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Expanding Our HorizonsThe University of Tennessee College of Engineering
Annual Report 2012
CONTENTSThe University of Tennessee College of Engineering
Annual Report 2012The mission of the
University of Tennessee College of Engineering is:
To provide high quality education in the major engineering disciplines from the
undergraduate through doctoral levels through a creative balance of academic, professional,
and extracurricular programs;
To foster and maintain mutually beneficial partnerships with our alumni, friends, industry,
and local, state, and federal governments through public services assistance and collaborative
research; and
To be a major contributor to our nation’s technology base through scholarship and research.
Mission Statement College of Engineering Annual Report 2012
Writer and EditorKim CowartCommunications Director
DesignMitchell WilliamsonGraphic Designer
WriterRandall BrownCommunications Specialist III
PhotographyJack ParkerJack Parker Photography
Nick MyersUT Video and Photography
Special thanks to the following for their assistance:
Ms. Kristin M. OverlyAMS Technology
The information in this report reflects the time period from June 30, 2011 through July 1, 2012.
The University of Tennessee is an EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA institution in the provision of its education and employment programs and services. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, or covered veteran status.
E01-1301-013-018-13 DOP: 10/12
Dean’s Message
College Profile
Outstanding Undergraduate Student: Lane Carasik
Outstanding Graduate Student:Terence Randall
Grand Challenge Scholars
Student Body
Diversity Update: Engineering Summer Programs
Outreach Update
Research Fellows
Teaching Fellows
Research Feature: Dr. Hans DeSmidt and Dr. Kivanc Ekici
Facilities
Faculty Feature: Dr. Claudia Rawn
Faculty Feature: Dr. Xueping Li
Special Feature: Min Kao Building Dedication
Engineering Development Update
Dougherty Award Winner: Dr. Tony Buhl
Outstanding Alumnus: Dr. H. M. “Hash” Hashemian
Financial Information
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We are pleased to present the 2012 fiscal year report of the activities of our college. The year started out on a very upbeat note with the official starting date of our first National Science Foundation-(NSF) awarded Engineering Research Center, the Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT), housed in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Midyear, we held the grand opening of the new one-hundred-fifty-thousand square foot Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building. At the end of our fiscal year, we saw the completion of the shell of the five-story, ninety thousand square-foot John Tickle Engineering Building (scheduled for completion in the spring of 2013), which will be the new home of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.
This was a year of much relocation as our EECS faculty moved from Ferris and Claxton to the new building and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering moved into the vacated Ferris Hall. Even with the completion of the new buildings by summer 2013, the increased space will be approximately eighteen percent compared to a thirty percent growth in our undergraduate student enrollment and a seventy-five percent growth in PhD students in the last five
years. As a result, we initiated concept planning this year for another new building at the current Estabrook Hall site.
We have also initiated planning to celebrate the 100th year of Engineers Day in fall 2012 and the 175th anniversary of engineering at UTK in 2013.
The college is making continued progress toward its goal of becoming a Top 25 public college of engineering. Our graduate ranking increased from forty-first to fortieth this year and our undergraduate ranking increased from thirty-seventh to thirty-second! In discipline specific rankings, seven of our nine disciplines improved in their rankings this year, with nuclear engineering leading our college as eighth among public departments and ninth overall in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings.
We hope that you will enjoy finding out more about the accomplishments of a small sample of our faculty, students, and alumni who are featured on the following pages. The college is committed to increasing the quality of our graduates as we continue to grow to meet the engineering needs of our state, nation, and the world. We are very proud of the fact that fifty percent of our graduates go in to the workforce within Tennessee upon graduation—and also that our twenty-four thousand alumni are in all fifty states and approximately eighty countries.
Dean’s Message
BUILD
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College ProfileDepartmentsLeadership TeamBoard of Advisors for Fiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012)Biosystems Engineering and Soil ScienceDr. Eric C. DrummDepartment Head
Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringDr. Bamin KhomamiDepartment Head
Civil and Environmental EngineeringDr. Dayakar PenumaduDepartment Head
Electrical Engineering and Computer ScienceDr. Kevin TomsovicDepartment Head
Industrial and Systems EngineeringDr. Rupy SawhneyDepartment Head
Materials Science and EngineeringDr. Kurt SickafusDepartment Head
Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical EngineeringDr. William R. HamelDepartment Head
Nuclear EngineeringDr. H. Lee Dodds (Through December, 2011)
Dr. J. Wesley Hines (As of January, 2012)Department Head
University of Tennessee Space InstituteDr. Robert MooreExecutive Director
Mr. Terry K. Begley(BS/ChE, ’69, MS/EA ’74)Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Chief Procurement Officer (retired)Eastman Chemical CompanyKingsport, Tenn.
Dr. Victoria (Vicky) G. Brady(AB, ’79 (Bryn Mawr College), PhD ’84 (University of Pennsylvania))Vice President of Technology, DuPont Latin America, E.I. DuPont de Nemours Al. Itapecuru, 506-Alphaville
Dr. Anthony R. Buhl(BS/NE ’63, MS/NE ’64, PhD/NE ’67)President/CEO, EnergX LLC Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Mr. Michael K. Carroll(BS/ME ’80)CEO, MK Technologies CorporationKnoxville, Tenn.
Mr. Howard E. Chambers(BS/ME ’64)Vice-President, Program Management, Commercial Airplanes, The Boeing CompanySeattle, Wash.
Mrs. Nancy C. Cole(BS/ME ‘63, Ms/ME ‘88)Engineering ConsultantFernandina Beach, Fla.
Dr. Wayne Coleman(BS/NE ’63, MS/NE ’65, PhD/NE ’69)Corporate Vice President (retired)Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) McLean, Va.
Mr. Joe C. Cook Jr.(BS/IE ’65)Founder and Principal, Mountain Group Capital, LLCNashville, Tenn.
Mr. L. Michael Cuddy(BS/ME ’67, MBA/Finance ’72)President and CEOTechnology 2020Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Research Expenditures (Gifts, Grants and Contracts by Fiscal Year)
Dr. Mark E. Dean(BS/EE ’79)IBM Fellow and Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Middle East & Africa IBMDubai. UAE
Mr. Mark Deathridge(BS/ES ’82)President/CEO, East Tennessee Mechanical ContractorsKnoxville, Tenn.
Mr. Dennis A. Denihan(BS/ChE ‘72)ConsultantRace Trac Petroleum, Inc.Atlanta, Ga.
Dr. Terry Douglass(BS/EE ’65, MS/EE ’66, PhD/EE ’68)President, Provision Healthcare LLCKnoxville, Tenn.
Mr. Jim Downing(MS/CE ’69, MS/EE ’74)Chairman, Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon, Inc. (retired)Nashville, Tenn.
Mr. Robert E. Dunn(BS/CE ’73, MBA ’75 (Harvard Business School))Senior Vice President Prism Gas Systems I, LPBedford, Texas
Dr. William L. Eversole(BS/EE ’73, PhD/EE (Southern Methodist University))CEO and President Bandspeed, Inc.Austin, Texas
Mr. Ron Green(BS/EPh ’70, MS/EPh ’78)Chairman (partially retired) Advatech, LLCCharlotte, N.C.
Ms. Kimberly S. Greene(BS/EPh ’88, MS/BioM ’90 (University of Alabama-Birmingham), MBA ’96 (Samford))Group President of Strategy & External Relations Tennessee Valley AuthorityKnoxville, Tenn.
Ms. Sharon Sirang Habibi(BS/Arch ’75, MS/CE ’77, EMBA ’89)CEO/PresidentSyscom Technologies, Inc.Marietta, Ga.
Mr. John Howanitz(BS/Psychology/Criminal Justice (Dual Major) ’83 (King’s College, Wilkes-Barre))General Manager, Nuclear Security & Allied GovernmentsBechtel National, Inc.Frederick, MD
Dr. Michael W. Howard(BS/EE ’80, MS/BE ’83 (university of Pittsburgh)PhD/Engr ’96)President/Chief Executive OfficerElectric Power Research InstituteCharlotte, N.C.
Mr. Edwin A. McDougle(BS/CEE ’69, MS/CEE ’75)PrincipalRoss Bryan Associates, Inc.Nashville, Tenn.
Dr. Jeff Nichols(BA/Math ’78, BA/Chem ’78 (Malone College), PhD ’83 (Texas A & M University))Associate Laboratory Director, Computing and Computer Science DivisionOak Ridge National LaboratoryOak Ridge, Tenn.
Mr. J. Parker SmithBS/ME (North Carolina State University)Vice President and General ManagerWorldwide Manufacturing SupportEastman Chemical CompanyKingsport, Tenn.
Mr. J.D. “Spike” Tickle II(BS/IE ’87, MBA ’89 (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill))Director, Strongwell Corporation Three Horse Investments LLCBristol, Virginia
Mr. Eric L. Zeanah(BS/IE ’84)President/OwnerAmerican Accessories InternationalKnoxville, Tenn.
Student/Faculty Ratio
AccreditationEach of the university’s undergraduate engineering academic programs is accredited by the ABET Engineering Accreditation Program.20
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2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
$26.1 $27.9 $29.7$32.6
$37.2 $36.9$43.8
$54.5 $56.8
$26.1 $27.9 $29.7$32.6
$37.2 $36.9$43.8
$54.5 $56.8
Degrees OfferedDr. Wayne T. DavisDean of Engineering
Dr. Richard BennettDirector of the Engineering Fundamentals Division
Dr. Bill DunneAssociate Dean for Research and Technology
Dr. Masood ParangAssociate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs
Dorothy Barkley Bryson Senior Director of Engineering Development
Kim CowartDirector of Engineering Communications
Travis GriffinDirector of Engineering Diversity Programs
Judy MooreDirector of Finance and Administrative Affairs
Dr. J. Roger ParsonsDirector Engineering Outreach
Dr. Chris PionkeDirector of Engineering Honors Program
Todd ReevesDirector of Engineering Professional Practice
Margie RussellDirector of Engineering Advising Services
Bachelor of ScienceAerospaceBiomedical**BiosystemsChemicalCivilComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceElectricalIndustrialMaterials ScienceMechanicalNuclear
Master of ScienceAerospaceAviation SystemsBiomedical**BiosystemsChemicalCivilComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceElectricalEngineering ScienceEnvironmentalIndustrialMaterials ScienceMechanicalMS-MBA programNuclearReliability and Maintainability
Doctor of PhilosophyAerospaceBiomedical**BiosystemsChemicalCivilComputer EngineeringComputer ScienceElectricalEngineering ScienceIndustrialMaterials ScienceMechanicalNuclear
**Note: Degrees in Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science are offered in conjunction with the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
Academic Support Programs and Diversity Initiatives
Distance Education Degrees and Certificates in Engineering
The Jerry E. Stoneking Engage Freshman Engineering Program
Engineering Advising Services
Engineering Diversity Programs
Engineering Honors Program
Engineering Outreach Office
Engineering Professional Practice
Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
Enrollment Figures
The origins of the College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee date back to 1838.
Total Enrollment Full-Time Programs Academic Year 2011
Undergraduate:Graduate: Total:
Degrees Granted Academic Year 2011
Bachelor of Science: Master of Science: Doctor of Philosophy: Total:
Faculty – Fiscal Year 2012
Professors: Associate Professors: Assistant Professors: Total:
For FY 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012)
The college has one National Academy of Engineering Member
Dr. Jack Dongarra, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Two Distinguished Scientists
Dr. Takeshi Egami, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. David Joy, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
One University Distinguished ProfessorDr. Jack Dongarra, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
One UT-Battelle Distinguished Professor Dr. Thomas Zacharia, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Seven UT/ORNL Governor’s Chairs
Dr. Howard Hall, Governor’s Chair in Global Nuclear Security
Dr. Terry Hazen, Governor’s Chair in Environmental Biotechnology
Dr. Yilu Liu, Governor’s Chair in Power Electronics
Dr. Frank Loeffler, Governor’s Chair in Microbiology and Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. William Weber, Governor’s Chair in Radiation Effects on Materials
Dr. Brian Wirth, Governor’s Chair in Computational Nuclear Engineering
Dr. Thomas Zawodzinski, Governor’s Chair in Electrical Energy Storage
Chairs of Excellence
The Ivan Racheff Chair in Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. Peter Liaw, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Robert M. Condra Chair of Excellence in Computer Integrated Engineering & Manufacturing
Dr. Matthew Mench, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering Robert M. Condra Chair of Excellence in Power Electronics Applications
Dr. Fred Wang, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Henry Goodrich Chair of Excellence in Civil & Environmental Engineering
Vacant
Endowed Chairs
Edward and Carolyn Boling Chair of Space Propulsion (UTSI)
Vacant
CTI Professor/Chair
Dr. Kevin Tomsovic, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Ericsson - Harlan D. Mills Chair of Software Engineering
Dr. Jesse Poore, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (deceased 2012)
H.H. Arnold Chair of Computational Mechanics (UTSI)
Vacant
H.H. Arnold Chair
Dr. Joe Majdalani, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
Endowed Professorships and Faculty Fellowships
Alvin and Sally Beaman Professors
Dr. Bamin Khomami, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Dr. Kurt Sickafus, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Armour T. Granger Professor/Alvin and Sally Beaman Professor
Dr. Bamin Khomami, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Blalock, Kennedy, Pierce Analog Electronics Professors
Vacant
Robert M. Condra Professor
Dr. Lawrence Townsend, Department of Nuclear Engineering
Dean’s Faculty Fellow/Professor
Vacant
John Fisher Professor
Dr. Peter Liaw, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Weston Fulton Professor
Dr. Rupy Sawhney, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Min H. Kao Professor
Dr. Leon Tolbert, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Magnavox Professor
Dr. Ken Kihm, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
James McConnell Professors
Dr. Aly Fathy, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. S. Kamrul Islam, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Jack and Dorothy McKamey Professor
Dr. George Pharr, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Fred N. Peebles Professors
Dr. Edwin Burdette, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Dr. Dayakar Penumadu, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Leonard G. Penland Professorship
Dr. Philip Rack, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Charles P. Postelle Distinguished Professor in Nuclear Engineering
Dr. J. Wesley Hines, Department of Nuclear Engineering
Dr. John Prados Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor
Vacant
Fred Mason Roddy Professor
Dr. Rick Komistek, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
UCOR Professor Faculty Fellow in Nuclear Engineering
Dr. Jason Hayward, Department of Nuclear Engineering
Two COE Career Development Professorships
Dr. Eric Boder, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Dr. Mohamed Mahfouz, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering
Newly Endowed Professorships/Chairs (not yet awarded)
Blalock, Kennedy, Pierce Analog Electronics Professor
Dr. John Prados Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor
Two Chancellor’s Professors
Dr. George Pharr, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Dr. Lawrence Townsend, Department of Nuclear Engineering
4 5
47017361
704*
715435
160*
2,399916
3,315*
*Including Biosystems Engineering and UTSI
Lane Carasik’s interest in engineering was sparked early in his childhood. His godparents involved him in their hobbies during visits to their home, where they had their own machine shop.
“I learned from them how to go from drawing something on paper to actually building and using it,” said Carasik, a senior in the Department of Nuclear Engineering (NE).
The experience led him to take pre-engineering and drafting classes in high school that fully set his aspirations. He investigated areas of focus while earning an associate’s degree at Middle Georgia College. Mechanical engineering was high on his list until one of his professors, Dr. Yossef Balas, steered him toward the “exciting problems to be solved” in the nuclear world.
“I started researching what nuclear engineering was, and I knew I had found my field,” said Carasik. “It lends itself to several applications, with my favorite being nuclear power. I’m happy to have the opportunity to make a positive impact on that.”
Balas also recommended that Carasik try UT because of the strength and reputation of the nuclear engineering department.
“After applying, I took a tour and fell in love with the school and Knoxville,” he said.
Carasik has maintained an active pace and high marks since transferring to UT. He is the 2011-2012 president of the student section of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), represented the department at the 2012 ANS National Meeting in Chicago, and also served as the student chair of the PHYSOR 2012 Conference held in Knoxville.
“I’ve had the opportunity to present some of my undergraduate research and network with countless nuclear professionals,” said Carasik. “The ANS conferences are always exciting to go to, and have helped shape my future.”
Carasik is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society, and has earned several awards, including the Robert Liner Scholarship, from the National ANS; the Department of Energy’s
Outstanding Undergraduate Student: Lane CarasikNuclear Energy University Program Scholarship; and an award for his poster Thermal Stratification of a Twin Jet Mixing Experiment at the 2012 Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EUReCa).
Carasik’s favorite among his many endeavors is a research project with Dr. Arthur Ruggles.
“We’re developing a suite of data for the verification and validation (V&V) of a 1-D Thermal Stratification code developed by UC Berkley,” he explained. His duties involve reviewing literature, developing instrumentation, and analyzing the data from the experiments involved.
“It has helped me really decide what I find interesting and want to work on in nuclear engineering,” said Carasik. He is applying for schools as he finishes his graduate requirements, with an eye toward achieving a PhD and working in the nuclear power industry. He has already gained practical experience in the field through internships at TVA and Westinghouse Electric Company.
“It’s one thing to learn the theory of something, but it’s another to actually see a massive reactor in front of you,” he said. “The internships have helped focus my degree towards what I really want to do after graduating.”
Interaction with department faculty has also made a big impact on Carasik. He credits Ruggles as his mentor in research, internships, and graduate-school plans. He has also enjoyed extensive talks with Dr. Lawrence Townsend about the current state of nuclear engineering and working with Dr. Lawrence Heilbronn on ANS activities.
“I can honestly say I have spent hours talking to each of these professors on a wide range of topics,” said Carasik. “My UT experience wouldn’t have been the same without them.”
SPARK
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Terence Randall grew up fascinated by the always-evolving nature of technology. Like many people, he enjoyed the latest video games, audio devices, and other electronics. But his investigative spirit led the Memphis native to explore what was going on behind the power button.
“As a teenager, I became interested in how the stereo system in my first car worked,” said Randall, a graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). “I experimented with the amplifier settings and wire connections. I did not really improve the system—it was already optimized. However, I did learn about how the settings affected the sound, and how changing the target frequency affected which bass frequencies were loudest.”
His electronic tinkering habit brought greater success when he rewired a damaged taillight on his second car with parts rescued from a junkyard.
“It saved a lot of money,” Randall said.
Car repair was just the beginning for him, though. The rush of the digital age drew his attention.
“I remember when we first got a desktop computer and the Internet, when new gaming systems with amazing graphics
came out, and when mp3 players replaced CD players,” said Randall. “I wanted to be a part of this advancement.”
As a high-school senior, he debated between electrical or computer engineering as his college major. Both fields spoke to his life-long interests, his academic strengths, potential jobs, and his preference for hands-on research over classroom time.
“I had always excelled in math, but I knew I did not want to be a math teacher,” said Randall. “I decided to go with electrical engineering after researching the prospects of both career paths.”
As a UT undergraduate, Randall was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and received a National Science Foundation STEM Scholarship. He maintained excellent grades and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in electrical engineering in 2010. He entered the department’s PhD program that fall, and his outstanding academic record made it possible for him to receive a National Institute of Health Program for Excellence & Equity in Research (NIH PEER) Fellowship.
With his course work done, Randall has his dissertation well under way. He credits his graduate advisor, Dr. Syed
Islam, with helping to fine-tune his area of specialization. The focus of his research is circuitry that achieves ultra-low power data conversion for use in biomedical applications.
“I am designing a circuit that, theoretically, can be implanted inside a living being and turn signals outputted by a sensor into zeros and ones to be made meaningful by other circuitry and/or computer code,” he explained. “The challenging part of the design is the ultra-low power part.”
The device could allow diabetes patients to monitor their glucose levels via computer or smart phone, without having to prick their fingers for blood tests. It could also extend the life of the implant’s battery, lessening the need for surgical replacement.
The ambitious project is something Randall might not have foreseen while rewiring his car’s taillight as a teen. He says he did not even seriously consider graduate school until his junior year at UT, when Dr. Aly Fathy gave him very assertive encouragement during electromagnetics class.
“I remember him telling me, ‘You are going to graduate school. You don’t have a choice,’” said Randall. “I thought, ‘Wow. He
Outstanding Graduate Student: Terence Randall
sees something in me to make him believe I belong there.’”
More opportunity arose when Dr. Gregory Peterson found the NIH PEER fellowship that helped Randall meet the financial needs of grad school—as long as he went all the way and pursued a PhD.
“It was a very intimidating proposition, but he convinced me to do it,” he said. “He had more faith in me than I had for myself. Because of that, I can almost see the finish line.”
After college, Randall aspires to land a research and development position in the electronics industry.
“Ideally, I would be part of a team that develops some revolutionizing consumer electronics, like smart phones revolutionized mobile phones or 3D televisions revolutionized the way people watch TV at home,” said Randall.
Down the road, he doesn’t rule out contributing back to academia.
“I could see myself becoming a professor, which is something I was never interested in before,” he said. “Over the past two years, I’ve had opportunities to mentor and teach young people, and it is a rewarding experience.”
DRIVE
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Mark Walker, a senior in the Department of Nuclear Engineering, has recently met the requirements of a unique initiative created by a national engineering organization to prepare the next generation with skills to tackle life-changing problems.
In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) identified fourteen Grand Challenges for engineering in the twenty-first century. These challenges represent each of the broad realms of human concern–sustainability, health, vulnerability, joy of living–as specified by the NAE qualifications and response to an online poll sponsored by the organizations that received over twenty-five thousand votes over five months.
During the Grand Challenges, the world’s cadre of engineers seeks ways to put knowledge into practice to meet these grand challenges. Applying the rules of reason, the findings of science, the aesthetics of art, and the spark of creative imagination, engineers will continue the tradition of forging a better future.
The Grand Challenge Scholars Program is the NAE companion program for engineering schools that have accepted the challenge of designing combined curricular and extra-curricular programs to prepare students to be the generation that solves the grand challenges facing society. In 2009, the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, College of Engineering established an approved Grand Challenge Scholars Program. The college is one of only twelve engineering schools in the country to have this prestigious program.
Walker is the first UT student to complete the Grand Challenge program. He graduated in May 2012, with a degree in nuclear engineering, and has focused his research on preventing nuclear terror, one of the stated grand challenges.
“The mission is to really develop engineers who are ready to tackle challenges the world could encounter in the next few decades,” Walker said. “The program’s goal is to create well-rounded people with expertise inside and outside their technical fields.”
During the two-year scholarship program, Walker traveled to the United Kingdom for a workshop on human reliability in nuclear security to study psychology in information technology research and other related topics. He’s also been able to conduct research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and take entrepreneurship classes within the College of Business Administration (CBA).
“It was great to go to the UK, which I would not be able to do without this funding,” Walker added. “It was a great educational opportunity for me to hear from other people in South Africa
and Japan on how they handle their nuclear security issues. And taking the entrepreneurial classes is not something I would have considered and has planted some seeds in my head.”
Walker is currently attending Princeton University to get his doctorate in public affairs with a concentration in science, technology, and environmental policy. During his tenure at the university, he will be working on designs for detector systems for verifying nuclear arms control treaties while studying the political questions related to treaty verification.
Morgan Baltz, a senior in chemical engineering, is currently in the program and is researching the current methods for administering drugs. This is related to the stated grand challenge of engineering better medicines and advancing health informatics.
Baltz has been studying a model fusion protein and its mechanism that will recognize a host cell, enter it, and propagate itself.
“I would like to gain information that will allow scientists to target specific areas of the body that need treatment with the drug, eliminating adverse side effects and increasing drug efficiency,” said Baltz.
Baltz has been working for Exxon in Baytown, Texas, and near Washington, DC,
The College of Engineering 2012 Ambassadors. Seated: Paige Black, Dave Seeman, Catherine Julson, and Scott Strickler. Standing: Mitchell Shope, Emily Leturno, Beka Patton, Darius James, Matt Price, John Scobey, Lauren Bryant, Bradford Taylor, Chris Potter, Caroline Hunter, Tyler Rowe, and Austin Fullbright
Degrees Granted 2011-2012
Engineering Enrollment Trends by Academic Year
Mark Walker Morgan Baltz
Grand Challenge Scholars Student Body 2011-2012
as a process engineer and analyst as a part of the scholarship program.
“This scholarship allowed me to see my field from so many different angles,” said Baltz. “Taking all the interdisciplinary coursework has given me a completely different set of approaches to solving problems. Some majors look at a problem one way and another looks at it another way, but if you combine the two, you can view the problem more wholly.”
Baltz will receive her degree next year and plans to get her doctorate in chemical engineering from UT.
The Grand Challenge program also requires a service-learning experience. To meet that requirement, both Walker and Baltz have held leadership roles in Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honors society, which hosts Engineers Day along with the College of Engineering each October in order to heighten high school students’ interest in engineering.
For more information about the Grand Challenges Program, visit http://www.engineeringchallenges.org. or the UT program at http://www.engr.utk.edu/outreach/TheGrandChallenge.html.
WELCOME
10 11
Doctorate(Ph.D.)
61
Bachelor ofScience (B.S.)
470
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2400
2300
2200
2100
2000
1900
1800
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
Master of Science (M.S.)
Undergraduates Masters Doctorate
173
2,399
418
498
201120112011
2,381
421
471
201020102010
2,217458
379
200920092009
2,140
494
349
200820082008
1,877
504
339
200720072007
1,882
515
324
200620062006
NURTURETwo additional weeks and a sixty percent increase in student
enrollment ensured a full summer for the faculty and staff who led the 2012 Summer Pre-college Programs on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus. Designed to develop a diverse applicant pool by introducing young people to engineering with exciting projects, the programs have been experiencing considerable success. Corporate support made a tremendous difference for the programs, providing funding to add the additional weeks. Bechtel has been a partner with the college for decades, and its 2012 grant marked the third year of its support for these summer programs. In appreciation of this sponsorship, one of the high school weeks was officially named the Bechtel HITES week. AT&T also sponsored a full week at the middle school level. Additional funding from Boeing and TVA enhanced the summer experience for the participants.
The college hosted a large number of young students from middle and high schools across the southeast with the sessions that began in June.
“This year, we were able to add two weeks,” said COE Dean Wayne Davis. “However, based on the increasing numbers of applicants for these programs, I believe we can offer six or seven weeks in the coming years. With corporate help, we can include more students and grow interest in engineering.”
The first pre-college programs were initiated in 1997, facilitated by the college’s Engineering Diversity Programs Office (EDP). The objective is to provide an introduction to engineering, showcase the applications of math and science, and learn what engineers do in the real world. Each event includes a one-week residential program designed for underrepresented (African-American, Hispanic/Latino American, Native American, and female) participants that have performed at a B or higher level in both math and science. All students from the region who have met this standard are welcome to apply for the appropriate program for their age group. Participants learn about careers in engineering, have opportunities to explore the UT campus and visit engineering labs and facilities, compete in engineering challenges, cultivate new friendships, and gain a jumpstart on their academic careers.
The AT&T Middle School Introduction for Engineering Systems (MITES), designed for rising seventh and eighth graders, took place in two sessions, from June 17-22 and from June 24-29. Since the beginning of the program, MITES has provided the summer experience to three-hundred fifty-nine middle school students and has grown from thirty-two participants in 2011 to sixty-five participants in both sessions for 2012. AT&T sponsored the first session of the MITES program.
An important component of MITES is an emphasis on mathematics as part of the engineering curriculum. Michael Gilbert, a lecturer in
the UT Department of Mathematics, coordinated this part of the program.
“The math portion of the MITES program was developed with selected material that corresponds to the Knox County eighth grade math curriculum,” Gilbert said. “Interactive in-class worksheets with examples use pre-algebra and introductory algebra concepts. Follow-up questions for out of class assignments reinforce the concepts covered and have some challenges for the astute middle school math student.”
“I think the most helpful thing was the science experiments,” said one student participant. “I think they were helpful because we had the opportunity to do the projects hands-on and learn what we make while we make it.”
The conclusion of the MITES program was celebrated with a special reception and program on June 22, 2012. Alan L. Hill, Regional Director-External Affairs for AT&T Tennessee was the keynote speaker for the event, which offered a 2012 summer program overview and highlight video along with testimonials from participants and an awards ceremony.
The second phase of the summer programs, Introduction of Sophomores to Engineering Principles (INSTEP), was held July 8-13. INSTEP provides engineering preparation skills and insight on what engineers do within the workplace to rising ninth and tenth graders. The academic curriculum incorporated team building skills, hands-on learning projects, and college preparation through ACT math classes. The INSTEP participants received an ACT math instruction by attending a preparation class specifically designed to sharpen test skills and improve performance to gain a high score. Based on pre-test and post-test assessment, ninety-seven percent of the participants improved their ACT math performance by fifty-six percent. On July 13, TVA’s Talent Sourcing and Support organization hosted the INSTEP participants for a site visit. INSTEP toured the Systems Operation Center, as well as the Power Trading and Gas Floor.
COE Diversity Update: Engineering Summer Programs
Student participants await the start of the MITES pre-college summer engineering program.
Two young ladies are ready for the beginning of an engineering project during the MITES program.
Regional Director-External Affairs, AT&T Tennessee Alan L. Hill (center) is presented a framed photo by Director of Engineering Diversity Programs Travis Griffin (far left) and EDP Coordinator Mito Espinoza (right) and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Masood Parang (far right) at the closing reception for the AT&T MITES pre-college summer engineering program.
Students grapple with an engineering challenge during the INSTEP pre-college summer program.
Excited participants show off their certificates of completion during the closing ceremony of the INSTEP pre-college summer program. Collaborating on a project for the Bechtel HITES summer program event.
Stephen Buckley, Senior Project Manager for Bechtel, addresses students during the closing awards and reception program for the Bechtel HITES program.
“This event provided us with a platform to showcase our engineering program and the unique opportunities that exist at our corporate locations and plants,” said Susan Stout, senior manager of Talent Sourcing and Support.
INSTEP has hosted two hundred forty-five high school students since its first event in 2000 and the program has grown to thirty-one participants in 2012.
“It was great to really get to know more about engineers and what they do, and I learned more than I thought I would,” a student participant commented. “It was amazing!”
The third summer program, the Bechtel High School Introduction to Engineering Systems (HITES), took place July 15-20 and July 22-27. Targeted to rising eleventh and twelfth graders, HITES has provided a summer engineering program for eleven years. After the previous HITES session in 2011, eighty-six percent of the seniors had decided to major in engineering once they are enrolled in a university and seventy-three percent planned to study engineering at UT. This year, both sessions of the HITES program welcomed a total of fifty-seven participants, up from thirty-two in 2011. Bechtel sponsored the first session of the HITES program.
“Participants had the opportunity to visit with each engineering department to learn about the disciplines offered for career options,” said Travis Griffin, EDP director. “Sessions included meetings with faculty/graduate students, learning about emphasis areas in each discipline, touring research labs, and/or participating in an experiment or activity.”
All seven COE departments are involved with HITES, including, the 2012 session, Dr. Toby Boulet (mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering); Dr. Edwin Burdette and Dr. Angelica Palomino (civil and environmental engineering); Dr. Rupy Sawhney (industrial and systems engineering); Jennifer Woodbery (electrical engineering and computer science); Dr. Cong Trinh (chemical and biomolecular engineering); Dr. Kurt Sickafus and Dr. Roberto Benson (materials science and engineering); Dr. Lawrence Heilbronn and Dr. Jason Hayward (nuclear engineering); and Dr. Daniel Yoder (biosystems engineering).
Participants enjoy learning about engineering during the Bechtel HITES pre-college summer program.
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“In HITES, we teach the students some basic engineering concepts to both help the students understand what engineering is, as well as help them prepare to enter the College of Engineering,” said Dr. Richard Bennett, director of the Engage freshman engineering program at UT and coordinator of curriculum content for the pre-college summer programs.
The high school students were also able to find out more about attending college in a series of sessions designed to inform and prepare prospective college students through admissions, campus life, and financial aid/scholarships.
Also in 2012, students worked on projects with researchers in the National Science Foundation-funded Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks (CURENT). CURENT focuses on research, education, and technology for sustainable energy systems with an emphasis on power transmission systems.
“CURENT was thrilled to participate in the College of Engineering’s summer programs, and we worked hard to put together an exciting design project for the students,” said Adam Hardebeck, Communication Specialist III with CURENT.
“The engineering design program provides an opportunity for students to apply electricity and renewable energy curriculum in constructing a microgrid powered by wind and solar,” said Rebecca Oldham, a program resource specialist in CURENT. “Students learned about electricity fundamentals, electromagnetism, motors, and generator, solar, and wind power. The engineering design program challenges students to apply their knowledge through hands-on projects such as building solar cars and designing windmill blades to power a light. Through these activities, we hope to inspire creativity, problem-solving skills, and an interest in engineering.
“It made me want to further pursue engineering,” a student participant said. “There are so many options in engineering that I didn’t know about. Now I just have to find the one for me!”
The HITES program also closed with an awards and reception program on July 20, featuring Bechtel Senior Project Manager Stephen Buckley as keynote speaker.
For more details on these summer engineering programs visit: http://www.engr.utk.edu/edp/pre_college/.
The Office of Engineering Outreach works with organizations across campus, throughout the community, and around the world to enhance learning opportunities for engineering students. In recent years, Outreach has sought to increase the number of students taking engineering-specific study-abroad courses as they also absorb international culture and gain life skills via travel.
In addition to full-semester study-abroad trips undertaken by individual students, three shorter-term, faculty-led trips were offered for the first time in summer of 2012. The programs were designed to better meet student schedules, provide a clear credit path for student work overseas, and create travel opportunities for multiple students at one time.
This approach made it possible to exceed the goal of tripling the number of engineering students involved in study abroad over the past three years. In the 2009-2010 school year, eighteen students participated in study abroad, but only three took engineering courses. Fifty-eight College of Engineering students participated in 2011-2012, with twenty-nine taking engineering courses.
“With luck, we will have about seventy students participate next year,” said Dr. Roger Parsons, the director of Engineering Outreach. “We are hoping for one more faculty-led trip to join the three that ran this year.”
The College of Engineering Research Fellow Awards are presented to faculty members with an exceptional record of research activity, whose efforts clearly contribute to the overall mission of the college in terms of external funding, publication record, and supervision of undergraduate and graduate research. The awards are presented at the college’s annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner. This year’s event took place on April 12, 2012, at the Hilton Knoxville where the awards were presented to the following faculty members:
Dr. Joshua Fu, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Fu’s research areas include air pollution, climate change, and computational science.
Dr. Baoshan Huang, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Huang’s research areas include construction materials, pavement engineering, constitutive modeling and numerical analysis, and geotechnical engineering.
Dr. Richard D. Komistek, Fred M. Roddy Professor, Mechanical, Aerospace, & Biomedical Engineering
Komistek’s research interests include biomechanics, Kane’s dynamics, implant design, and vibrations.
Dr. Michael A. Langston, Professor, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Langston’s research areas involve analysis of algorithms, computational biology, and high performance computing.
Dr. Peter K. Liaw, John Fisher Professor and Ivan Racheff Chair of Excellence, Materials Science & Engineering
Liaw’s research areas include mechanical behaviors and processing of high-temperature materials and neutron studies.
Dr. Ivan Maldonado, Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering
Maldonado’s research areas involve reactor physics, computational
nuclear engineering, and nuclear fuel management.
Dr. George M. Pharr, Chancellor’s Professor, John McKamey Professor and Director of the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Pharr’s research areas include mechanical behavior of materials, nanoindentation, and thin film mechanical properties.
Dr. Stephen Paddison, Associate Professor, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering.
Paddison’s research interests include computational materials science as applied to fuel cell electrolytes and electrocatalysts and sustainable energy
Dr. Philip D. Rack, Professor, Department of Materials Science & Engineering
Rack’s research areas include electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices and thin film processing and characterization.
Dean Wayne Davis with the 2012 COE Research Fellows (left to right): Dr. Ivan Maldonado; Dr. Peter Liaw; Dr. Michael Langston; Dr. Baoshan Huang; and Dr. Joshua Fu. Not pictured: Dr. Richard D. Komistek, Dr. George M. Pharr, Dr. Stephen Paddison, Dr. Philip D. Rack, Dr. Leon Tolbert, and Dr. Lawrence W. Townsend.
The COE Teaching Fellow Awards are presented to faculty members who possess an exceptional record of graduate and undergraduate teaching and with a strong performance in teaching-related service activities, and whose efforts clearly contribute to the overall mission of the college. The awards were established to reward superior teaching.
The 2012 COE Teaching Fellow Awards was presented to Dr. Ronald E. Pevey, Associate Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering at the 2012 Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner.
Outreach Update
College of Engineering Fellows 2011
College of Engineering Teaching Fellow
Dr. Leon Tolbert, Min H. Kao Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Tolbert’s research involve power systems and power electronics, hybrid electric vehicles, renewable energy, and silicon carbide power electronics.
Dr. Lawrence W. Townsend, Chancellor’s Professor, Condra Chair Professor, Department of Nuclear Engineering
Townsend’s research includes nuclear and radiological engineering; radiation physics, transport theory, theoretical nuclear physics, and space radiation protection.
COE Dean Wayne Davis (left) presents the 2012 Teaching Fellow Award to Dr. Ronald Pevey (right).
Dr. Michael Berry, a UT electrical engineering professor, taught Theory of Computation: A Celebration of the Life of Alan Turing in London, England. Students attended conferences and viewed exhibits marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Turing, a World War II code breaker and an early developer of computer science.
“This first conference that we attended was Turing’s 100th birthday party at King’s College,” said Joseph Dorris, a freshman in computer engineering. “I heard lots of famous authors and mathematicians speak. It was quite a privilege to hear from all of these influential people honoring his memory.”
A separate London trip included a mechanical-engineering course, Thermodynamics, and an electrical-engineering course, Electromechanical Components. Parsons and Dr. Paul Crilly, associate professor in electrical engineering, taught these courses.
Participants visited early Industrial Revolution sites that provided historical context and cultural enrichment.
“Both groups of students visited the Royal Institution, which houses the original laboratory of electricity and magnetism pioneer Michael Faraday,” said Berry. “It is the oldest private scientific research institution in the world, founded in 1799.”
Outside of course-related activities, students also experienced British culture at museums and tourist sites, got a taste of Queen Elizabeth’s historic Diamond Jubilee celebration, and saw preparations for the summer’s Olympic games.
A third trip took students to Innsbruck, Austria. Dr. Glenn Tootle, assistant professor in civil engineering, led the course Water Resources and Climate Change in the European Alps. The class offered technical elective credit applicable to most engineering curricula. Students conducted research on glaciers and tree rings as indicators of climate change. As a related excursion, the class visited the Zugspitze, the highest point in the German Alps with an elevation of two-thousand nine-hundred sixty-two meters (nine-thousand seven-hundred eight feet).
Financial support for study abroad has been received from Alcoa and the URS Corporation. Twenty students have received Alcoa fellowships for the program in the last three years.
Engineering Outreach also directed efforts to increase awareness for all study-abroad programs through its website, http://www.engr.utk.edu/outreach/index.html, and by joining the Global Engineering Education Exchange (GE3), a consortium of engineering schools that promote engineering exchanges. Individual efforts to promote exchanges with specific schools were also started through visits and agreements with University of Manchester, University of Nottingham, Turin and Milan Polytechnics, and several universities in China. Two students have attended Manchester and Nottingham, and a spring 2013 exchange with Turin is planned for participants in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering.
For more information on Study Abroad through Engineering Outreach, visit http://www.engr.utk.edu/outreach.
Students pose in front of Big Ben in the heart of London, England.
Engineering students visit Innsbruck, Austria
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Dr. Hans DeSmidt, an associate professor, and Dr. Kivanc Ekici, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering (MABE) have several things in common: they are both intensive hands-on researchers, they have both won CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and they both have a fascination with the same thing: blades.
In DeSmidt’s case, the technology involves helicopter and rotor dynamics, active vibration control, structural health monitoring, rotocraft propulsion, and adaptive structures. In addition to the NSF CAREER award, he has received two other NSF awards, a NASA research grant, and funding through the National Rotorcraft Technology Center (NRTC).
“My NSF CAREER award is in the area of structural health monitoring of time-varying and rotordynamic systems,” DeSmidt said. “This research focuses on developing vibration-based damage identification algorithms suited for time-varying dynamical systems which typically arise in the description of structures involving rotating components such as gears, bearings, driveshafts, turbine blades, helicopter rotors, etc. The effect of rotation along with structural damage such as fatigue cracks in the rotating frame tends to produce unique vibratory characteristics such as side-band spectrum and periodic stiffness variations. This parametric, time-varying behavior in damaged systems also often arises due to the presence of so-called breathing cracks where structural cracks open and closed during each vibration cycle. Conventional vibration-based techniques are formulated on the assumption of time-invariant dynamical behavior, and thus are not well suited for these cases. This research advances the state-of-the-art by directly accounting for the time-varying dynamics utilizing new iterative techniques based on harmonic balance and Floquet theory. These new approaches have thus far yielded significantly enhanced damage detection sensitivity and robustness for rotordynamic systems with relevance to critical power transmission applications.”
DeSmidt sees his research as having long-reaching effects on the safety, energy-efficiency, and longevity of helicopters, planes, and other propulsion-based vehicles.
“By developing enhanced damage identification methods, my work in the area of structural damage detection of rotor systems has the potential to increase system reliability and reduce maintenance downtimes,” DeSmidt commented. “The outcomes of the proposed research will enable near real-time structural fault detection and location in rotor systems during operation. This capability will be a significant step toward enhancing safety and reliably for many engineering systems with critical power transmission elements. Furthermore, my research in the area of nonlinear dynamic automatic balancing of rotor systems will enable higher operating speeds as well as a reduction of imbalance vibrations, which are a major source of high-cycle fatigue in aerospace propulsions systems. Higher operating speeds and reduced fatigue constraints will ultimately enable lighter weight propulsions system designs that translate directly into increased fuel efficiency.”
Ekici’s research interests include fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, and structural dynamics. His focus is also on energy efficiency, in the form of advanced technology for wind turbines used to generate electric power.
“My NSF CAREER proposal aims to develop new wind turbine designs for improved aeroelastic reliability and performance. As fossil fuel supplies are rapidly diminishing, alternative means of power generation such as renewable technologies are becoming a necessity,” Ekici said. “Wind turbine technology is one of these renewable energy sources, and it has already seen an increased popularity and usage in the past decade. It is anticipated that wind energy’s contribution to the US electricity supply will increase in the next twenty years. Consequently, reliable and efficient design of new wind turbines is of utmost importance to the country’s energy future.”
Ekici’s research is an effort to investigate longstanding grand challenges in unsteady aerodynamic modeling and rapid design of wind turbines by establishing a multidisciplinary approach for innovative wind turbine designs.
“Despite many years of development and advances in manufacturing technology, structural failure of wind turbine blades due to complex phenomena such as fatigue and flutter is quite common. This is mainly because of the fact that traditional rapid computational techniques, which neglect complex multi-physical phenomena, are still widely used in the analysis and design of wind turbines,” Ekici commented. “More recently, there have been attempts to improve the understanding of some of these issues using high-fidelity computational techniques that provide much more accurate predictions. However, most of the tools (commercial and research) available today are based on advanced time-accurate computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques and typically have very high computational costs–anywhere between weeks to months for a single run–significantly slowing down the design cycle. Therefore, it is critical to focus our efforts on devising novel analysis and design techniques that are much faster than those currently available. A tremendous leap forward such as this would allow rapid design of new blade geometries with increased reliability, as well as better aerodynamic, aeroelastic, and aeroacoustic characteristics. Thus, the research goal of my CAREER plan is to bring a new perspective to wind turbine computational modeling by combining two new very efficient and accurate methods; namely the harmonic balance technique for the analysis of complex flow-field and the adjoint technique for the design of new blade profiles and platforms. When completed, the multidisciplinary computational framework is expected to have a big impact on blade design process.”
Both DeSmidt and Ekici also agree on the importance of involving students in their research projects.
“So far, my NSF and NASA funded research has supported five PhD students, two of whom have graduated and one master’s student who has also recently
graduated,” DeSmidt said. “Under these projects, the students are involved in all aspects of the research from model formulation, to analysis, to experimental validation when applicable. They are also involved in writing journal papers and presenting at academic conferences. In particular, several of my students have presented papers at the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) IDETC conferences in 2011 and 2012 as well at the American Helicopter Society’s Annual Forum.”
“In my CAREER proposal, I have a substantial educational plan that involves the support of two PhD students, who will help with the mentoring of a pre-college student every summer through established outreach programs such as the Pre-College Research Scholar Program at UT,” Ekici said. “In addition, in collaboration with Dr. Mehmet Aydeniz, who is a professor of science and teacher education at UT, we will organize five-day summer workshops for local area high-school teachers with the ultimate goal of helping them improve their ability to integrate age-appropriate engineering concepts into their curriculum.”
DeSmidt and Ekici both would like to collaborate on a project, and are working on an initial effort to submit a joint proposal to NSF in early 2013.
“The mathematical modeling techniques I proposed to develop and enhance are directly applicable to other areas of engineering such as rotorcraft and gas turbine engine technologies,” Ekici commented. “In the bigger picture, the idea is to combine multiple physical phenomena like unsteady aerodynamics, structural mechanics, rotor and gear dynamics–Hans’ area of expertise–for a more comprehensive design framework.”
Research: Dr. Hans DeSmidt & Dr. Kivanc Ekici
Dr. Hans DeSmidt Dr. Kivanc Ekici
DISCOVERY
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Perkins HallAlthough Perkins Hall
will remain home to engineering administration, when the CEE department moves out in the fall of 2013, significant changes are planned. All current occupants of Estabrook Hall–Advising Services, Engineering Diversity Programs, the Jerry E. Stoneking Engage Freshman Engineering Program, Engineering Outreach, and the Engineering Honors Program–will all relocate to Perkins. The facility will undergo some remodeling to accommodate the new programs.
Landscaping ProjectA final new project is the development of a campus
master plan for landscaping of the entire engineering campus, which is part of the university’s strategic plan. A university committee has been assigned to assess outdoor improvements for the east end of campus. Ileen Cheek, wife of UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, chairs this committee. A second committee is chaired by Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Dave Irvin, and it will concentrate more on the technical issues related to landscaping, seating, and improvements for the entire campus. Spike Tickle, a COE alumnus and member of the college’s Board of Advisors, is a member of this second committee, and he has had an important role in framing both the focus and the initial locations for improvement of the campus grounds.”
“Under the leadership of Chancellor Cheek and Dean Wayne Davis and the work of Vice Chancellor Irvin, transforming our campus is yet another example of the continuing work to make UT to be one of the best academic and research universities in the country,” Tickle said. “Our campus environment is only one of many reasons that UT will continue to attract the best students and faculty.”
Modifications include landscaping the grounds between Perkins and Ferris Halls; tearing down the chain link fence that runs from Pasqua Hall behind Ferris and Dougherty and replacing it, working with the City of Knoxville, to create a more tasteful university perimeter in the area along Second Creek with new seating, lighting, vegetation, and better security; and installing new light poles along the sidewalks and intersections, while improving the steep slope between Estabrook and Second Creek.
“We’ve been fortunate to have Spike Tickle on this committee; he has been a strong advocate for the needs of the engineering campus in the context of benefit for the entire university,” Dunne said. “Once the new buildings are completed and the renovations to the other buildings are finished, the landscaping and upgrades will make a dramatic improvement in the appearance of the engineering campus on the Hill.”
The Joint Institute for Advanced Materials (JIAM)Construction has begun
on this multi-disciplinary facility, which is the first building to be constructed on the university’s Cherokee Campus. The current project plans builds the complete building with functional labs on the ground and first floor, but with shelled space on the second and third floors.
“We are looking at a couple of different ways to build JIAM that have the support of the campus and system to complete this building,” Dunne stated. “We are currently developing a first-order cost for the completion so that both campus and system can determine the best approach for funding the additional work. Funding has been somewhat of an issue for this facility, so we’re working with administrators on both levels to find solutions that will work. We hope to be able to ‘tag’ this work onto the project and complete the entire building as phases of a single project.”
The Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF)Dunne said that the departure of the EECS laboratories
to Min Kao freed up nine-thousand square feet of research space. The majority of this space has been allocated to house new research programs for a variety of programs, and also as transition areas as new and updated labs are completed in other buildings.
The College of Engineering continues to experience expansions, changes, and upgrades with most of its facilities. Associate Dean for Research and Technology Dr. William Dunne, who has responsibilities for issues related to the college’s building program, offers an update on what happened during fiscal year 2012 and what is in the future.
The Joint Institute for Advanced Materials (JIAM)
The Science and Engineering Research Facility (SERF)
Ferris Hall
The Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building
The John D. Tickle Engineering Building
The Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building
Facilities
Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science BuildingThe Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science (EECS) moved into the Min H. Kao Building in January 2011. On March 14, 2012, the university hosted a gala dedication ceremony in the atrium of the building with Dr. Min Kao and his family and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam in attendance (see article on page 24).
“The only remaining construction project in the Min H. Kao Building is the renovation on the first floor for the NSF-funded Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks center (CURENT) laboratory,” Dunne said. “We’re planning for this project to be completed by the beginning of 2013. Everything else in the building is settled, and it has worked out beautifully. We have settled into the building very comfortably.”
The John D. Tickle Engineering BuildingSubstantial progress has been
made on this facility, which is currently under construction on Neyland Drive next to the UT stadium. The projected opening date is August of 2013, with relocation of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE) to the facility beginning in September of that same year. Progress on the Tickle Building can be seen at the building site webcam:
http://www.engr.utk.edu/tickle/webcam.html
Dougherty Engineering BuildingTwo research-related projects are planned for
Dougherty, which was constructed in 1964. The first initiative is the National Science Foundation funded laboratory renovations, which is supported by a 2010 $1.8 million grant. The labs will focus on sustainable energy projects and will be used for both graduate and undergraduate research.
“We are currently in the process of selecting a contractor and are waiting on final state and federal approvals on all plans before construction starts,” Dunne said. “The projected completion date for this project is the first half of 2013.”
A second project is the campus-supported remodeling of the sixth floor of Dougherty to create updated modern instructional and research “wet” labs that will be used by the Departments of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering.
“This is a vitally important project for the future education of our engineering students,” Dunne stated. “This will provide us with critically needed space for wet labs with hoods that accommodate our goal of providing students with technologically advanced, modern, and safe research facilities.”
Dougherty is also undergoing more minor room modifications associated with the relocating of chemical and biomolecular engineering and mechanical, aerospace, and biomedical engineering faculty and staff after the move of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) personnel to Ferris Hall in May-June of 2012.
Ferris HallFerris Hall was completely vacated in January 2012
when the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science moved to the new Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building. The MSE department is now the building’s primary tenant, along with some space that has been allocated for the Department of Nuclear Engineering faculty and graduate students.
“Although Ferris Hall is one of our most attractive engineering buildings, the fact that it was built in 1930 and its basic structure precludes using it for most types of laboratories,” Dunne said. “This is a building for people, not so much for technology.”
The university has committed to replacing all windows in Ferris as part of a campus-wide initiative toward more energy-efficient operations. The classic paned architectural style of the windows will be retained and will compliment the traditional design of Ferris. Several areas of the building have also received fresh coats of paint during the MSE move-in.
“We’re excited that Facilities Services is now allowing us to use more than white in our paint colors,” Dunne added. “We’ll be seeing more color in all of our buildings in the future.”
Perkins Hall
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Whether it is teaching a classroom of students, working on cutting-edge projects in a laboratory, mentoring young potential engineers, or helming a College of Engineering (COE) research center, Dr. Claudia Rawn, a University of Tennessee–Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Joint Faculty member and an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), makes it all look easy.
Rawn was born and brought up in Marion, Virgina, a rural town in the southwestern part of the state. She excelled in math and science in high school and decided to major in engineering. While attending Virginia Tech for her bachelor’s degree, she took an introduction to materials science and engineering class and immediately became interested in the field.
Rawn received her BS in materials engineering in 1986 from Virginia Tech, her MS in chemistry in 1991 from George Mason University and her PhD in materials science and engineering in 1995 from the University of Arizona.
Rawn started her professional career as a materials research engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Ceramics Division. She had a two-year international stint as a postdoctoral researcher in the Ceramics Department at the “Jozef Stefan” Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia, before coming to Tennessee in 1997 to work as a postdoctoral researcher at ORNL’s Metals and Ceramics Division, High Temperature Materials Laboratory, Diffraction User Center.
In 2002, Rawn was named a senior research and development staff member at ORNL. She also served as a research and development staff member for four years in the lab’s Materials Science and Technology Division. Rawn joined the UT-MSE faculty in 2002.
“I had been working as a staff member at ORNL for several years and was thinking back on when I worked at NIST. During my time there, we often had
students from the University of Maryland come work for ten hours or so during the semester, over winter and spring breaks and the summer,” Rawn said. “After about a year they were well trained and over the years you could really build up a great working relationship with them. I wanted to explore this with students from UT and ended up with a Joint Faculty position between UT and ORNL.”
Some of Rawn’s current research is primarily based on her initial work at NIST, where she began the journey of experimentally determining the phase equilibria of various ceramic systems. Another one of her primary research areas is using neutron powder diffraction to understand mixed methane-carbon dioxide gas hydrates. The exchange of CO2 for CH4 in natural gas hydrates could potentially produce energy from untapped sources while at the same time sequestering CO2. In addition to the energy and environmental aspects the solid solution of (CH4)1-x(CO2)x - 5.75H2O provides a framework inclusion structure that enables the scientific study of how two molecules that differ greatly in their bonding, shape, coordination, and molecular weight can influence the structure and properties of the compound and interact with the framework that occludes the molecules.
“My graduate students and I are also working on using time dependent low temperature X-ray powder diffraction to better understand the phenomena of anomalous preservation and the kinetics of hydrate dissociation,” Rawn added.
At ORNL, Rawn uses the instruments at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) for characterizing materials by neutron powder diffraction. She also uses some of the X-ray diffraction instruments with special environment chambers at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science.
Rawn also focuses on mentoring the next generation of engineers through the annual Materials Camp, a summer program for high school students
interested in the field, and her latest initiative, the Research and Instructional Strategies for Engineering Retention (RISER), a new program at UT funded through a National Science Foundation (NSF) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Talent Expansion Program.
“The goal of the program is to recruit and retain students in STEM fields. We looked at retention since we already have students that are interested in being STEM majors,” Rawn said. “We then looked at groups in the college that had lower retention rates. The two ‘at risk’ populations were identified as freshmen who do not qualify to begin the Engineering Fundamentals (EF) series in their fall semester due to ACT math scores less than 28 (keep in mind that university-wide the average ACT score is a 27 so these are pretty high caliber students) and women in the honors program. The RISER undergraduates research assistants (URAs) portion of the program focuses on retaining women in the honors program by involving them in undergraduate research. Both the URAs and the URA mentors are really pleased with their experiences.”
The RISER program aims to increase the retention of the former group through two initiatives. The first initiative creates an entirely new branch of the EF program to: 1) build a social community for these students by providing them with increased opportunities to interact with COE faculty and other engineering students; and 2) create specialized sections of pre-calculus directed exclusively at COE majors.
The second initiative encourages these students to take and pass the math placement test, allowing them to enter the EF program in the fall semester.
Rawn also recently took over the management of the college’s Center for Materials Processing (CMP), a State of Tennessee Center of Excellence. CMP’s objective is to develop significant research and academic programs that
address the specific needs to American industry in the field of materials.
Dr. Carl McHargue, who has been director of the CMP since it was established in 1985, plans to retire soon. On January 1, 2012, Rawn became the CMP Associate Director and began learning about the center’s operations from Dr. McHargue. Rawn was named director of the CMP on July 1, 2012.
“It is a pleasure to work with Carl McHargue and I have learned a lot since January,” Rawn commented. “CMP funds are matched by support from industry and governmental agencies and are primarily used to support both graduate and undergraduate students and for the purchase or upgrade of equipment. Industrial support is provided through CMP memberships, research contracts, and gifts. Materials of interest include materials used in advanced energy systems, including materials found as components in the solar and nuclear industries, and materials used in high performance applications including materials found as components in the aerospace and refractories industries. Biomaterials are also a focal point of many of the researchers associated with the CMP.”
Although her hectic schedule and multiple commitments keep her constantly on the go, Rawn wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love what I am doing now! I hope during the coming years that the RISER program is a resounding success, moving to the stage where many of the parts we have implemented are becoming institutionalized. I also hope that I will take the CMP in some interesting new directions while continuing to support graduate fellowships and undergraduate research,” Rawn said. “ If I get pretty efficient at doing these two things I hope have time to get in the lab and make samples, characterize them, and write peer reviewed manuscripts. I also really enjoy teaching so I hope to continue to be in the classroom.”
COE Faculty: Dr. Claudia RawnINITIATIVE
20 21Dr. Claudia Rawn (far right) with a group of her RISER engineering students
(left to right) Sarah Combee, Kaitlyn Darby, Emma Hollmann, and Alexandra Hockett.
Dr. Xueping Li, an associate professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), believes that the primary role of industrial engineers is to make things better.
Born in Sichuan, a southwest province of China, Li lived there until he moved with his family at the age of twelve to the Liaoning province in northern China. He received his BS in automatic control and computer science in 1996 and his MS in computer science in 1999 from Nankai University.
Li became interested in the field of industrial engineering after seeing it as an opportunity to tackle real world challenges in a wide number of areas, including manufacturing and service industries, healthcare and supply chain, and logistics. In 2005, Li received his PhD in industrial engineering from Arizona State University.
After joining the faculty of the Department of Industrial Engineering (IE) at the University of Tennessee (UT), Li co-founded the Ideation Laboratory (iLab: http://ilab.engr.utk.edu) with IE research assistant professor Dr. Lee Martin. The iLab is a collection of hardware, software,
and relationships that can rapidly convert intangible ideas into tangible representations.
The facility provides students and faculty with tools for rapid transformation of ideas into first prototype products for plastic, wood, metal, and software mobile applications. Located in 301 Stadium Hall, the iLab’s first educational use was by the Governor’s School in the summer of 2011.
“Lee and I had shared the vision to bridge the chasm from ideas to marketplace using twenty-first century systems and networks and to release the economic potential of the ideas that arise within the minds of students and faculty at UT,” Li said. “Also, we want the iLab to be a fun place for our students, both graduate and undergraduate, and even for high school students and other kids in our community. They can use the iLab facilities for rapid prototyping, apps development, 3D modeling and simulation, and so on. The iLab has hosted students from the Governor’s School, the Engineering Fundamentals program, and Kids’ U. It helps our retention and fosters interests among youngsters to go into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs.
Li is also the co-director, with Dr. Tami Wyatt from the College of Nursing, of the Health Information Technology and Simulation Laboratory (HITS Lab), an organized research unit at UT. This interdisciplinary initiative brings together the expertise of engineers and nurses to test technology and human computer interaction and to facilitate knowledge in health information technology. Drs. Li and Wyatt have a long-term goal to develop eventual federal funding for the center.
Li and Wyatt recently developed and patented an electronic health record (EHR) for academic use called DocuCare (http://thepoint.lww.com/lwwdocucare). DocuCare was sold to Wolters Kluwer/ Lippincott last year, and the system will now be integrated into Laerdal’s suite of mannequin simulation offerings. Laerdal is the top distributor of simulated mannequins for healthcare education.
“Multidisciplinary collaboration on campus and multidisciplinary research can make a difference,” Li commented. “For the challenging problems that we are facing nowadays, like healthcare, power systems, and other complex issues, we need talents from different units on campus to work as a team.”
COE Faculty: Dr. Xueping Li
Li is excited about the future of the industrial engineering department, which recently changed its name to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE), and faculty and staff are looking forward to moving into the John D. Tickle Engineering Building in the fall of 2013.
“Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering focusing on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over their life cycles,” Li said. “Changing to ISE definitely reflects better what we are doing, since we are working on different systems, manufacturing systems, supply chain and logistics systems, healthcare systems, management systems, and so forth. ‘We are in the business of engineering’ is our ISE slogan. I also believe moving to the new Tickle building will bring more opportunities to my research and enhance our teaching. We can then actually bring sponsors to our department! And with the new classrooms available in the building, we can better engage our students and interact with them. I’m also pleased that the iLab will be relocated to the new building.”
INVENT
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The new Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building
Dedicating the Min H. Kao Building at the ribbon-cutting ceremony are (left to right): Dr. Kevin Tomsovic, Professor and Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Mrs. Sue Hung, wife of the late Dr. Jim Hung, one of Dr. Kao’s mentors; Mrs. Fan Kao; Dr. Min H. Kao, CEO of Garmin International; State of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam; UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek; COE Dean Wayne T. Davis; UT President Joe DiPietro; and Min H. Kao Fellow and EECS student representative Michael Pickelsimer.
Balloons drop and confetti spirals through the air after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Min H. Kao Building dedication on March 14.
March 14, 2012, was a bright spring day for the gala ceremony at 11:00 a.m. when University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumnus and Garmin International, Inc. co-founder Dr. Min H. Kao helped dedicate the new $37.5 million engineering building named in his honor—a beautiful new addition to the Hill and an important space for the College of Engineering, one of UT’s fastest growing colleges.
Kao and his wife, Fan Kao, joined Governor Bill Haslam, Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek, UT President Joe DiPietro, College of Engineering Dean Wayne T. Davis, and EECS Department Head Kevin Tomsovic, along with state and local officials and university faculty, staff, and students, to dedicate the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building.
The Kaos originally committed $12.5 million to the project with the condition that the State of Tennessee would match the gift. The state funding was approved by then-Governor Phil Bredesen and the Tennessee State Legislature, creating a total of $37.5 million for the project, and creating one of the first public-private financing agreements for a new academic building in the state.
The Kaos also donated $5 million to create the Min H. Kao Scholars and Fellows endowments and the Kao Professorship.
The Kaos’ gift was the foundation of a challenge campaign encouraging other alumni and friends to establish their own funds to support the department. An additional $5 million was raised, providing dramatically increased support for students and faculty.
The Min Kao Building incorporates six buildings that formerly housed the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) into a single, one hundred fifty-thousand square foot engineering building. The more efficient space allows for increased collaborative research opportunities for students. The building houses nineteen research laboratories, thirteen teaching laboratories, nine classrooms and faculty offices; a two-thousand five-hundred square-foot, one hundred forty-seven-seat auditorium; and an educational wing with smaller lecture classrooms that are available to other departments.
The Min H. Kao building also houses the Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Networks, a unique center funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, which seeks to develop smart grid technologies to overhaul the nation’s chronically overstretched electric power grid.
The building is built for LEED certification, which requires using environmentally sound materials, positioning the building to make the best use of natural lighting and using indoor lighting that is both cost-and-energy-efficient.
Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building Dedication
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam addresses the crowd at the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science building dedication on March 14.
Mr. and Mrs. John Tickle (left), donors for the John D. Tickle Engineering Building join Dr. and Mrs. Min H. Kao (center), donors of the Min H. Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building and their children Ken and Jennifer Kao (right) at a dinner the evening prior to the dedication of the Min Kao Building.
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In the College of Engineering big ideas seem to come naturally. Resources to power those ideas must match their boldness. Every donor to engineering at every level is part of our dynamic progress.
On December 31, 2011, The Campaign for Tennessee concluded with more than monetary success. During the seven years of the campaign the College of Engineering raised a total of $93,214,421 from an original goal of $75,000,000.
Behind these numbers, however, are significant relationships–some new, some longstanding, and all greatly appreciated. Highlighted are a few of our many donors whose gifts this year represent the Volunteer spirit that celebrates and propels excellence.
When Daw Lu (MS ’78/EE) came to campus for the Min Kao Building dedication, it was the first time he had been back to Knoxville since he graduated. Born in Taiwan, his BS degree is from Chinese Culture University in Taipei. At UT he received his MS with Dr. James C. Hung as his major professor. Lu had been considering a gift, but wanted to visit first. The endowment gift he has made will support the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In grateful recognition the student organization suite in the Min Kao Building is named the Daw and Jing Lu Family Suite, honoring Daw, his wife Jing, and their children, Jane and Jack, who were born in Knoxville.
Faculty endowment funding is a top priority as we aspire to become Top 25. Two important new faculty endowments are helping propel the journey. Each qualifies for the Chancellor’s Faculty Salary Support
Challenge which provides immediate income while the endowments build. The Dean’s Faculty Endowment was
established by Engineering Board of Advisors member Joe Cook (BS ‘65/IE) and his wife Judy, challenging other board members to help the fund reach $1 million. Bill (BS ‘73/EE) and Jenny Eversole quickly joined the effort bringing the total to date to $350,000. In June, Dr. Jason Hayward in Nuclear Engineering was named the UCOR Faculty Fellow in Nuclear Engineering, supported by a gift from UCOR (URS/CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC).
“By establishing this endowed faculty award at UT, we hope to give students the opportunity to study under the best professors in nuclear education,” said Leo Sain, UCOR’s president and project manager.
Ed (BS ’69, MS ’75/CE) and Carla McDougle believe in engineering and believe in giving to it. They have included a significant bequest in their estate plans that will create the Edwin and Carla McDougle Excellence Endowment. In addition, the McDougles contributed to the Burdette Lab recognition gift and continue their annual unrestricted gifts to engineering.
“I owe everything I have to my UT engineering degree,” noted McDougle, “And I want to pay some of that back for future generations.”
It was the co-op program that made college affordable for him and a fortuitous placement at Ross-Bryan launched his career. From his beginnings as a co-op student, McDougle rose through the company, retiring as president in 2011.
Development Report
Big
BigBig
Big
ORAngE
nUMBERS
IDEAS
THAnKS
INSPIRE
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Mil
lio
ns
of
Do
lla
rs
0
15
30
45
60
75
FY 2010
$52,008,340
69.3% of Goal
FY 2011
$59,349,559
79.1% of Goal
Campaign goal
$75,000,000
Total Campaign Commitments 2012
$93,214,421
124.2% of Goal
He attributes his success to the professional preparation of UT’s engineering degree.
When civil engineering alumni reflect on the quality of their education at UT, many credit Dr. Ed Burdette for conveying unparalleled academic and professional lessons. So on September 9, 2011, one day after Ed Burdette’s seventy-seventh birthday, the college hosted a surprise celebration to announce the naming of the Ed Burdette Hardened Concrete Laboratory in the new John D. Tickle Engineering Building. Gifts from the Arico Family, including Mabel Arico, Randy and Gina (Arico) Inklebarger, and Travis and Laura Arico Presley; Jim and Rhonda Copley; Sharon Habibi; Bill and Sandy Hamilton; Earl and Christa Ingram; Raja Jubran; Lee and Nancy Marsh; Ed and Carla McDougle; Dayakar and Marie Penumadu; Terry Scholes; and Bob and Denise Walker combined for a $250,000 commitment.
In early 2012, about a year after Dr. Hui Pih’s passing, his wife, Mabel, and children
came together to keep his legacy alive at UT. Perseverance and self-reliance were core values Dr. Pih nurtured in his children and his students. The Dr. Hui Pih Memorial Engineering Fellowship will provide stipends to graduate students, encouraging future generations of engineering students.
“He loved exploring, learning, and teaching,” says Shirley Pih Broadbery, creator of the endowment. “I think that is why he became a professor.”
All four of his children have UT degrees. Norman holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Shirley began as an engineer for two years before switching to a business degree. Martin holds a degree in pharmacy and Arlene a degree in business. Arlene’s husband, Mark Driver, also received his BS in civil engineering.
The quest for achievement and discovery continues, as does our search for those whose financial support will advance opportunities. We believe there are big things ahead!
Dr. Anthony (Tony) R. Buhl, the president and CEO of EnergX, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Engineering alumnus and a member of the engineering college’s Board of Advisors, received the Nathan W. Dougherty Award, the college’s most prestigious honor, at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner on April 12, 2012.
The Nathan W. Dougherty Award was established by the College of Engineering in 1957 to pay tribute to Dr. Nathan Washington Dougherty, dean of the College of Engineering from 1940-56. The award honors engineers whose accomplishments have enhanced the profession and alumni whose activities have brought acclaim to the university. Dougherty Award recipients represent an extraordinary echelon of engineering professionals.
Buhl, who was born and grew up ten miles outside of nearby Clinton, Tennessee, faced poverty and hardship in his early years. He was the youngest of eight children in a family that lived in a two-room house. No one in the valley where he grew up had gone to high school, much less college. However, an encounter at a science fair changed his life.
“I participated in the Southern Appalachian Science Fair in high school and met Dr. Pete Pasqua and Dr. Isbell Tipton, UT professors who were co-chairing the science fair,” Buhl said. “Dr. Pasqua said that I should think about the possibility of a career in engineering.”
During his senior year, Buhl’s high school chemistry teacher suggested that he could get a freshman scholarship at the University of Tennessee. Although Buhl did not really know a lot about higher education, he applied for the scholarship, got it, and enrolled at UT in the nuclear engineering undergraduate program.
“I loved all of the math, physics, and nuclear engineering courses,” Buhl said.
“I also enjoyed classes in my minor, which was in Old Testament Studies, under Rabbi Marx.”
Buhl eventually received his BS, MS, and PhD degrees, all in nuclear engineering, as well as a PhD in engineering science, from UT. He subsequently enlisted in the Army, where he was commissioned as an officer upon receiving his bachelor’s degree and served active duty as a captain. After his military service ended, Buhl went to work as an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for three years.
Buhl later served as a senior executive at both the DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and was the first Director of Risk Assessment at NRC. He has led many complex independent oversight assessments of high-risk projects and activities that led to major safety culture modifications.
Buhl has led many successful turnarounds of major projects and organizations, with special emphasis on facilitating changes in their safety cultures. He has provided technical and executive support to small businesses, large corporations, and federal agencies for more than thirty years. He served as the corporate site-wide ESH&Q Vice-President at Rocky Flats and Hanford, two large high-risk Department of Energy (DOE) closure sites. He has also served as president and CEO of a public company that provided management consulting, engineering, and software development and was CEO of a private company that offered environmental restoration and risk assessment products and services. He has been a member of several corporate boards.
Buhl was in the control room throughout the recovery from the accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979.
“It was very strange to be in the control room at TMI,” Buhl commented.
“Sometimes there would be nearly a hundred people in that room. After the evacuations, only ten of us remained. There was little connection between what we were hearing on national TV and what was actually happening in the plant. There was only one telephone in the control room, and people were calling in from other parts of the US to tell us what they heard was going on. Usually, these reports were very different from the reality.”
During the next five years, Buhl managed the Industry Degraded Core Rulemaking (IDCOR) Program, the power industry’s response to the accident at TMI. A US consortium of sixty-three electric utilities, NSSS suppliers and architect-engineering firms supported this international program. Supported by Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan, IDCOR established comprehensive, integrated, well-documented and technically sound positions on all issues related to severe accidents in commercial nuclear power plants and thus provided the basis for industry participation in their resolution. Buhl served as the industry spokesman with the NRC to resolve severe accident issues–cultural, hardware, and infrastructure. More than one hundred experts and operators supported IDCOR, which became part of the baseline for the cultural evolution of the nuclear power industry.
He was also a member of the first Emergency Response Team at the Institute of Nuclear Operations (INPO) following the accident at the Crystal River Nuclear Plant.
He also supported the recovery efforts and safety evaluations in Russia following the Chernobyl accident, and he has visited thirty-nine countries to support nuclear safety issues.
Despite ongoing concerns about the safety of nuclear power, Buhl views it as a positive resource for the future.
“The use of nuclear power is growing dramatically around the world, despite the
three major accidents at TMI, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. It is the only solution to reduce our reliance on foreign oil. Today, nuclear power accounts for twenty percent of our nation’s electric power,” Buhl said. “This contribution must grow substantially over the next fifteen to thirty years if we are to maintain our nation’s energy security. Our industry, commerce, and our very way of life depend on a reliable, uninterrupted supply of affordable electricity. There is a great future for young people today who choose nuclear engineering as a career.”
In 1997, Buhl co-founded EnergX, LLC, a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business supporting DOE and electric utilities nationwide from three regional locations. He continues to serve as president and CEO today.
“I have worked in senior positions for three very large corporations and found communicating through a bureaucracy to be a bit difficult,” Buhl said. “Starting my own business has been exciting, frightening, and rewarding. I do think that the services we offer can be provided more rapidly and are better focused on our clients’ needs than the larger corporations. However, I did not know how demanding entrepreneurship would be on my entire family.”
In 1985, he was elected a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society for his contributions and expertise in safety, risk assessment and risk management. He is a registered Professional Engineer (PE).
Buhl lives in Knoxville with his wife, Susan. They have two grown sons, Anthony and Luis, and two grandchildren.
As for the future, Buhl’s goals are simple.
“I want to continue to grow my company and to get closer to the ones I love,” he said.
Dougherty Award Winner: COE Alumnus Dr. Tony Buhl
COE Dean Wayne Davis (left) presents the Nathan W. Dougherty Award to Tony Buhl (right) at the College of Engineering 2012 Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner.
DYNAMIC
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Dr. H.M. “Hash” Hashemian’s positive attitude, professional capabilities, and engineering know-how have helped to make him an international success.
Hashemian, who was born and grew up in Tehran, Iran, came to the US in 1974 when he was twenty-four years old to attend Lamar University in Texas where his brother was enrolled. He began his graduate studies in engineering and became intrigued with nuclear engineering after taking a course in the subject at Lamar. The university did not offer a degree program in nuclear engineering, so Hashemian decided to enroll in the graduate program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“I chose UT because it was known for its strong nuclear engineering program and connection to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Tennessee Valley Association (TVA),” Hashemian said. “I also had a relative in the area, my aunt, Dr. Rondi Jamasbi, was working as a cancer researcher at ORNL.”
During his years at UT, Hashemian met a professor who would play a huge role in his life–Dr. Tom Kerlin. At that time, the engineering college encouraged entrepreneurial activities that involved collaborations between student researchers and faculty. In 1977, Kerlin and Hashemian established the Analysis and Measurement Services Corporation (AMS) while Hashemian was still a graduate student.
“My master’s research resulted in development of technology for testing the safety systems of nuclear power plants. As I was finishing my work, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission made it a requirement for nuclear plants to make a measurement to verify the performance of the safety systems,” Hashemian said. “The technology that I developed
Outstanding Alumnus: Dr. H.M. Hashemian
during my master’s research facilitated this measurement. So, we were given contracts to do the work in commercial nuclear power plants as soon as I finished my degree.”
After receiving his master’s degree in nuclear engineering at UT, Hashemian was awarded three doctorate engineering degrees from other institutions.
Today, Hashemian serves as president and CEO of AMS, and the company is headquartered in Knoxville with two locations in the United States and representative offices in Australia, Spain, South Korea, and Switzerland. The company is the leading supplier of equipment, training, and services for in-situation response time testing and online calibration of temperature and pressure instrumentation in nuclear power plants. AMS has a worldwide list of clientele, and has worked closely with a number of international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Electrotechnical Commission.
As a recognized international expert in the nuclear power industry, Hashemian sees a positive future for nuclear engineering.
“Nuclear engineering is going strong in spite of the Fukushima accident in Japan,” Hashemian commented. “All nuclear engineering departments in the US and elsewhere are doing reasonably well. This is because of a flurry of activities in China and elsewhere toward the use of nuclear energy. In the US, four new nuclear power plants are under construction and one here in Knoxville by the name of Watts Bar Unit 2 is being completed. China is building a number of reactors, many of which are based on US designs or are purchased from US companies. The Fukushima accident was a set-back for the
nuclear industry, but not so much that it will slow us down here in the US.”
Hashemian is also excited about the future of nuclear engineering at UT.
“The UT nuclear engineering department has a new head–Dr. Wes Hines. Dr. Hines is a rising star in the nuclear industry.” Hashemian said. “I am very happy to have him at the helm of the department. He brings energy and enthusiasm to UT’s nuclear engineering department and is a well- respected member of the national and international nuclear energy community. There are only a dozen people in the reactor diagnostics, prognostics, and instrumentation and control area that have comparable expertise to Wes Hines. I expect that he will lift UT’s nuclear engineering department to new highs.”
In addition to his busy schedule at AMS, Hashemian has also has written two books, both translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian; he has spoken at almost one hundred conferences worldwide; and has authored ten book chapters, two hundred conference papers and more than fifty peer reviewed journal and magazine articles. He holds ten US patents and has five others pending.
Hashemian has received numerous professional honors and awards, including the Knoxville Pinnacle Award in 2010 for success in operating a mid-sized company; and in recognition of his company’s excellence in research and development work for the federal government, he was invited to a White House ceremony as a recipient of the national Tibbett Award.
Hashemian hopes to expand AMS during the next decade.
“My plan for the next five to ten years is to grow my company, help my kids enter the society/work force, and begin to do
some charity work to benefit sick children. AMS has grown to almost one hundred people, counting some of our consultants, contractors, and interns. I would like to grow it to at least one hundred fifty people and make it a force in the area of nuclear power plant instrumentation, control, diagnostics, prognostics, on-line monitoring, and wireless technology implementation.”
Hashemian’s wife, Nazzy, has an MBA degree and was a bank manager in her previous career. She now has her own business making architectural models for residential and commercial buildings. Hashemian’s son, Alex, is a student majoring in mechanical engineering at UT; he will finish his BS degree this semester and will begin working on an MS degree in engineering. His daughter, Nikki, is a junior in the UT College of Business Administration studying management.
For more information on AMS, visit http://www.ams-corp.com.
TRANSFORM
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Dr. Hashemian (center) with his family, wife Nazzy (center) and daughter Nikki (left) and son Alex (right)
Financial Information Fiscal Year 2012
Total Expenditures & Carryover$96 Million
Externally Funded Gifts, Grants & Contracts $56,823,062Recurring & Nonrecurring State Funds $39,209,481
The College of Engineering is resolved to become one of the country’s top 25 public engineering educational institutions. To bring this vision to reality, our college is committed to these five charges:
Attaining national and international recognition among peer institutions for excellence in both research and teaching;
Assembling a dynamic body of faculty who exemplify excellence and innovation in the pursuit and delivery of knowledge and will perpetuate the highest standards of engineering education for future generations;
Graduating students who are well educated in technical knowledge, with solid communication and teamwork skills, who can compete successfully in the global business world and contribute significantly to the national base of engineering education and technology;
Investing strategically in the college’s most important resources — students, faculty, and programs — through the vigorous acquisition of private gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations;
Partnering with academic, industrial, and government entities that share and enhance the mission of the College of Engineering so that our educational and collaborative efforts result in the maximum, positive, economic impact locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.
Vision StatementResources: Recurring & Nonrecurring State Funds
$39.2 Million
Salaries & Benefits $28,417,579Miscellaneous Operating Expenses $9,170,602Equipment $1,621,300
Gifts, Grants & Contracts by Department/Center $56.8 Million
Research Centers $5,899,222 Electrical Engineering & Computer Science $12,474,336Civil & Environmental Engineering $8,699,938 Materials Science & Engineering $9,692,295 Nuclear Engineering $7,007,564 Mechanical, Aerospace & Biomedical Engineering $6,319,252Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering $3,411,289 Industrial & Systems Engineering $1,488,601 Engineering Fundamentals Division $78,363Administration $1,752,202
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College of Engineering 2012 Annual ReportThe University of Tennessee, Knoxville
124 Perkins Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996-2000Web: http://www.engr.utk.edu
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