UTC has been designated a 2025-2026 College of Distinction for undergraduate education and was recognized as both a top Tennessee and public institution. The University also attained College of Distinction status for its business, education, engineering and nursing programs; for affordability and career development; and for its support of international students.
Interim dean, lasting impact
Dr. Ahad Nasab has never needed a title to make a difference, just meaningful work. From improving industrial systems to building academic programs and elevating students, faculty and staff, Nasab finds purpose in leaving things better than he found them.
UTC awarded $450,000 NSF grant to advance metro-scale quantum sensing
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has received a $447,621 award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance quantum sensing technology, which can detect small environmental changes with extraordinary precision across large-scale fiber-optic networks.
Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi named dean of UTC’s College of Engineering and Computer Science
Dr. Kumar Yelamarthi has been named dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), effective July 1. Yelamarthi comes to UTC from Tennessee Technological University, where he has served since 2021 as associate dean of academic affairs in the College of Engineering. In that role, he supported more than 3,100 students and 85 faculty members across seven departments and 18 programs.
Fly! Pitch competition awards $10K to UTC student entrepreneurs
The 2025 Fly! Mocs Business Pitch Competition gave UTC students a chance to present startup ideas to industry judges, competing for $10,000 in prizes provided by the Spencer Patton Foundation. Rizwaan Abdulkadir’s classroom tech startup “Parleii” won first place and $5,000, with other top projects including a waterproof bag and a custom 3D duck generator.
UTC to host ISDFS conference in Boston
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga continues to make significant strides on the global stage of cybersecurity and digital forensics by coordinating the 2025 International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS), to be held this year at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
Explore, innovate, engineer: UTC to host E-Week Open House on Feb. 22
Held as part of National Engineers Week, the E-Week Open House—taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the UTC Engineering and Computer Science Building—is designed to introduce visitors of all ages to the exciting fields of engineering and computer science. Attendees will experience hands-on demonstrations and interactive projects while meeting local industry leaders and UTC students, faculty and staff.
Revolutionary research: UTC doctoral candidate develops self-encrypting AI
In a world where data security is an ever-growing concern, Joshua Tyler—a computational engineering doctoral candidate and electrical engineering research associate at UTC—has broken new ground. Tyler, who is on track to receive his third UTC degree in May, has developed the world’s first usable Artificial Intelligence (AI) network that can learn how to encrypt itself.
UTC Research Institute announces Convergent Research Initiative awardees
Dr. Murat Barisik and Dr. Vahid Disfani were principal investigators on grants landing Center for Excellence in Applied Computational Science and Engineering (CEACSE) Convergent Research Initiative awards.
From small town to space: UTC student leads the way in engineering
When Alayna Grover came to school at the UTC, her goal was to change the world. Coming from the small town of White House, Tennessee, Grover viewed college as a fresh start.