![\"Dean](\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/ise\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2022\/05\/mench-martin.jpg\")
<\/p>\nProfessor Emeritus Lee Martin first came to the University of Tennessee in 1974 to pursue his bachelor\u2019s degree in mechanical engineering, eventually earning the highest honor a student can receive by being named a Torchbearer.<\/p>\n
Now he has been recognized for the university\u2019s highest alumni honor, the Nathan W. Dougherty Award.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m overwhelmed by this selection, and very honored and thankful,\u201d said Martin. \u201cThere is a lot of amazing work being done by faculty, staff, and students, so to be chosen as a recipient of this award and thus to represent them and all of our alumni is very humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n
He went on to earn his master\u2019s from Purdue in 1979 before returning to UT to earn his doctorate, which he accomplished in 1986, both in mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n
That same year, he founded TeleRobotics, combining his knowledge of image processing with robotics. The company eventually became iPix, and Martin left in 1999.<\/p>\n
His next venture was the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation, run under then Governor Don Sundquist. Martin traveled the state to drum up support for new ideas and innovations with an entrepreneurial touch.<\/p>\n
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Martin\u2019s ideas have led to several patents, public offerings, and entrepreneurial opportunities.<\/p>\n
His success in those areas led him back to UT, where he created the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program and taught students, among other things, how to recognize and seize chances to create their own ventures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been awesome to see the college grow and expand over the years, from something that impacted the state, then the region, then the nation and the world,\u201d said Martin. \u201cThe Tickle College of Engineering\u2019s reach is truly global.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin has stayed busy since his retirement, founding the Pavilion of Pickleball to provide opportunities for people to enjoy the sport. It has proven so successful that there is now a waiting list for new members.<\/p>\n
Recognizing Nathan Dougherty\u2019s success in engineering and education, the Dougherty Award singles out those who have \u201cbrought honor and distinction to the college through their achievements or who have made significant contributions to the engineering profession in Tennessee through their professional activities\u201d and has been given annually since 1957.<\/p>\n
Dougherty was a captain of UT\u2019s football and basketball teams as a student\u2013athlete in the early 1900s. He served as dean of the college from 1940 to 1956, hired Robert Neyland as UT\u2019s football coach, and served as acting SEC commissioner in 1947. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1967.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Longtime faculty member and alumnus H. Lee Martin received the college’s 2022 Dougherty Award at this year’s Faculty and Staff Awards Dinner. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":407,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,99,3],"tags":[170,171,172],"class_list":["post-406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-awards","category-full-time-adjunct-faculty","tag-lee-martin","tag-nathan-w-dougherty-award","tag-telerobotics"],"yoast_head":"\n