Latest Announcements

Congratulations to Payton Womack, Ph.D student in the Program Planning & Evaluation (PPE) Program in the College of Education, for accepting the Graduate Assistant position through TCRI CARES! Payton will collaborate in the project’s research design seeking to develop and implement an accessible, sustainable, and responsive PPE model that will promote rural economic resiliency during and beyond the pandemic, specifically within our service region but also replicable in rural regions across the nation. Payton states, “After seeing the effects of the coronavirus in my rural community, I felt very drawn to the TCRI CARES project. The applied research within the grant provides me with an innovative opportunity to put my passion for rural communities to work with the intention to become stronger and better within the Upper Cumberland and across other rural areas.” Wings up! View the story here: https://www.tntech.edu/grand-challenge/news/articles/20200803-paytonwomack-tcricares.php

The Water Center, a Rural Reimagined partner, is working with the Defenders of Wildlife reduce plastic waste in streams, specifically in the Walden Ridge on the Cumberland plateau – the only TN stream containing the Laurel Dace, one of the rarest fishes in the world. The area’s tomato growers use plastic mulch to prevent weeds, but plastic often ends up in streams after windstorms or during post-season removal. The Water Center is testing paper mulch, a safer environmental alternative, at Tech’s Shipley and Oakley Farms to rectify the problems caused by plastic mulch in our region. Director Schaeffer states, “Paper mulch is a novel product with potential advantages to both growers and the environment as it controls weeds but also eventually turns into compost.” Wings up, Water Center! Contact the Water Center for more information on how you can get involved, and view the full story here: https://www.tntech.edu/grand-challenge/news/articles/20200803-watercenterpapermulch.php

Congratulations to PI Mr. Carlos Galindo (STEM Center) and Co-PIs Dr. Andrea Arce-Trigatti (College of Education) and Dr. Stephanie Jorgensen (Chemical Engineering) for being awarded the Science Olympiad Collegiate Scholars (SOCS) program grant of $50,000. The SERS-funded SOCS program will go through the Oakley STEM Center and will target underrepresented and minority student populations in the STEM fields. The program will recruit 20 undergraduate and 10 graduate students who represent these characteristics and who will gain skills that positively impact both their academic success and the communities they serve while working towards the goal of coordinating next year’s Regional Science Olympiad.  Mr. Galindo states, “I am personally really excited to be able to work with students to develop their professional skills while at the same time working on a project that can positively impact k-12 students in the Upper Cumberland.” Wings up!