The nominees for the Jimmy and Ileen Cheek Graduate Student Medal of Excellence were honored at a reception on April 10 at the Frieson Black Cultural Center. On hand to recognize the nominees were Dixie L. Thompson, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, along with Jimmy and Ileen Cheek. Learn more about this award and view images of the event.

Jamie Greig, who will be graduating spring 2019 with a PhD in communication and information from the School of Journalism & Electronic Media, will be our featured speaker for the Spring 2019 Graduate Hooding Ceremony. A bio for Greig, who served as both senate chair and vice-president for the Graduate Student Senate, can be found on our featured speakers page, along with previous featured speakers. Join Greig and the Graduate School for the 2019 Graduate Hooding Ceremony on May 9 at 7:30 pm at the Thompson-Boling Arena.

Nicholas Coles, a social psychology PhD student at UT, was on Science Minute recently. In this episode, he explains the relationship between smiling more and feeling happier. This is based on work he and his colleagues recently published in a study on whether making facial expressions can lead people to feel the emotions related to those expressions. Listen and read the transcript at Tennessee Today.

Jacob Dein, a graduate student studying geography, has received a 2019 American Geographical Society (AGS) Council Fellowship for his research studying the impact of noise pollution in urban spaces. Dein is one of four students from around the country selected for the fellowship and the first UT student to receive the fellowship since its inception in 2014. Read more about Jacob and his work at Tennessee Today.

Elizabeth Mae Scott, a PhD student in nuclear physics, is the subject of a spotlight at the Office of Research & Engagement. She is learning to push the boundaries of describing the universe as part of a collaborative experiment called Nab at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Read more about Scott at ORE. 

Kayley Davis, a PhD student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Child and Family Studies received a GTA@OIT Grant. The topic of Davis’s proposal is “Developing Video Lectures to Hybridize a Human Sexuality Class.” The GTA@OIT Grant provides recipients an opportunity to expand their teaching practice by redesigning a course or course component for web-based delivery via Online@UT (Canvas).

Yesterday afternoon, as part of Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week, twelve graduate students competed in the 2019 UT Three Minute Thesis Final Competition. The judges made the difficult choice for the three winners: 3rd place—Amanda Lee, Herbert College of Agriculture, 2nd place—Jamarcus Bradford, College of Law, 1st place—Caroline Billings, College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture will be hosting the 2019 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibitions. From March 25th to April 2nd, you can experience work by Katie Genter, Holly Kelly, Rachel Sevier, and Mengmeng Shang, with a reception on March 29th from 5–7 p.m. From April 5th to April 12th, you can experience work by Eric Hines, Cara McKinley, Lila Shull, and Baxter Stults, with a reception on April 12th, from 5–7 p.m. Get locations and hours by visiting the Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture.

Two companies operated by UT graduate students won local and international competitions recently. Lia Winter, a dual MS–MBA candidate studying biomedical engineering and business administration won first place and about $16,000 in prize money last week at an international pitch competition in Manitoba, Canada. Erica Grant, a doctoral candidate studying quantum computing, won top prize in “What’s the Big Idea? 48-hour Launch” competition on March 3 in Knoxville. Read more about these two companies, as well as a company started by undergraduate Sofia Tomov, which won a competition in Maryville.

A new study published in Global Change Biology and coauthored by researchers from UT, explores how climate, evolution, plants, and soils are linked. The research is the first to show how climate-driven evolution in tree populations alters the way trees directly interact with their immediate soil environment. Ian Ware, PhD candidate in UT’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is lead author of the study. Find out more about this project at Tennessee Today.