{"id":73015,"date":"2025-12-18T08:22:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T13:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=73015"},"modified":"2025-12-18T09:22:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T14:22:38","slug":"ask-observe-connect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/ask-observe-connect\/","title":{"rendered":"Ask, observe, connect: Finding answers that make an impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story originally appeared in the fall 2025 issue of Our Tennessee, a systemwide magazine for alumni of all University of Tennessee campuses and institutes.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"UTC

Biology major Gillian Morton works with Professor David Giles. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gillian Morton developed a passion for research while studying at UT Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

Working alongside faculty researchers, the biology major and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College began conducting microbiology wet lab research during her first semester on campus. Since then, she explored a range of scientific fields, from clinical metabolomics and environmental toxicology to public health fieldwork at the Gerace Research Centre in the Bahamas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was really lucky to start doing research shortly after coming to UTC,\u201d says Morton, a Nashville native. \u201cIt\u2019s been invaluable. I realized I genuinely love it, and I want it to be part of my life. It has opened my eyes to all of the possibilities of what I can do in science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chancellor Lori Bruce wants experiences like Morton\u2019s to be the norm.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a faculty member is actively practicing their discipline through research, the classroom benefits. Students benefit,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cWhen a student is getting to participate in the research and be at the cutting edge of their discipline, it\u2019s even more powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Two

UTC student Ann McAbee gathers data from a robotic dog, showing the findings to fellow students as they walk by.<\/p><\/div>\n

To Bruce, research rests on three interconnected pillars\u2014grantsmanship, discovery and scholarship. Together, these define what it means to create and share new knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re discovering something that\u2019s never been done before,\u201d says Bruce, who began her tenure as chancellor on June 30. \u201cYou\u2019re broadening the knowledge base of humankind. It could be something very grandiose or something very niche, but if you stop and think about that, it\u2019s extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n

That three-part model forms the foundation of Bruce\u2019s vision for UTC. A longtime researcher and academic leader who secured more than $20 million in funding for her own research and has overseen more than $100 million in federal and industry funding as a campus leader, she believes research is not just a faculty pursuit: It\u2019s a student experience, a regional asset and a cultural force.<\/p>\n

Grantsmanship, she explains, is about securing the resources to fuel that work. Discovery is the process of creating new knowledge. And scholarship is the critical act of sharing it\u2014whether through peer-reviewed journals, conference papers or public engagement\u2014so that others can build on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really doesn\u2019t help mankind if I go in a lab and make a discovery, and I tell no one,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cThe dissemination of knowledge is how progress happens. Someone else reads your work and builds on it, and then someone else builds on theirs. That process\u2014that constant pursuit\u2014is what makes research so impactful.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd very few people are able to do research that significantly addresses society\u2019s challenges by going into their office and working in isolation. Most really impactful research is multidisciplinary. It requires people from different disciplines working together to help drive innovative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Keyle

Keyle Bryant presents a research poster during the 2025 Spring Research and Arts Conference.<\/p><\/div>\n

UTC is well-positioned to foster that kind of collaboration, she says. The university is big enough to house diverse areas of expertise but small enough for people to know and collaborate with one another.<\/p>\n

The result: \u201cWe have the expertise, and we have the agility,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cThat makes UTC a great partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

She points to research already underway in areas such as mobility systems, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and public health. On one of her first days at UTC, she observed how electrical engineering, computer science, civil engineering and public policy were collaborating on a Smart City initiative focused on pedestrian safety and urban transportation planning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you work on a project that big in scope,\u201d she says, \u201cyou\u2019re going to get the best solution when you bring together a lot of different disciplines.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bruce is championing UTC\u2019s pursuit of R2 status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education\u2014a designation reserved for universities with high research activity. Reaching that milestone will require expanding doctoral programs and increasing the number of Ph.D. graduates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to become something we\u2019re not,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to grow into what we already are\u2014an institution where research and teaching go hand in hand and where students benefit from both.\u201d<\/p>\n

She lights up describing her early research with undergraduates\u2014from algorithms that help radiologists detect cancer to satellite imaging for precision agriculture. The key, she says, is tying complex concepts to real-world challenges that students care about.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never met a student who didn\u2019t get excited about medical imaging,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cThey want to learn difficult math or physics if they know it\u2019s going to help someone. That kind of application motivates them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says research builds soft skills\u2014project management, budgeting, teamwork, communication\u2014that grow alongside students\u2019 academic knowledge and prepare them for graduate school or the workforce.<\/p>\n

\"A

UTC student Addie Bingham conducts research on crawdads.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hope Klug, a Guerry and UC Foundation professor of biology, has seen those benefits firsthand.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt UTC, we\u2019re really lucky because we have so many cutting-edge researchers who take students into the field or into the lab to use state-of-the-art techniques,\u201d Klug says. \u201cStudents get a sense of what it\u2019s really like to do science, and that puts them at a huge advantage whether they\u2019re going into grad school, medical school or straight into the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morton plans to continue her studies next year in graduate school with the hopes of becoming a physician assistant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I love about research is that it isn\u2019t just experiments in a lab. It\u2019s asking questions, observing the world and connecting science to people\u2019s lives,\u201d she says. \u201cDuring my time at UTC, I\u2019ve worked on projects related to hypertension and food insecurity in rural communities, and I\u2019ve learned how social and environmental factors impact health outcomes. That\u2019s the kind of research that matters to me. You\u2019re trying to improve real people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s AI, history, GIS or literature, research allows students to make discoveries that matter to them\u2014and that\u2019s when the light bulb comes on,\u201d Bruce says. \u201cYou\u2019re searching for new discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research, Bruce says, belongs to everyone.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen a faculty member is actively practicing their discipline through research, the classroom benefits. Students benefit,\u201d Chancellor Lori Bruce said. \u201cWhen a student is getting to participate in the research and be at the cutting edge of their discipline, it\u2019s even more powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

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