Category: Academics

Dr. Michael Olsen of the Department of Foreign Languages is the recipient of the 2023 College of Arts & Sciences Award for Research and Scholarly Activity. This award recognizes a significant research publication or creative project appearing during the previous two years and receiving expert critical review. Dr. Olsen is recognized for his paper published in “Foreign Language Annals” that analyzed the effect of instruction on preempting an Animacy-based system for object pronouns for learners of Spanish as a second language.

Thank you for putting students first Dr. Olsen!

Dr. Mustafa Rajabali of the Department of Physics is a recipient of the 2023 College of Arts & Sciences Award for Innovative Teaching. This award recognizes a recent significant innovation in undergraduate teaching. Dr. Rajabali is recognized for his project-based learning techniques that incorporate creative inquiry and group work.

Dr. Rajabali requires students to develop a one-sentence question about a topic in the Physics course and to propose, develop and conduct an experiment using children’s toys to test the hypothesis in their question. He has further refined and expanded this form of creative inquiry to more advanced classes with great success.

These approaches to teaching are designed to assist students in understanding and applying complex theories and to prepare them for advanced courses, working with a team, and future careers.

Congratulations Dr. Rajabali and thank you for all that you do for students!

You are invited to the College of Engineering Spring 2023 Senior Design Expo!

The Senor Design Expo is an opportunity to see first-hand how our students have applied the knowledge and skills they have gained over their college careers to develop innovative and actionable solutions to real-world industry problems.

We hope to see you there!

To preview a list of student projects and find more information, visit the College of Engineering’s Senior Design web page https://www.tntech.edu/engineering/news/capstone.php.

Questions? Call us at 931-372-3172 or email engineering@tntech.edu.

Is this the semester when you stop letting your first draft be your final draft? When you actually have the time to revise and edit your paper for class? Does your instructor keep telling you to revise your work, and you’re just not sure what they want? WEST, the Writing Excellence Studio at Tech, is here to help! At 1:00 on Friday, 4/11, we will be leading a workshop on revision strategies. We will talk about organization, how to see your work with new eyes, how to focus on cohesion and flow, and all sorts of useful things that will help you revise your papers like a professional writer. The workshop will be in Henderson Hall 304B, from 1:00-2:00. No registration is required, and all are welcome! And if you can’t make the workshop, come for a one-on-one session with one of our consultants. For availability and scheduling, check out our website. We look forward to working with you!

Professor Emeritus Dale Ensor of the TTU Chemistry Department is the recipient of the 2022 W. Frank Kinard Distinguished Service Award presented by the National American Chemical Society Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology. The award recognizes Dr. Ensor’s contributions to the field of nuclear and radiochemistry.

During his tenure at TTU, Dr. Ensor established a highly successful program in radiochemistry, one of only a few in the United States. Students who were trained in Dr. Ensor’s lab hold positions at Oak Ridge, Savannah River, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, as well as positions in industry throughout the country. For 10 years, Dr. Ensor also taught at the Nuclear Summer Institute in San Jose, CA.

Dr. Ensor retired from teaching at TTU in 2016 but remains active in the Department of Chemistry by mentoring students in radiochemistry, collaborating with current faculty, and lecturing on the history of scientists who have worked in the field of radiochemistry.

Assistant Professor David Dan and Dr. Ensor are developing a series of podcasts on the history of radioactivity and the Manhattan Project, further promoting the field of nuclear chemistry.

Congratulations, Dr. Ensor, on a very well-deserved achievement and continued contributions to the field!!!

Pictured along with Dr. Ensor are Environmental Studies graduate student Bryant Davis, postdoctoral fellow Lesta Fletcher, and former student Dr. Glenn Fugate.

The rules for writing aren’t always the same. What works in a Freshman Composition paper doesn’t work in a newspaper op-ed, and your best strategies for writing a History paper won’t necessarily apply when writing a personal statement. All of this varies based on your audience and the rules of the genre, what we call the “rhetorical situation.” Want help understanding this issue? WEST, the Writing Excellence Studio at Tech, has got you covered! On Tuesday, 4/4, we will be leading a dead hour workshop on understanding and working within rhetorical situations. We can talk about ways to assess different rhetorical situations, and how to figure out the “rules” for any given piece of writing. The workshop will be in Henderson Hall 304B, from 11:00-11:50. No registration is required, and all are welcome.  And if you can’t make the workshop, come for a one-on-one session with one of our consultants. For availability and scheduling, check out our website. We look forward to working with you!

The Tennessee Tech NSF NRT Engendering the Spirit of Gadugi at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus program is now accepting fellowship applications for the Fall 2023 semester.  Students entering this program have an exciting opportunity to work on cutting-edge research revolving around food, energy, and water challenges in local, rural, Appalachian and indigenous communities. This program offers extensive training on collaborative and community-centered methods to approach problem identification and critical thinking when partnering with these groups.

We are currently accepting both master’s and PhD students for the Fall 2023 semester from a variety of STEM disciplines including, but not limited to, biology, chemistry, engineering and the environmental sciences.  Fellowships include all tuition, fees, and a $34,000 annual stipend. Fellowship applications are due no later than June 1, 2023.  A complete list of eligibility requirements and application procedures can be found on the Tennessee Tech NSF NRT webpage at https://www.tntech.edu/graduatestudies/nrt-nsffellowship.php.

For graduate students interested in taking NSF NRT courses to enhance their degree program, there are several opportunities to explore as well.

Please direct any questions to the NSF NRT grant Program Coordinator, Dr. Sabrina Buer, at sbuer@tntech.edu.

Does your research project require an Annotated Bibliography? Are you struggling to figure out what to include, how much information to convey, and how to structure it? WEST, the Writing Excellence Studio at Tech, has got you covered! On Thursday, 3/30, we will be leading a dead hour workshop on writing annotated bibliographies. We can talk about the genre as a whole, and discuss specific concerns you might have for your class or instructor. The workshop will be in Henderson Hall 304B, from 11:00-11:50. No registration is required, and all are welcome.  And if you can’t make the workshop, come for a one-on-one session with one of our consultants. For availability and scheduling, check out our website. We look forward to working with you!