College of Engineering e-News • March 2015

IACMI: What It Means for UT, ORNL, and East Tennessee

Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, right, stands with Martin Keller, Associate Laboratory Director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in front of a car printed as a collaboration between ORNL and UT personnel.

President Obama’s announcement in January that UT would be the lead institution in a $259 million advanced composites manufacturing project known as the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, or IACMI, was met with applause, but also a few questions. Many wondered what advanced composites manufacturing really means, why the UT-led consortium was selected, and what the impact for the area might be.

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Nurturing the Entrepreneurial Spirit

David Herberich, a junior in the College of Engineering, is an exemplary case of how legacy, values, and even a unique approach to the world can be passed along to a future generation by an endowed scholarship. In his first semester at UT, Herberich signed up for Introduction to Engineering Entrepreneurship, taught by Professor H. Lee Martin (’78, ’86), and Herberich has been reaping the benefits ever since.

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Engineering Icon Burdette Has Professorship Named in Honor

UT graduates Charley and Lynn Hodges recently established an endowed professorship in Civil and Environmental Engineering in honor of Dr. Edwin G. Burdette, beloved professor and mentor.
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Trailblazer: Mark Dean a Pioneer in Many Ways

For his contributions as a computer scientist, an inventor, and someone who helped shape the modern world, Dr. Mark Dean will be honored as the Trailblazer Series speaker for April 2015. He will speak about his life and career as part of the series at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in the Hodges Library Auditorium.

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Study Involving Nuclear Engineer Could Change Nuclear Fuel

The adverse effects of radiation on nuclear fuel could soon be better controlled thanks to research involving UT’s College of Engineering. Dr. Maik Lang, an assistant nuclear engineering professor, is part of a team of researchers that has studied how specific properties of materials involved in nuclear energy production, and their performance, can change their response to radiation.

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US Chamber of Commerce-2015 Blue Ribbon Small Business Awards

Several companies that are productions of College of Engineering alumni won the 2015 Blue Ribbon Small Business Award from the US Chamber of Commerce this year. Chosen for their success, innovation, and contributions to economic growth and free enterprise, these companies rose above others in the nation. The 2015 winners included: Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (Hash Hashemian; MS/NE  ’77); Management Solutions LLC (Misty Mayes;  BS/IE ’88); Visionary Solutions LLC (Cavanaugh Mims; BS/NE ’86); and the Tomato Head (Mahastie Vafaie (BS/Engineering Science ’87).

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New Faces Award: Shima Mohebbi

Shima Mohebbi, a PhD student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, was selected as one of two nominees for 2015 by the Institute of Industrial Engineering (IIE) for the national program "New Faces of Engineering." The nomination was announced via DiscoverE.org. Mohebbi is a graduate research assistant at the Health Information Technology and Simulation (HITS) Laboratory at UT.

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