Funded Proposals (9/1/2015-9/31/2015)
CONGRATULATIONS!
The following UTC faculty and staff recently attracted $1,441,526 in external grant and contract awards:
Mr. Andy Carroll, GIS Manager at the Center for Academic and Innovative Technologies, secured $15,000 from the Tennessee Valley Authority to continue work on a statewide, interactive paddling web map and river resource database. The additional funding will support ongoing efforts to collect and digitize high quality digital media for use in the online mapping tools.
Dr. Ahmed Eltom, Department Head of Electrical Engineering, received $1,018 from the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA) to conduct a lab demonstration. For this project, graduate students will use equipment in the electrical engineering laboratory space at UTC to conduct a maintenance lab demonstration for representatives at TVPPA.
Dr. Hunter Huckabay, Director of the Center for Community Career Education’s GEAR UP initiative in Hamilton County, attracted $624,064 from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). The program is in the fifth year of a 7-year award cycle.
Ms. Cynthia Wallace Long, Director of UTC’s Educational Opportunity Center (EOC), attracted $263,047 from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of the center. The EOC assists adult residents in the region as they enroll in GED programs and complete the college admissions process.
Dr. Niki Tejero, Assistant Professor of Music, received $1,400 from the Tennessee Arts Commission to support the 2016 River City Clarinet Winter Festival. The festival will feature a variety of activities, including a lecture, master class, concert performances, round-table discussion on topics related to clarinet playing, musical artistry, and a high school solo competition.
Drs. Jin Wang, Professor of Mathematics, Cuilan Gao, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Matt Matthews, Interim Mathematics Department Head, Xuhua Liu, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, David Giles, Assistant Professor of Biology, and Yu Liang, Associate Professor of Computer Science received $500,000 from the National Science Foundation to establish an interdisciplinary mathematics (I-Math) program that will integrate education, research, and training for math majors at UTC. The program will include four components: biological math, computer math, data math, and engineering math.
Dr. Jin Wang, Professor of Mathematics, attracted $36,997 from the National Science Foundation to develop a system that maps data-streams on infectious disease into actionable recommendations for policy-makers. Wang will begin the initial steps of the process, such as forming an interdisciplinary research team, creating a set of system models, and developing a road map for the long-term project.
Submitted Proposals (9/1/2015-9/31/2015)
GOOD LUCK!
The following UTC faculty and staff members submitted proposals with the potential to generate over $3,356,930 in external funding, if awarded:
Drs. Raga Ahmed (Electrical Engineering) and Jennifer Ellis (Education) requested $53,954 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to establish I-STEP: Infusing STEM-Themed Effective Pedagogy into Teacher Development Programs. The project will serve 24 STEM teachers with an emphasis on physics concepts in relation to the four STEM areas.
Dr. Francesco Barioli (Mathematics) and Ms. Deborah Troutman-Cantrell (Education) requested $74,679 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to address professional development needs facing high school mathematics teachers as they prepare students for success in the new TNCore Algebra II standards. The project is a collaborative effort among the UTC Teacher Preparation Academy, UTC College of Arts and Sciences, and the Hamilton County, Bradley County, Grundy County, Marion County, Cleveland City, and Shelby County Unified school systems.
Drs. Bryan Ennis, Bradley Harris, Abdul Ofoli (Engineering), David Giles (Biology), Dawn Ford (Walker Teaching Resource Center), and Mr. Perry Storey (Challenger Center) requested $74,906 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to create remote laboratories for education at the high school level. The project will develop three stations consistent with STEM curriculum standards that will offer chemistry, biology, and physical science experiments.
Drs. Ignatius Fomunung, Bradley Harris (Civil, Chemical, & General Engineering), Raga Ahmed (Electrical Engineering), Trevor Elliott (Mechanical Engineering), Aldo McLean (Engineering Management & Technology), and Jennifer Ellis (Education) requested $991,725 from the National Science Foundation to support 24 academically-talented engineering students from enrollment through graduation. The program will place an emphasis on recruiting students from groups underrepresented in engineering, including students enrolled in the Tennessee Promise program.
Drs. Cuilan Gao, Lingju Kong, John Matthews (Mathematics), Yu Liang, Weidong Wu (Computer Science & Engineering), and Jennifer Ellis (Education), in collaboration with the Hamilton County Department of Education, requested $66,436 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to provide a professional development opportunity to 25 high school teachers. The training will enable classroom teachers to integrate modern technology, such as online educational resources, mobile devices, and modern digital instruction tools, into math and science instructional activities.
Dr. Rebecca Jones (English) requested $19,980 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a course about nature, as an idea, a historical concept, and a discourse that shifts across time, culture, and place. The course will push students to think about an idea across the disciplines of science, philosophy, literature, and rhetoric to answer the question – “what is nature?”
Drs. Hope Klug and Jennifer Boyd (Biology) requested $27,980 from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a course that will challenge students to question the value of nature. The course will challenge biology students to look at nature in a different light by examining history and culture, visual depictions, literary representations, and the scientific perspective.
Dr. Charles Margraves (Engineering) and Jennifer Ellis (Education) requested $74,202 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to implement a summer workshop for high school science teachers throughout the Tennessee Valley. The workshop will teach instructors the necessary steps to create a zero plus energy building, provide experiments that can be used in the classroom, and offer the opportunity to take a tour of a zero plus energy building created by the Center for Energy, Transportation, and the Environment.
Drs. Deborah McAllister, Kay Cowan (Education), and Aniekan Ebiefung (Mathematics) requested $74,992 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to conduct a professional development opportunity for Algebra I high school teachers. The program will incorporate hands-on-activities and strategies for teaching and learning in compliance with Tennessee Mathematics Standards.
Dr. Greg O’Dea (Brock Scholars Program), along with UTC student Joshua Freeman, requested $1,000 from Falling Creek Camp for Boys to develop programs that will focus on homework help and outdoor activities at the Chattanooga Public Library. The project will expand on a previous storytelling project that involved developing a class in the art of oral storytelling for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students at Battle Academy.
Dr. Talia Welsh (Associate Department Head of Philosophy) submitted a preliminary proposal to Florida State University for a project that examines self-control and body modification. The main example used in the project will look at the act of controlling weight by controlling food consumption and activity levels.
Drs. Li Yang, Joseph Kizza, Dalei Wu, Ms. Katherine Winters (Computer Science & Engineering), and Dr. Jennifer Ellis (Education) requested $1,897,076 from the National Science Foundation to build a new Scholarship for Service program that will provide scholarships to 16 students to prepare them to pursue careers in information security (IA). The project will address the challenge of global security and shortage of well-trained IA professionals at the local, state, and federal level.