Richard Bennett is the director of the college’s engage™ Engineering Fundamentals program. He came to UT because he felt it had a good balance between teaching and research and because of the great people he would come to call his coworkers. He enjoys being able to help a new group of young engineering students get off to a good start every year. He believes that Engineering Fundamentals is important because it is “the beginning of your educational career, and the concepts we teach are used in so many areas.”

Bennett’s favorite student is his daughter, but he believes all other students are equal and a privilege to teach. We asked him a few specifics to help freshmen students settle in at UT:

Q: Where did you get your undergraduate degree?
A: I received my Civil Engineering degree from Cleveland State University.

Q: How can students succeed in class and make their professors happy?
A: The best advice I can give is to keep up with the homework, and to get in a study group with a few of your peers.

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve of students?
A: Students who do not check their work. Take a few seconds to look over your answer and whether or not it makes sense.

Q: How do you spend your free time?
A: With my family and friends. I have two grandchildren who love wearing Vols attire. My wife and I also have friends in Chengdu, China, where we visited this summer to see the Panda Base.

This Q&A is part of a series we’re rolling out to help UT engineering students get to know the Engineering Fundamentals staff in the college.

Learn more about the Engineering Fundamentals Program