Engineering Vols Compute the Switchgrass Harvest
“Harvesting switchgrass was definitely a different experience from what I normally do,” said Valerie Garcia-Negrón. “It made me realize how exciting and important it is to be in the field doing hands-on activities. Working with switchgrass helped our group obtain a holistic view of the project’s processing phases: harvesting plants, extracting lignin, converting lignin into carbon products, and modeling the carbon samples at the atomic- and meso-scales.”
Accolades: Engineers dig ORE, Thompson presents, Ahmadi publishes, Thakur competes
For women in higher education, talking about career advancement and ambitions can be taboo. This session offered a safe forum for women attendees to discuss aspirations, skill sets and experiences, and how these things fit within (or outside of) their respective organizations.
Janis Terpenny Named Dean of UT’s Tickle College of Engineering
“Dr. Terpenny’s expertise in engineering design and smart manufacturing will be invaluable to the college and the university as we continue to emerge as a leader in the fields of advanced materials and high-performance computing,” said Provost David Manderscheid. “With her track record as an academic leader who can foster collaboration, advance research, and build on the college’s already excellent reputation, I am certain that Dr. Terpenny will be a great asset to the university.”
Student and Faculty Contributions Honored at Council of Partners Banquet
“Engineering is a wonderful profession, allowing its practitioners to have tremendous impact on our families, communities, state, nation and global society,” said Dean. “This also places a significant dependency on engineers to get it right. This is a burden engineers must embrace, be humbled by their responsibilities and potential, and enjoy every minute.”
Staff Profile: Missy McDonald
“This past December, I earned my certification in research administration—an important milestone in my career that I’m proud of,” she said. “The best part about this job is that I get to help people almost every day, and I truly enjoy that.”
Accolades: Atomic Wings, Beautiful Blades, Many Awards
Undergraduate and graduate MSE students delivered strong performances at the 2019 TMS Annual Meeting, March 10–14 in San Antonio, Texas. The Bladesmithing team’s “Volsung” blade received a special citation for beauty. The team made a great video of their project, viewable above.
Staff Spotlight: Gabrielle Richards
“My career started out, with the help of a high school co-op program, as a unit secretary at a large Detroit medical center for several years while attending college part-time,” said Richards. “I became a corporate legal secretary and worked for two prominent downtown Detroit law firms over 13 years.”
Engineering Vol Helps Governor Declare Limb Loss Awareness Month
“At the beginning of February, I received an email from the Amputee Coalition asking for help to proclaim April as Limb Loss Awareness Month in the state of Tennessee,” said Toll. “The Amputee Coalition is a great organization that empowers people affected by limb loss and limb difference.”
Sydney Copp Finds and Gives Support through Society of Women Engineers Mentorship Program
“SWEeties is really geared toward helping retain women in engineering and get them excited to be a part of it,” said Copp. “I will 100 percent continue to be a mentor throughout my college career. I have absolutely loved doing it so far, and I can’t imagine my time at UT without SWE or SWEeties.”
Women of Purpose Share Their Engineering Vision
“As a graduate student, I believe the event was really informative,” said attendee Dawn Sepehr, vice president of Systers. “Even if you think you already know your purpose and you’ve been in this field for a while now, it’s always a good idea to just pause for a moment and re-evaluate your values and make sure that you’re still on the right track.”