Top 20 of ’25: A year’s worth of cheers

A lot of great things happened at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga during the 2025 calendar year. We celebrated student and faculty research, welcomed new faces (including Chancellor Lori Bruce), broke ground on new buildings and commemorated big wins.

With so much happening across campus, the UTC newsroom published 427 stories over the course of the year.

Here are our top 20 favorites in chronological order of website publication.

Brewing science: How coffee fueled a UTC chemical engineering student’s “grounds”-breaking research

Katelyn Hamilton describes making coffee as a “really big science experiment.”

“It’s what I tell everyone when I have this conversation about making coffee: You have to weigh everything. You have to measure the temperature of everything. You have ratios. Everything has to be on point to make a good cup of coffee.”

Hamilton, a junior chemical engineering major at UTC, has transformed a high school coffee shop job into the center of her academic and career goals.

Introducing the Violence Reduction Initiative: How research is reshaping criminal justice in Chattanooga

For more than a decade as a police officer in Northwest Missouri, Dr. Rick Dierenfeldt patrolled neighborhoods plagued by poverty and violence—often finding himself more mentor than lawman.

“Most of these kids lacked a positive male role model,” he explained. “The minute they had someone in their life they didn’t want to disappoint, the cycle of crime often stopped.

“It’s not rocket science. It’s about treating people with decency and respect.”

Today, as a UC Foundation associate professor and head of the Department of Criminal Justice at UTC, Dierenfeldt has brought that same philosophy to academia. It is the cornerstone of the Violence Reduction Initiative (VRI)—a research center he spearheaded to address violent crime in Chattanooga and beyond.

Window to the world: Gage Keeble cleaning up in school and business

Gage Keeble’s college experience is anything but conventional.

A junior at UTC, the 21-year-old is pursuing bachelor’s degrees in both marketing: professional sales and finance while juggling roles as an entrepreneur, a chief analyst for the SMILE Fund and a member of the inaugural cohort of Phillips Scholars in Free Enterprise.

Keeble’s entrepreneurial spirit took flight in the fall of 2023 when he launched Scenic Shine Window Cleaning, a business he started with a $200 investment in supplies. What began as a one-week experiment to see if he could make money quickly became a successful enterprise.

Practicing what you preach: How Mark Horlu followed his own advice 

Mark Horlu, a graduate student at UTC studying applied mathematics, has always been passionate about the subject.

When Horlu taught in his hometown of Have, Ghana, he always tried to make math relatable to his students.

For many, math may seem “boring” or hard to comprehend. Horlu wanted to change the perception of math and show his students that math is a tool that helps explain how the world works—and isn’t so hard.

While completing his undergraduate degree in mathematics with a focus on economics at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, Horlu would return to his elementary school students during breaks to tutor them and improve their math skills.

NIT champions: UTC men’s basketball returns home after thrilling overtime victory

Faculty, students, alumni and Chattanooga community members packed outside of McKenzie Arena to welcome home the newly crowned NIT champions.

The UTC men’s basketball team made history the night before at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, becoming the first Southern Conference school to win the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Dr. Erkan Kaplanoglu, a mechatronics professor and head of the Department of Engineering Management and Technology, was among the faculty waiting to greet the team.

“We always support them because they deserve it,” said Kaplanoglu, a Mocs Club member and former European professional basketball coach. “They do well at practice. They do well at everything. I still have poison in my blood for basketball. I never miss games.”

Trevor Jolley’s 3,254-mile championship week: Chasing his dream on the tile and hardwood

When UTC beat Bradley in the NIT quarterfinals on March 25, Trevor Jolley was at roller hockey practice getting ready for nationals. He checked the score during a break, took a second to process it and went right back to drills.

The win sent the Mocs to Indianapolis for the NIT semifinals and finals on April 1 and 3, directly overlapping with Jolley’s club team opener in Florida on April 2. That kicked off a scramble to figure out whether he could do both.

After several calls and meetings with multiple staff and faculty members, and Interim Chancellor Robert Dooley, a plan came together that let Jolley cover the Mocs and still make it to nationals.

‘Chattanooga’s Forgotten’: UTC students call on City Hall for safer streets

After spending a year studying walkability in Chattanooga’s Oak Grove neighborhood, students in Dr. Chandra Ward’s class brought their findings to City Hall—asking officials to make the area’s streets safer and invest more fairly in underserved communities.

The students, as part of UTC’s Innovation Lab I course, shared their work during a City Hall presentation focused on the stark disparities between Oak Grove, a historically working-class neighborhood, and the nearby Mill Town development.

Dr. Jordan King, director of UTC’s Innovations in Honors program in the Honors College, said the course exemplified the mission of combining community partnership with student development. 

“Our goal is to put ideas into action,” King said. “We want them to do this by being creative, trying to think how they can use things like design thinking to come up with solutions to problems and really engage in something that helps to create change.”

UTC professor’s research on ancient sloths earns national recognition 

When Dr. Tim Gaudin arrived at UTC 30 years ago, his sights were set on teaching.

“I wanted to be at a place where teaching was valued and important,” said Gaudin, a UC Foundation professor in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science. “That’s really important to me.”

Behind the scenes, however, Gaudin found additional value in his research—and it paid off. This spring, that work earned him a huge milestone: co-authorship on a paper about sloths published in Science, one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals.

UTC’s Cali Crum-Beigh soaring beyond the classroom

Cali Crum-Beigh, a UTC junior, isn’t just focused on getting a business degree—she has her eyes set on the sky.

The business management major and UTC orientation leader is a licensed private pilot and is in the process of following her dream of being a commercial airline pilot.

Rolling relief: A day on the road with UTC’s MobileMOC health team

DeAnna Grove—better known as “Dee” by the attendees of the Rhea Richland Senior Neighbors Center in Dayton, Tennessee—is one of the MobileMOC health clinic’s biggest fans.

“Are you going down to the clinic?” Grove yelled to her friend, both dressed in red, white and blue as part of a Flag Day celebration at the center. “You need to.”

As someone who experienced a traumatic health scare in 2000 that left her in a three-month coma, Grove is conscious of her own and her friend’s health.

“It’s forever on my mind,” she said. “I’m very cautious of how I take care of myself.”

With monthly access to the MobileMOC right outside the senior center door, Grove finds some comfort.

MobileMOC—an outreach health clinic on wheels—is designed to provide health care access for older adults in local rural communities, offering services such as preventive care, screenings, chronic disease management and social services.

Richard Winham, signing off: Chattanooga’s music story ‘teller’ takes a final bow

Richard Winham wants the world to know two things: Radio is not dead. Neither is Richard Winham.

“People keep saying radio is dead… but it doesn’t make any sense, because it’s not,” Winham said. “It’s as ubiquitous as it’s ever been.”

Trust him—he would know.

Winham joined WUTC-FM, the NPR-affiliated station housed on the UTC campus, in 1987.

He has quietly become one of Chattanooga’s most familiar voices, not by chasing the spotlight, but as he put it, staying “on the edge of it.” After a long, successful career that includes launching the station’s first morning music show, curating daily music programming, producing live sessions with local and touring artists, and mentoring generations of students interested in broadcasting, Winham retired at the end of June.

Simulated patient, real emotions: AI bringing realism to UTC nursing simulation

As the UTC School of Nursing continues to expand its simulation toolkit, artificial intelligence is making a significant impact.

Earlier this summer, students in the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) adult gerontology acute care program piloted an end-of-life training scenario unlike anything they had previously encountered in the University’s Metro Annex Safe Hospital.

The twist? Students weren’t just caring for a simulated patient in the mock clinical setting. They also had to navigate a phone conversation with the patient’s daughter, which was played not by a faculty member or actor, but by ChatGPT.

UTC breaks ground on Oak Street Residence Hall  

UTC broke ground on a new on-campus housing project that will expand student living options and serve as a hub for student life when completed in 2027.

Located between Oak Street and McCallie Avenue, the Oak Street Residence Hall will feature a pedestrian corridor that runs through the building, linking both sides of campus. The facility will include 794 beds in double-occupancy rooms and is designed with collaborative “neighborhoods” on each floor, flexible common spaces for studying and socializing, and outdoor courtyards for gathering and student gardening.

The people of UTC: Get to know Chancellor Lori Bruce

Being chancellor is an intense role that comes with a packed schedule, which is something Dr. Lori Bruce is already familiar with.

A Tennessee native, she grew up on a working farm in Lincoln County—about 90 minutes west of Chattanooga. She most recently served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Tennessee Tech.

It’s undeniable that Bruce stays busy, but she understands the value of connecting with students. She also knows the importance of making time for herself.

The chancellor sat down to discuss her role, background and advice for UTC students.

UTC-TVA team powers up global conference with prize-winning research

A joint research project between UTC and the Tennessee Valley Authority earned one of four Prize Papers at the 2025 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting—selected from more than 1,600 submissions. The paper, co-authored by Dr. Abdel Karrar, TVA’s Mark Bowman and UTC students Andrew Adams and Julio Gonzalez, focused on how nuclear plants can determine grid strength when real-time visibility is lost.

Using UTC’s Smart Grid Lab, the team showed that localized measurements at the plant can accurately estimate whether the grid can support critical safety systems during emergencies. Bowman called the approach “something no one had ever tried before.”

For Adams and Gonzalez, contributing to internationally recognized research affirmed the value of UTC’s partnership with TVA. “I never thought I’d be part of something that would be recognized nationally, if not internationally,” Gonzalez said.

College of Nursing to become UTC’s fifth academic college

UTC announced that the UT Board of Trustees has approved the elevation of the School of Nursing to the UTC College of Nursing, marking a significant academic milestone for a program that has prepared nurses for the region for more than five decades.

“It is rare to have the opportunity to establish a college,” UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce said. “Elevating nursing to the college level brings visibility to an enterprise that has been delivering for this region for more than 50 years.

“When you have nearly 1,000 students preparing for nursing careers, alumni practicing across the state, and a reputation for excellence, the title matters. Being a college gives weight to the work and helps us attract more people into a profession that Tennessee critically needs.”

When it is officially launches in January 2026, the College of Nursing will become UTC’s fifth academic college, joining the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies—where the School of Nursing is currently housed; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering and Computer Science; and the Gary W. Rollins College of Business.

Meet Sophie, UTC’s newest sergeant and therapy dog

Sergeant Sophie recently landed her dream job at UTC. So did Corporal Aaron Bayer of the UTC Police Department. 

Sophie, a 1-year-old Labrador Retriever, officially started her role on Nov. 3 as the UTCPD therapy dog. Compared to most K-9s, Sophie will not help with detection or enforcement. As a therapy dog, she will work to assist victims of crime, provide emotional support to the UTC community, and participate in outreach across campus and other local areas. 

UTC Police Chief Sean O’Brien, handler of Gunny—a retired K-9 and UTC’s chief canine officer—said his experience working with dogs influenced the decision to bring one to the department. 

“Having done a long stint in the K-9 world, I knew the value of dogs,” O’Brien said. “One of the intents behind Sophie is that she is a gateway to building relationships with folks. 

“Many people react positively to these little creatures.” 

Service in the blood: A UTC professor’s call to action helping “true heroes”

When 1st Lt. Terry Ellis was asked how his time in the military influenced his life, his answer was simple: “How has it not?”

The work he does in hospitals, schools and his business all lean on his military experience.

Ellis, an assistant professor of practice at UTC’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program—and the keynote speaker for the University’s annual Veterans Day Luncheon—initially joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 2014 in search of financial assistance to support his education.

Gen. B.B. Bell donates life’s papers and a love story to UTC Special Collections

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Baxter “B.B.” Bell doesn’t see his life as extraordinary. He’ll tell you he was “nondescript”—a soldier who did his job, served his country and went home.

But to anyone looking at his record, or the path that brought him from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to a four-star command, it’s clear that his story is anything but ordinary.

Bell spent nearly four decades in uniform, moving his family 33 times and serving in posts across the globe. He commanded at every level, from platoon to the Army’s senior leadership.

Now, the career soldier who led American and Allied soldiers across continents has entrusted his life’s papers and memoir to the UTC Library’s Special Collections.

Making waves: Disciplines collide in inaugural “Athletes vs. Engineers” Tennessee River race

On the choppy waters of the Tennessee River, onlookers watched UTC rowers race a student-built concrete canoe against a traditional rowing shell.

In November, the “Athletes vs. Engineers” event showcased the skills of the UTC Department of Civil Engineering and UTC Rowing Team in a 500-meter race.

Chris Frishcosy, the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science civil engineering lab director, serves as the advisor for the department’s concrete canoe project.  

The concrete canoe team has become a campus staple and achieved strong results at competitions over the years. Frishcosy said the difference with this project is that students get to see the canoe through to completion.  

“It gives them a hands-on learning experience,” Frishcosy said. “They go through the engineering curriculum and there are some projects, homework assignments, maybe they do a research project, but very little produces a product. This is one of the activities we promote and engage in heavily. They produce a product that needs to function.”

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