The Tickle College of Engineering celebrated the historic addition of two new departments with ribbon cutting ceremonies on Wednesday. The Department of Applied Engineering & Technology and Department of Biomedical Engineering launched this fall, increasing the total of number of departments within TCE to nine.
With students, faculty, staff, and benefactors in attendance, BME held a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of Perkins Hall and AppE held a ribbon cutting ceremony on the ground floor of the Zeanah Engineering Complex.
Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair of the college, spoke at both ceremonies, joined by new BME department head Dacheng Ren and new AppE department head Chulho Yang.
“This is a historic era for our college, and the addition of these departments will pave the way for even more innovative and impactful engineering education and research,” Mench said. “From our outstanding faculty to our recent records in rank, enrollment, student success, research enterprise, and so many other things, the college has never been in a better place.”
Aiming to meet industry demand and better serve UT’s land-grant mission, AppE launched this fall with concentrations in software engineering and manufacturing. The four-year engineering degree programs offered prepare students to directly enter the workforce upon graduation with an emphasis on hands-on knowledge and critical thinking skills that are directly relevant to industry.
“What makes our approach nationally unique in AppE is that the programs created will have the same level of rigor and accreditation as our traditional programs and have been designed to enhance all college programs through shared labs and faculty hired with relevant industrial experience,” Mench said. “This department will be an agile program that responds to the rapidly changing needs of our industry. We will produce world-class engineers ready to be leaders in their field.”
BME launched as stand-alone department this fall, separating from its association with mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE). The separation allows BME to grow, strengthen specialization in its curriculum, and bolster its national identity. The move was made in strategic alignment with the university-level investments in human health and wellness and a strengthening partnership with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center that offers greater opportunities for the department and its faculty and students.
“An independent BME department has been over 30 years in the making, and I believe we are just getting started,” Mench said. “With visionary leadership from the chancellor, provost, department heads, and their faculty now aligned with the institutional strategic objectives, the future of the TCE is tremendous.”
Photo Gallery
Check out some of the photos from the ribbon cutting ceremonies held on September 3.
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])