Nuclear engineering doctoral student Clarice Phelps recently presented at a virtual spotlight on Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosted by the American Nuclear Society Young and Student Members. She became the first African American woman to be involved in the discovery of an element on the periodic table—in this case, appropriately, Tennessine. Read more about Clarice Phelps at the Department of Nuclear Engineering.

Brittany Zepernick, a PhD student in the Department of Microbiology, is the latest Graduate Student Spotlight for the Office of Research and Engagement. Her research focuses on harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are masses of phytoplankton, or microscopic algae, that experience unregulated growth. These blooms negatively impact freshwater habitat, with detrimental effects on the ecology and economy of the surrounding areas. Read more about Zepernick and her work at research.utk.edu.

Eighteen graduate students, selected from a pool of 47 applicants, will receive $3,600 stipends from UT’s Summer Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) Fund managed by UT’s Office of Research and Engagement.

Two University of Tennessee, Knoxville, graduate students have received Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) awards. Since its inception in 2014, UT ranks number one in the country for SCGSR awards with 19 recipients.

Seventeen current students and recent graduates from UT were offered Fulbright awards for the 2020–2021 academic year. There were four UT graduate students included in the list of awardees. Read more about these students and all seventeen UT Fulbright awardees.

Brooke Clemmons knows that it is the little things that can show you what you are made of. She is in the sixth semester of a PhD program in the Department of Animal Science, focused on the relationships among nutrition, the rumen microbiome, and host genetics in beef cattle. This is not the first graduate degree she has received at UT, having already received an MS in animal science and an MS in agricultural leadership, education and communication. One can easily see that Brooke not only has ambitious goals, but the drive and skill to achieve those goals. Read more about Brooke and her work in this spotlight.

After multiple rounds of well-crafted presentations during the UT Three Minute Thesis Semi-Finals, twelve participants were chosen as finalists. The Three Minute Thesis competition challenges graduate students to present their research to an audience of non-specialists in three minutes with a single slide. Presentations are then evaluated by a panel of judges with respect to clarity and engagement. The Graduate School would like to introduce you to some of these finalists as part of Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week.

Ed Garnes is a man who knows what it means to make sacrifices for what he believes in. Leaving a life […]

Jordan Brasher, a PhD student in the Department of Geography, is certainly memorable. His specialty is human geography, in which he studies places of memory—statues, museums, and named streets, parks and schools—and how they play a role in conversations about mattering and belonging: whose histories matter, who belongs socially and politically. Read more about Jordan and his work.

The Haslam College of Business, the College of Architecture and Design, and the College of Communication and Information were the organizers of the last session of the 2020 UT 3MT Semi-Final Competition on Friday, February 28. In keeping with all of the other sessions, each graduate student participant, following the rules of the Three Minute Thesis organization, was given three minutes (no more) and a single slide to talk about their research to a panel of judges, who probably have no experience with their field of study. The judges were looking for presentations that were clear, compelling, and engaging. And the participants did UT proud, indeed. Read more about the competition and the winners.