Five faculty members from the University of Tennessee’s Tickle College of Engineering were announced Wednesday as part of winning projects in the 2024 Grand Challenges Grant Competition. 

The Grand Challenges Grants competition is an initiative that showcases the University of Tennessee System’s commitment to addressing some of the state’s most pressing issues.  

The five TCE faculty members received a Type 1 grant for projects with budgets up to $100,000.  

• Betsy Chesnutt, lecturer in engineering fundamentals is part of the Access + Content + Language = STEM Learning for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Youths (ACL=STEM) project.

• Peng Zhao, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering (MABE), UT Space Institute is part of the Thermal runaway in EV batteries: a transformational PBL unit for high school chemistry.

• Weizi Li, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS); Xiaopeng Zhao, MABE professor; and Jian Liu, EECS assistant professor are part of the Feasibility of Implementing Personalized eHealth Program through Fitness Wearable and Application Among Rural Cancer Survivors project. 

• As program director of AI Initiatives at UT, Zhao is also part of the Rural Expansion of Access to Genetic Counseling and Healthcare through AI Innovations (REACH) project. 

Carla Arbogast, director of the Center for Advanced Systems Research & Education, and Enrique Macias de Anda, research assistant professor and industry manager, Research Assistant Professor and Industry Manager of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering received honorable mention in the Type 2-Pitch Competition category for their work on the Creating People-Centric Workplaces in Rural Communities project. 

The Grand Challenges Summit will take place Feb. 13-14 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. The summit will bring together a diverse group of experts, community leaders, and stakeholders to develop innovative, holistic solutions for the state’s interconnected challenges. 

Contact

Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)