{"id":76372,"date":"2026-04-24T07:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=76372"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T20:18:09","slug":"utc-grand-challenges-scholars-take-research-to-rome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/utc-grand-challenges-scholars-take-research-to-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"UTC Grand Challenges Scholars take research to Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Group

Grand Challenges Scholar Program members attended the conference\u2019s first international event in Italy.<\/p><\/div>\n

Study abroad trips provide once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students, and in some cases, that may mean singing Miley Cyrus\u2019 \u201cParty in the U.S.A.\u201d to a group of elderly and their caretakers\u2014Italian nuns.<\/p>\n

Earlier this semester, members of the Grand Challenges Scholar Program (GCSP) traveled to Rome, Italy, for a week of conferences focused on making the world more sustainable, secure, healthy and joyful.<\/p>\n

The GCSP was founded by the National Academy of Engineering in 2007 and was established on campus in 2024. The UTC program is open to all disciplines. This year\u2019s theme was \u201cCommunity, Technology and Grand Challenges: Together for Global Impact,\u201d and the event was held at Sapienza University of Rome.<\/p>\n

Dr. Cecelia Wigal, associate dean for academic affairs of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, serves as UTC\u2019s GCSP program director.<\/p>\n

GCSP is \u201cnot just for those in the College of Engineering and Computer Science,\u201d Wigal said. \u201cThe program recognizes that in order for students to solve the problems that are in our future, which are generally grand and affect all of society, they need to be able to have five competencies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those competencies include the ability to conduct research, an emphasis on multiculturalism, a multidisciplinary approach, a socially responsible design that serves people\u2019s needs, and a viable business model.<\/p>\n

Senior Katie Collins, a chemical engineering major and member of the Innovations and Honors program in the UTC Honors College, presented her thesis on the purification of proteins in medication alongside William Bumcum, a computer science major with a data science concentration and a minor in mathematics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our big conference of the year where everyone in the program gets together, and we present our work, present our findings and discuss how we are trying to better the engineering community,\u201d Collins said. \u201cWe pick a competency that we want to research, we tie it into whatever we\u2019re doing and just try to create a better, more sustainable engineering future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bumcum noted the importance of different perspectives from conference attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re in a conference with people from all over the world,\u201d he said. \u201cThe way they approach problems is different. It\u2019s nice to go to an engineering conference where the solution is different for their community, and to learn that you can bring it back here and implement it in your own community. And just being in Rome, going to the Vatican, there\u2019s a sense of reverence you have because everything you see has been here for thousands of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part of that history was an assisted-living community run by local nuns across the street from the university. The elders performed \u201cCinderella\u201d for the students, which mechanical engineering student Brooklyn Lucas said was her favorite experience.<\/p>\n

\"Students

Along with presenting their research, students were able to visit historical sites.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere was a language barrier, obviously, but we were all super familiar with the story,\u201d Lucas said. \u201cThen one of the nuns says, \u2018Well, since they did something for you guys, maybe you should perform for them. Yeah, maybe you should sing a song.\u2019 We\u2019re all nervous and everything, and Katie goes, \u2018Why not Party in the U.S.A.?\u2019 Just as a joke, I thought, but it was for real.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hilarious. Afterward, we had this really sweet moment where one of the nuns was trying to connect us with the elders there and just reminded us that, at the end of the day, we can always come back and serve our elders. They are people who are probably thought of last on the totem pole and we need to make an effort to make sure that they\u2019re served.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wigal, who was in the middle of the spontaneous choral group, explained that this helped the group feel more connected to the culture. Over the next few days, some of the nuns even made their way onto university grounds to support the students presenting.<\/p>\n

One of those students was Ann Mcabee, a double major in mechatronics engineering technology and physics and a double minor in electrical engineering and business administration, who presented research on the value of robotic dogs in unsafe conditions for humans.<\/p>\n

The robotic dogs \u201ccan go over a lot of different terrains,\u201d Mcabee explained. \u201cThey can go into places where maybe there was an earthquake and they need to detect if a human can go in to save someone. Or even find where people are located so humans don\u2019t have to expose themselves for a long time to the dangerous particles or chemicals in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshman mechanical engineering major Josh Bun didn\u2019t present at the conference, but he said his classmates\u2019 presentations inspired him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to look at all the posters and was still a part of the conference,\u201d Bun said. \u201cIt was just cool to see how everyone has grown Will and Katie\u2019s posters. I looked at it, and I\u2019m like, \u2018How am I going to do that?\u2019 It was impressive and amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audrie Pletcher, a civil engineering major, has been in the GCSP program since her first year and explained that the support from fellow students was her biggest takeaway from the trip.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a great sense of community,\u201d Pletcher said. \u201cWe sat down on the last night and went around and asked, \u2018What was your favorite thing that we did?\u2019 I said, \u2018I really enjoyed having moments like this where we\u2019re all sitting up together as a community and just talking and having a good time and being able to interact with people that have never been around otherwise.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Gracie Crooks, a double major in math and physics, credited Wigal and the program for helping her find her place on campus, leading her to the Department of Mathematics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis program has shaped a lot of my experience at UTC,\u201d Crooks said. \u201cIt led me to, at least in the math department, a lot of people who do math. It\u2019s given me a lot of perspective on how to use the math I learn and apply it. Math is ubiquitous, and in almost every discipline, you can relate math back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Grand Challenges Program<\/a><\/p>\n

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

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this semester, members of the Grand Challenges Scholar Program (GCSP) traveled to Rome, Italy, for a week of conferences focused on making the world more sustainable, secure, healthy and joyful.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2058,"featured_media":76375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,12737,48128,12738,61,59,12741,48048,57,10197,12740],"tags":[125251,127035,127036,122531,123827,123826,127069,126181,127037,125056,125406,123828,124776,123829,127038,124396],"class_list":{"0":"post-76372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-chemical-engineering","9":"category-chemistry-physics","10":"category-civil-engineering","11":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","12":"category-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","13":"category-computer-science","14":"category-electrical-engineering","15":"category-college-of-business","16":"category-mathematics","17":"category-mechanical-engineering","18":"category-news","19":"tag-ann-mcabee","20":"tag-audrie-pletcher","21":"tag-brooklyn-lucas","22":"tag-cecelia-wigal","23":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","24":"tag-cultivating-a-culture-of-innovation","25":"tag-goal-1-2-enhance-learner-success-strategic-plan-2030","26":"tag-gracie-crooks","27":"tag-grand-challenges-scholar-program","28":"tag-josh-bun","29":"tag-katie-collins","30":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","31":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","32":"tag-operating-with-excellence","33":"tag-sapienza-university-of-rome","34":"tag-william-bumcum","35":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nUTC 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