Dr. Lisa Piazza came to UTC in 2018 with a goal to help more students see themselves as researchers. As a first-generation college student, Piazza learned much of higher education as she went, often with the help of mentors who took the time to guide her. That perspective carries over into her work at UTC, where she aims to make research feel approachable rather than intimidating.
How students use Canvas: Grad student maps attention and engagement
If you’re a student or faculty member at the UTC, you have most likely used Canvas. Menekse Adar, a graduate student in engineering management at UTC’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, is working to understand how different Canvas course layouts shape students’ engagement in their classes.
Known as ‘Sarge,’ UTC engineering student earns Gilman Scholarship after years away from college
At the start of her college journey, she was a nursing student at Chattanooga State Community College who felt lost when she realized that the profession may not be for her. Nearly a decade later, Hobbs is nearing graduation from UTC with a degree in chemical engineering. She is also an Innovations in Honors student in the UTC Honors College and the recipient of the Gilman Scholarship, which will allow her to travel to the Netherlands this spring free of charge.
Zine scene: UTC students share research and creativity through handmade pages
Students from five University of Tennessee at Chattanooga classes filled the UTC Library’s Roth Reading Room on a recent Thursday evening for a collaborative zine fest, an event showcasing projects from courses taught by UC Foundation Professor and Associate Department Head of English Sybil Baker, Assistant Professor of Sociology Natalie Blanton, Associate Professor of History Susan Eckelmann and Assistant Professor of Anthropology Emma McDonell.
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. On Nov. 16, the “Athletes vs. Engineers” event showcased the skills of the UTC Department of Civil Engineering and UTC Rowing Team in a 500-meter race.
Ride along: Criminal justice student spends the summer at TBI
Ellie Yates does not take learning opportunities for granted. In fact, when the UTC graduate student started her summer internship at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Chattanooga office, she made it her mission to take part in as many experiences as possible.
Pouring it on: Criminal justice students use paint to confront ethical dilemmas
Students in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Ethics in Criminal Justice course are learning about ethical decision-making the way their instructor prefers—by putting it into practice. Instead of discussing policing, courts or corrections dilemmas solely in writing, the students turned those scenarios into pour-painted canvases. Their work was then displayed publicly to raise money for a local service organization.
Learn the power of mapping and AI at UTC’s GIS Day workshop
GIS Day, held every year on the third Wednesday of November, will be celebrated by CAGDS with a workshop for the campus community.
Keeping campus safe: Criminal justice students meet with UTC Public Safety
Students in Dr. Katelyn Hancock’s criminology class recently spent their class time going on a “crime walk.” Though UTC has its own police force and safety experts, Hancock wanted her students to ask: What areas can be improved?
Research on the road: A conversation with REU student Landon Schuster
Senior Landon Schuster is an environmental science major and environmental studies minor from Signal Mountain, Tennessee. He is also an Innovations in Honors student in the UTC Honors College. Schuster spent his summer at the University of Virginia’s Mountain Lake Biological Station, participating in field research on salamanders.









