Tech Times

Category: Research

  • Dr. Cohen and Lab Represents Tennessee Tech at 9th North American Duck Symposium

    Dr. Cohen and Lab Represents Tennessee Tech at 9th North American Duck Symposium

    Dr. Brad Cohen and his lab attended the 9th North American Duck Symposium in Portland, Oregon. His PhD students Nick Masto and Abigail Blake-Bradshaw were invited to give plenary talks at the opening of the conference, and his lab also took home several awards including First and Third Place in “Best PhD Student Presentation” which were awarded to Nick Masto and Cory Highway.

    Dr. Cohen presented a summary of the culmination of 5 years’ worth of data tracking waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway and hosted a Special Symposium Session called “GPS Tracking Technology and Waterfowl Management” which demonstrated his leadership in the waterfowl conservation field.

    Congratulations, to Dr. Cohen and his lab for their ongoing research!

  • FY25 Federal Appropriations Guidelines are now posted

    In consultation with the Tennessee Tech Office of Governmental Affairs and our consultants at Cornerstone Government Affairs, we are launching internal applications for FY25 Federal and State funding requests. The formatting will follow the templates that Cornerstone has provided, please see the Office of Research website for more information: tntech.edu/research

    Please contact Dr. John Liu, VP for Research, with any questions at johnliu@tntech.edu or Ext 3897

  • Mark Your Calendars for Innovator Day!

    Mark Your Calendars for Innovator Day!

    Join us on Friday, February 9th, for Innovator Day in Prescott 225 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ! In collaboration with LaunchTN, faculty and students will explore commercialization, funding, and tech transfer opportunities; and, engage with industry leaders like Whisper Aero. Open doors to valuable resources to bring your ideas to life! Enjoy a complimentary lunch and because it’s an all-day event—come and go as you please.

    Register for free here:

    http://tinyurl.com/mrynz696 

    and view the full schedule here:

    https://www.tntech.edu/innovation/innovatorday.php

  • Cohen and Talbert Use Cross Disciplinary Collaboration in Conservation Efforts

    Cohen and Talbert Use Cross Disciplinary Collaboration in Conservation Efforts

    Knoxville media recently published news describing the practical conservation impacts of working across disciplines. Dr. Brad Cohen’s lab in Biology and Dr. Doug Talbert’s lab in Computer Science are working together to monitor and restore one of the flagship birds of the Southeast – the bobwhite quail.

    Cohen’s graduate student, Mateo Gannod, developed a detector that uses artificial intelligence to identify when and where bobwhite quail calls are occurring. Devices were placed in grassland areas to record ambient sounds. The new AI device identifies quail calls from thousands of hours of these recordings. This technology will allow researchers to better monitor this increasingly rare but important gamebird.

  • Rural Reimagined Faculty Grants Awards within the College of Arts and Sciences

    Rural Reimagined Faculty Grants Awards within the College of Arts and Sciences

    Congratulations to Rural Reimagined Faculty Grant award recipients! We especially want to recognize faculty award winners from the College of Arts and Sciences including Helen Hunt (English) for her proposal “Plenty of Book Nooks: Supporting Literacy Through Community Spaces,” Kyle Murphy (Chemistry) for his proposal “Sustainable Organocatalysts for Degradation of PET Microplastics Along the Tennessee River,” and Troy D. Smith for his proposal “Tennessee Rural Crime Digital Project.”

    Way to go all award recipients and the Center for Rural Innovation for supporting projects that bring innovation and change to rural Tennessee communities!

  • Faculty Research Committee Announces Call for Proposals for 2023-2024

    The Faculty Research Committee is soliciting proposals for funding for 2023-24.  The deadline to submit proposals and all required application materials to the Office of Research is Feb. 23, 2024. Materials may be submitted electronically via email to jdicey@tntech.edu  or hand delivered to Derryberry Hall, Room 305. Please visit the Faculty Research Committee website for application materials, and review the guidelines in the handbook.  Please contact Jill Dicey for any questions at the above email address or call ext. 3897

    https://www.tntech.edu/research/committees/faculty-research-committee.php

     

  • Film on Cohen’s Research Wins Award

    Film on Cohen’s Research Wins Award

    A short film entitled “Under Pressure” and highlighting Dr. Brad Cohen’s research recently won second place at the Chene Film Festival. The Film Festival, presented by Ducks Unlimited and hosted in Memphis, Tennessee, featured short films by numerous creators and focused on stories about outdoor recreation and conservation.

    “Under Pressure,” produced by Brandon Martin, highlights Cohen’s ongoing waterfowl research in western Tennessee. Featured in the film are Cohen and his students Grant Rhodes, Cory Highway and Colin Dunkel. The group is studying how Mallards respond to hunting pressure and interact with food, refuges and private land. All research is sponsored by grants that Cohen has received from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

    Congratulations, Dr. Cohen, on receiving more grants and involving students directly in ongoing research!

    The film was recently released on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIFDK58hut8.

  • Cohen’s Research Part of Permanent Exhibit at Discovery Park of America

    Cohen’s Research Part of Permanent Exhibit at Discovery Park of America

    Dr. Brad Cohen (Biology) and his students contributed their research to the recently opened permanent exhibit “Duck, Duck, Goose” at The Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee. This exhibition explores the history of waterfowl conservation and biology.

    Dr. Cohen’s lab research is one of the focal points of the exhibit that portion explores how Tennessee Tech students and research contribute to the understanding and management of these dynamic ducks. Dr. Cohen (pictured center) and two of his graduate students (Nick Masto on the left and Cory Highway on the left) recently attended the grand opening and are pictured in front of their portion of the exhibit.

    The Discovery Park welcomes an average of 250,000 visitors annually and Cohen’s lab research will expand the impact of their research to all those who visit. This is a link for more details on the exhibition: https://discoveryparkofamerica.com/duck/.

  • Rahnama’s Research Published in the Journal, “Nature, Ecology and Evolution”

    Rahnama’s Research Published in the Journal, “Nature, Ecology and Evolution”

    Dr. Mostafa Rahnama’s, assistant professor in biology, research, “Recent co-evolution of two pandemic plant diseases in a multi-hybrid swarm,” was published in the November 2023 edition of the journal “Nature, Ecology and Evolution.”

    In this paper, Rahnama and colleagues revealed the genetic evolution processes that led to two epidemic outbreaks, wheat blast and grey leaf spot, during the late 20th century in South America. Today, wheat blast is recognized as the most dangerous plant pathogen globally, posing a substantial risk to global food security.

  • Nominations Sought For Caplenor Faculty Research Award 2023 – 2024

    CAPLENOR FACULTY RESEARCH AWARD COMMITTEE

    Nominations Sought For Caplenor Faculty Research Award 2023-2024

      • The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2023-2024 Caplenor Faculty Research Award is Thursday, November 30, 2023.  No individual may nominate more than one person. Complete guidelines and the nomination form are contained on the Office of Research’s home page at the link below. Please send the forms to Rasma Motykowski at

    rmotykowski@tntech.edu

    https://www.tntech.edu/research/committees/caplenor.php