{"id":2218,"date":"2026-09-17T14:49:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T18:49:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/?p=2218"},"modified":"2026-09-17T14:49:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T18:49:46","slug":"seed-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/seed-boost\/","title":{"rendered":"Seed Boost"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"lead\">TCE Faculty Members Receive ORIED Funding<\/p>\n<p>Five faculty members from the Tickle College of Engineering are leading teams that have been awarded funding by the University of Tennessee\u2019s Office of Research, Innovation &amp; Economic Development (ORIED) for multidisciplinary energy and environment research projects.<\/p>\n<p>Four TCE-led teams are receiving $60,000 each in research seed awards, and one team is receiving $25,000 for a team-building award.<\/p>\n<p>The Energy and Environment Gateway annual seed program provides internal funding for activities that enhance UT\u2019s capabilities, reputation, and impact in energy and environment-related research, including increasing the competitiveness of individuals and teams for external funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year we received an unprecedented number of applications for this seed program which made for a challenging review process,\u201d said Energy and Environment Gateway Manager April Armes. \u201cEvery proposal represented a challenge worth solving, opportunities for new collaboration, and a partnership waiting to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"orange-mark\">Research Seed Awards<\/h2>\n<div class=\"half \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2219\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of David Keffer\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/David-Keffer-800x800.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>David Keffer<\/strong>, professor of materials science and engineering, will lead a teamcombining computational and experimental approaches to explore materials derived from renewable resources.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"half \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2220\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/suya-headshot-1.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of Suya\" width=\"480\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/suya-headshot-1.jpg 400w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/suya-headshot-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/suya-headshot-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Suya<\/strong>, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, will lead a team applying trustworthy machine learning for nuclear applications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br class=\"clearshortcode\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"half \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2221\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/leon-tolbert.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of Leon Tolbert\" width=\"464\" height=\"464\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/leon-tolbert.jpg 400w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/leon-tolbert-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/leon-tolbert-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 464px) 100vw, 464px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Leon Tolbert<\/strong>, chancellor\u2019s professor and Min H. Kao professor electrical engineering and computer science, will lead a team studying the integration of advanced energy technologies and large computing facilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"half \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2222\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/sagar-kanhere.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of Sagar Vishnudas Kanhere\" width=\"468\" height=\"468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/sagar-kanhere.jpg 400w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/sagar-kanhere-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/sagar-kanhere-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sagar Vishnudas Kanhere<\/strong>, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, will lead a team investigating alternative approaches for producing cellulose-based carbon fibers for high-temperature applications.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br class=\"clearshortcode\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"orange-mark\">Team-Building Awards<\/h2>\n<div class=\"half \">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2223\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/John_Schwartz-260x370-1.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot of John Schwartz\" width=\"444\" height=\"444\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/John_Schwartz-260x370-1.jpg 260w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/09\/John_Schwartz-260x370-1-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>John Schwartz<\/strong>, director of the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center and civil and environmental engineering professor, will lead an effort to build a regional network focused on water-related challenges across the Southeast.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br class=\"clearshortcode\"><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"orange-mark\">Contact<\/h2>\n<p>Rhiannon Potkey (<a href=\"mailto:rpotkey@utk.edu\">rpotkey@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five faculty members from the Tickle College of Engineering are leading teams that have been awarded funding by the University [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":2004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,3,14,384,4],"tags":[102,539,540,545,543,541,544,542],"class_list":["post-2218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awards","category-faculty","category-news","category-press-releases","category-research","tag-david-keffer","tag-department-of-civil-and-environmental-engineering","tag-department-of-mechanical-and-aerospace-engineering","tag-john-schwartz","tag-leon-tolbert","tag-min-h-kao-department-of-electrical-engineering-and-computer-science","tag-sagar-kanhere","tag-suya"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - 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