (Honors 137-138) and Math 141-142 (Honors Math147-148) are advised in the Engineering Advising Office located in Room 202 of Estabrook Hall. Come by or call (865)974-4008 to schedule your advising appointment.

Students who have completed EF151-152/Physics 135-136 and Math 141-142 are advised by their major department. Contact your major department to schedule an appointment with your faculty advisor.

Career Services News

Lockheed Martin Information Session - November 12, 2013
Lockheed Martin will host an information session 5:00-7:00 p.m. on November 12, 2013, in the Executive Dining Room of the University Center.

Networking at Neyland, November 5, 2013
Are you a junior or senior interested in networking with some of UT's top alumni? Join the UT Knoxville Career Services Office, the UT Alumni Association, and the UT Athletics Department at our Networking at Neyland event. Students will learn the art of networking while gaining superior advice from professionals in various fields. Prepare for an exclusive opportunity to help grow your networks!
When: 6:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 5, 2013
(Students please arrive at 5:45 p.m. for registration)
Where: West Club Skybox, Neyland Stadium (Enter at Gate 15)
Attire: Business Casual
There is no cost to attend and heavy hors d'ouerves will be served.

Lockheed Martin Information Session - November 12, 2013
Description: Lockheed Martin will host an information session 5:00-7:00 p.m. November 12, 2013, in the Executive Dining Room in the University Center.

EF 301 – Career Services for Engineers
Planning your class schedule for Spring 2013?  Don’t forget to register for EF 301 – Engineering Career Planning!
This class is offered each Spring and Fall semester and is taught at Career Services, 100 Dunford Hall, 1:25-2:15 p.m. on Mondays. This class is a perfect fit for all juniors and seniors and will equip students with the right tools to land that great job. Sophomores and graduate students may also register for the course as well.  The class is offered on a 1-hour Satisfactory/No Credit basis and is taught by Career Services Consultant for the College of Engineering, April Gonzalez/Justin Rice.  Expect visits from company representatives, tips and tricks from HR Recruiters, advice on resumes, cover letters, interviewing and salary negotiation and learn the ways you can stand out and get noticed at the job fairs. 

Here’s what students are saying about the class:

“This is the most useful non-engineering class I have ever taken.  It gave me insider information about what employers are looking for during interviews and I have a resume that I feel great about!”

“Well thought out and put together course. I feel much more confident about job searching.”

“This class exceeded all my expectations – it really works!”

Don’t wait to sign up as space is limited and the class will fill up fast.

For more information, contact April Gonzalez , Career Services Consultant, College of Engineering at [log in to unmask] or 865-974-5435.

Check out www.career.utk.edu for a list of all upcoming events.

The Office of Multicultural Student Life offers these academic services. For information, call 865-974-6861.

Free Tutoring in Math, Chemistry, Biology, and Spanish: 7:00-10:00 p.m. Mondays & Wednesdays in the Clement Hall basement.

Free Tutoring in Math, English, Engineering, Accounting, French, Chemistry, Biology, and more: Appointment and walk-in tutoring available for all students.

Late-Night Study Session (tutoring available): 8:00 a.m.-midnight Wednesday, December 4, and Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, at the Black Cultural Center. Games, crafts, stress relief activities. Snacks both days 3:00-10:00 p.m.

Vols Success Seminars: During the Fall semester, in collaboration with the Student Success Center and other campus departments, Vols Success Seminars will be offered to all UT students. This series of workshops is designed to equip all students with the knowledge and resources to be successful, inside and outside of the classroom at the UT. Students can register in advance for each workshop at multicultural.utk.edu or studentsuccess.utk.edu. View the Vols Success Seminars Fall 2013 calendar >>