FUNDED PROPOSALS: (4/1/11 – 5/31/11)
CONGRATULATIONS!
The following UTC faculty and staff recently attracted $219,573 in external grant and contract awards:
Dr. Jonathan Mies, Professor of Geology, attracted $1,984 in additional funds from Chattem Chemicals, Inc. to continue Chemical Analyses using X-Ray Diffraction. The additional funding brings Dr. Mies’s total funding for the project to $3,904. This partnership brings UTC’s research capacity to bear on research and development activities for Chattem, one of Chattanooga’s flagship businesses.
Dr. Lisa Cothran, Assistant Professor of Psychology, secured $7,250 from the Alliance of Women Philanthropists to conduct a UTC Women’s Studies Leadership Program during the 2011-2012 academic year. This peer-support program will offer women’s studies majors the opportunity to work as mentors for at-risk, high-ability/low-achieving first-year female students.
Dr. Joseph Kizza, Associate Professor and Head of Computer Science and Engineering, received $15,000 from Variable Technologies. The funding will support a student researcher in developing server software that will provide two way communication between an iPhone and a computer network, data storage, and an attractive web interface.
Dr. Debbie Ingram, Professor of Physical Therapy, was awarded $1,000 from the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association Research Committee for a study titled “A Ten Year Review of Physical Therapy Disciplinary Actions.” The study will examine the characteristics of physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who were disciplined due to unprofessional behaviors from 2000-2009.
Dr. John McCormack, station manager of WUTC, acquired $61,841 from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to purchase and install equipment that will increase WUTC’s digital power level by at least four times its current power level.
Dr. Josh Hamblen, Assistant Professor of Physics, secured $26,500 from the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in the Faculty and Student Team Program this summer. Dr. Hamblen and two UTC undergraduate students will work alongside top scientists in the field on the NPDGamma experiment at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Dr. Nick Honerkamp, Professor of Anthropology, acquired $2,000 from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to continue an Archaeological Survey on Ossabaw and Sapelo Islands, Georgia. This is a continuation of services provided in 2010 which included total station mapping, GPS, and survey excavations.
Dr. Richard Jackson, Professor of English, received $1,200 from Chattanooga State and $2,801 from Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga to conduct the Meacham Writers Workshops in 2011. Occurring biannually, the workshops are free and open to the public and consist of readings, discussion sessions, and group conferences.
Ms. Sandy Cole, Director of the Center for Community Career Education (CCCE), secured $36,950 from the Hamilton County Department of Education to provide out-of-school programming this spring followed by a five week summer camp for youth in participating schools. CCCE staff and student mentors will work with youth to improve their academic success and enhance their awareness of college.
Dr. Barbara Medley, Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Applied Social Research (CASR) and Dr. Susan Ritz, CASR Research Coordinator, attracted $6,903 from Memorial Healthcare System, Inc. to conduct preliminary work for a Catholic Health Initiatives Violence Prevention program. In preparation for the compilation of a comprehensive catalog of local services available for victims of domestic violence, the CASR will develop interview questions and protocols, compile agency contact lists, and define the target population for a proposed upcoming research project.
Mr. Kim Wheetley, Director of the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts (SCEA), secured $1,200 from the Hamilton County Department of Education to conduct a poetry residency for second grade students at Battle Academy.
Mr. Bob Boyer, Patten Series Manager for the Fine Arts Center, acquired $4,944 from South Arts to host the Evidence Dance Company in November as part of the Patten Arts Series. Founded and based in Brooklyn, New York in 1985, Evidence combines African, modern, ballet, and social dance styles.
Mr. Andy Carroll, Geographic Information Systems Manager of Academic and Research Computing Services, secured $50,000 from the Lyndhurst Foundation for a Regional Resource Inventory Project. As part of The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce’s comprehensive plan to guide the growth of the greater Chattanooga area, Mr. Carroll and a UTC research team will investigate, inventory, and publish geospatial data for targeted needs and resource categories. These categories include natural, cultural, and recreational resources, land use, and resource threats.
SUBMITTED PROPOSALS: (4/1/11 – 5/31/11)
GOOD LUCK!
The following UTC faculty and staff members submitted proposals with the potential to generate over $6,977,971 in external funding, if awarded:
Dr. Claire McCullough (Computer Science and Engineering) requested $50,100 from Accurate Automation Corporation to assist in the development of a low cost imaging system for the U.S. armed forces. The system will provide a three-dimensional view of the environment surrounding a moving vehicle, enabling independent mission-level adaption for an autonomous ground vehicle.
Mr. Kim Wheetley (Southeast Center for Education in the Arts) partnered with Mt. Pleasant Middle School (MPMS) to request $389,425 from the U.S. Department of Education to implement “I’s on the Arts: Imagine, Innovate, Implement” at MPMS. The goal of “I’s on the Arts” is to strengthen the curriculum and increase student learning at MPMS. The program will focus on teacher pedagogy to build innovative research-based instructional practice by deepening arts knowledge and skills, strengthening standards-based arts instruction, developing strategies for arts integration, and fostering collaboration among colleagues, students, parents, and community partners.
Drs. Sandy Watson and Steve Kuhn (UTeaChattanooga) requested $95,425 from the Environmental Protection Agency for a collaborative project between UTC and the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. The goal of Project RIVER (Revolutionary Instruction Via Environmental Research) is to instill in pre-service teachers and, by extension, their future students an ethic of care for the environment that will result in stewardship of the land and waterways.
Dr. Jennifer Ellis (Walker Teaching Resource Center) and Dr. Ann Holmes (Geology) requested $199,503 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for a two week professional development workshop. The workshop instructors will implement the “5E” instructional model (Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) that has proven effective in teaching and learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) content. Activities will focus on the Tennessee Curriculum Standards that address matter, energy, and motion for grades six through twelve.
Dr. Cecelia Wigal (Engineering & Computer Science) and Dr. Kay Cowan (School of Education) in collaboration with Dr. Vince Betro (SimCenter) and Dr. Betsy Darken (Mathematics) requested $199,905 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for a STEM Professional Development project. The project will improve the ability of middle school and ninth grade mathematics teachers to teach concepts through literacy strategies and active participation in experiments and activities.
Dr. Deborah McAllister (School of Education) and Dr. Aniekan Ebiefung (Mathematics) requested $200,000 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for a project that will focus on improving numeracy, representation, and STEM connections for K-2 teachers. Participating teachers will focus on concepts such as number and operations in base ten, take part in hands on activities with mathematics manipulatives, and create video files and lessons.
Dr. Raziq Yaqub (Electrical Engineering) and Dr. Hinsdale Bernard (Learning and Leadership Doctoral Program) requested $197,705 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for a project to improve science teachers’ pedagogical knowledge, instructional efficiency, and content knowledge of the chemistry of energy. Project activities will include workshops, a summer academy, and site visits to energy facilities.
Drs. Steve Kuhn and Sandy Watson (UTeaChattanooga) requested $586,538 from the Toyota Foundation for a five year project titled Project TREE: Tennessee River Environmental Education. Project TREE will engage underserved, inner city sixth grade students in environmental research alongside practicing scientists. Future STEM teachers enrolled in UTeaChattanooga will serve as curriculum developers, teaching assistants, and data evaluators for the project.
Dr. Susan Ritz (Center for Applied Social Research) requested $75,000 from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to assist a RWJF research team in the New Connections: Junior Investigator Program. If funded, Dr. Ritz will aid with data analysis, produce at least two manuscripts for publication, and participate in the New Connections Annual Symposium. This program seeks to increase the diversity of perspectives that inform RWJF programming.
Ms. Anne Gamble and Drs. Valerie Rutledge, Kay Cowan, Sarah Sandefur, (School of Education) and Dr. Amye Warren (Psychology) requested $1,905,301 from the U.S. Department of Education for a five year program titled “Teachers Helping English Language Proficiency (HELP).” The funds will enable UTC to prepare 140 additional ESL-endorsed teachers and support them as they work in classrooms serving English learners.
Dr. Deborah McAllister (School of Education) requested $12,750 from the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium for workshops for elementary grades pre-service teachers (UTC education majors). The workshops will be based on mathematics concepts included in NASA educational resources and supported through hands-on problem solving activities.
Ms. Sandy Cole, Center for Community Career Education (CCCE), requested $95,784 from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to continue and re-focus the successful Each One Reach One (EORO) program. In addition to offering various avenues of support and resources, the CCCE plans to focus on clinical experiences to prepare pre-service teachers for the realities of education as well as provide early intervention and preparation for the PRAXIS exam.
Ms. Cole also requested $45,124 from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth for the mentoring and delinquency prevention program titled P.A.W.S. (Postsecondary Awareness With Success) that pairs UTC students with fourth and fifth grade students from Orchard Knob Elementary School. By investing in the lives of the Orchard Knob students and serving as positive role models, UTC mentors hope to reduce the delinquent behavior and improve the academic performance of their Orchard Knob mentees.
Drs. Jennifer Boyd and Joey Shaw (Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences) requested $18,705 in additional funds from the Tennessee Department of Military to research the endangered large-flowered skullcap wildflowers that grow on Tennessee Army National Guard property. Drs. Boyd and Shaw will continue long-term monitoring of a group of the plants which serve as a control population for several research projects they are conducting.
Dr. Tom Buggey (School of Education) requested $1,221,005 from the U.S. Department of Education to fund nine postdoctoral fellowships. The goal of the fellowship program is to increase the number of researchers in the field of early intervention who specialize in infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.
Dr. Jose Barbosa (Biology, Geology and Environmental Sciences) requested $140,011 from the National Science Foundation to enhance laboratory space to improve the Cell and Molecular Biosciences curriculum at UTC. This project will create capstone teaching and research experiences for biology majors and will prepare them for jobs in various industries or professional and advanced degree programs.
Drs. Tricia Thomas and Frank Jones (Chemical Engineering) requested $191,005 from the National Science Foundation to develop an undergraduate laboratory course that emphasizes the integration of cutting-edge scientific research. Students participating in this course will research methods for making biofuels.
Ms. Cynthia Wallace (Center for Community Career Education) requested $1,354,685 from the U.S. Department of Education to continue the work of the Educational Opportunity Center. The EOC assists adult residents in the region as they enroll in GED programs and complete the college admissions process.