The University of Tennessee chapter of the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) received a major award at a recent conference.

Founded in 2019, UT’s SASE chapter seeks to uplift Asian heritage STEM students. SASE’s mission is to create the Asian heritage leaders of tomorrow by promoting Asian culture, building professional skills, and giving back to the community.

SASE attended the SASE National Convention, a two-day professional and academic conference in Atlanta, Georgia from October 12–14, 2023. The conference sought to instill leadership skills in the next generation of Asian heritage scientists and engineers, expose them to career and internship opportunities, and allow them to meet members of other chapters to grow their networks. This year, 20 UT students attended the conference and were able to benefit from it.

“The highlight of my experience was accepting the 2023 Inspire Award for Most Philanthropic Chapter and representing our school and the Volunteer State in front of other collegiate chapters and professionals,” said Sarah Huang, UT SASE’s president. “We love contributing to STEM education outreach, such as volunteering at Muse Knoxville and family engineering nights, and the national recognition is the cherry on top.”

Valerie Fung, UT SASE’s vice president, participated in the first SASE Poster Symposium, which celebrated the research accomplishments of undergraduate, graduate, and professional members to support scientists.

“This was a great opportunity for me to share my work from the internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory last semester, and I was able to talk to peers from all sorts of backgrounds and areas of expertise,” said Fung.

Colin Onevathana, a freshman SASE member, mentioned how he was able to connect with students outside of UT, as well as companies. “If I had the chance to go to the SASE National Convention again, I would, without hesitation, go once again.”

This year, registration at the conference tripled, yet the number of job offers remained the same. Sam Sui and Rudra Patel, members of SASE, received the celebratory gong as they received job offers from companies.

“It was my first time seeing a member hit the gong and documenting it,” Huang said. “…I’m really proud that members from our chapter are getting these really competitive positions.”