The Division of Student Life would like to congratulate Corinne Tandy on being selected as the winner of the 2016 Courage to Climb Award. Corinne is a PhD student in Comparative and Experimental Medicine with a concentration in Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases from Knoxville, TN.

Because of the interdisciplinary nature of her program, her research perspective spans across several disciplines but the primary focus is on vaccine preventable diseases. Her research focuses on Tennessee’s demographic risks for pertussis. Commonly referred to as whooping cough, pertussis is a respiratory disease that can be fatal to infants. The study outlines three stages: analysis of demographic factors of pertussis patients, the demographics of vaccinated and unvaccinated Tennesseans, and a qualitative study asking Tennesseans about their vaccination attitudes. This information will help with public health efforts to increase vaccination coverage and understand vaccination attitudes. Her findings will directly influence the campaigns and messaging regarding pertussis and other vaccinations. Currently, there is no qualitative research on this subject.

She has been a member of the UT Student Outbreak Rapid Response Team (SORRT), a partnership between the Tennessee Health Department and the University of Tennessee. This team works closely with outbreak scenarios. Corinne worked with 12 of these events, primarily involving Salmonella. In addition, Corinne serves as a member of the Knox County Health Department initiative to improve vaccination rates for human papilloma virus (HPV) .

Corinne served as the Graduate Student Senate Comparative and Experimental Medicine department representative and served on the UT Student Health Advisory Council. She is also a member of Pipeline: Vols for Women in STEM.
When asked what makes this student unique, Corinne’s nominator stated that she “literally wears her interests and passions.”

The Division of Student Life would like to congratulate Colleen Ryan on being selected as the winner of the 2016 Courage to Climb Award.  Colleen is a third-year Haslam Scholar and Baker Scholar from Cookeville, TN majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Politics and Economics.

Colleen is a co-chair for Sexual Empowerment at Tennessee and has been involved with the organization for over two years. SEAT’s mission is to “strive to foster a comprehensive and academically-informed conversation about sex, sexuality, and relationships with the purpose of educating the UT student body and the Knoxville community through innovative, collaborative, and entertaining programming and events.” Colleen commented that her involvement in the group, especially her work with sexual assault prevention, is one of her most impactful experiences at UT.

Colleen started an organization on campus called the Student Peace Alliance. The mission of the organization is to empower and educate students about issues of structural and physical violence in the Knoxville community. The group organized a speaker series, which highlighted topics of solitary confinement, mass incarceration, and the death penalty.  Colleen’s internship with the Knox County Public Defenders’ Community Law Office sparked her interest in mass incarceration policies.

While studying abroad in Northern Uganda, Colleen researched gender-based and sexual violence in the post-conflict period; through this, she became especially interested in how the country’s anti-homosexuality laws affect access to health care for survivors. Colleen plans to apply for Fulbright Scholar Award to return to Uganda and more thoroughly research this topic.

Colleen currently works with the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the US Agency for International Development and will be interning with USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives in Washington, D.C. in Summer 2016. Colleen’s passion is post-conflict reconciliation and plans to study the topic in graduate school. She would like to work for the US government and influence policy to be more sensitive to cultural context. When asked about how she approaches these challenging topics around violence, she said “peace has also existed in humanity since the beginning of time.”

The Division of Student Life would like to congratulate Duncan Greeley on being selected as the winner of the December 2015 Courage to Climb Award!  Duncan is a senior from Knoxville, TN majoring in Materials Science and Engineering.

One of the main reasons Duncan choose to attend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is because of the collaboration between the university and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which is one of the nation’s premier institutes for nuclear, environmental, and materials research.  Knowing that he wanted to get an education in a technical field, Duncan was attracted to the possibility of getting involved in groundbreaking research at Oak Ridge through UTK’s partnership.  His interest in Materials Science and Engineering was sparked by attending an ASM Materials Camp hosted by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at UTK the summer before his freshman year.  It was during this week-long educational experience that Duncan “discovered a field that was not only widely applicable but also was at the forefront of technological innovation throughout history [that] have helped propel society as a whole forwards.”  Due to the wide variety of advanced materials research taking place at UTK and ORNL, Duncan made the choice to pursue his degree in Materials Science and Engineering at UTK and, during his four years at the university, has taken full advantage of many academic and co-curricular activities during his time at the university.

Duncan has been heavily involved during his time at UT in research both on and off-campus.  As a research assistant at UT under the direction of Dr. David Keffer, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Duncan modeled polymer film behavior in molecular dynamics simulations and presented this research in poster format at several competitions and exhibitions, which were awarded two “Best Poster” awards.  In the summer of 2014, he worked at the U.S. Department of Energy Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) at ORNL where he performed mechanical analysis and characterization of various carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composites.  He presented a poster-presentation of his research at the 2014 ORNL Summer Student Poster Session.  In the summer of 2015, he was a Material Processes and Physics Engineering Intern at Boeing Research and Technology in Huntsville, Alabama.  This year, Duncan is currently working on metal additive manufacturing research with Dr. Suresh Babu.  As his nominator said, “Duncan has clearly demonstrated a commitment to research but he has also taken the next step to present and apply his research.”

In addition to his research endeavors, Duncan has also been heavily involved in the College of Engineering as a Student Ambassador and currently serves as the Ambassador Chair.  In his role as a Student Ambassador, he has assisted with recruiting prospective students by offering campus tours, attending college fairs at local high schools, and hosting informational tables at engineering events.  Duncan said that he “loves having the opportunity to engage personally with prospective high school students to share my love of engineering at the University of Tennessee.”  Duncan is also a member of UTK’s Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society.  Outside of his academic pursuits, Duncan enjoys the natural beauty of Knoxville and East Tennessee by running, hiking, and mountain biking.  Duncan also is an Eagle Scout and volunteers through the Chancellors Honors Program Community Service Committee.  In addition, he is a member of the UT Sailing Club and UT Model United Nations (UN) Club, where he served on the staff of the annual UT High School Model UN Conference since his freshman year.

Duncan will graduate with his Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Materials Science and Engineering the spring of 2016 and during the summer complete another internship at Boeing Research and Technology.  In the fall of 2016, Duncan plans to enroll in a graduate degree program in Materials Science and Engineering focused on metals research.  We wish Duncan the best of luck in his very bright future!

The Division of Student Life would like to congratulate Greg Meinweiser on being selected as the winner of the October 2015 Courage to Climb Award!  Greg is a graduate student from Millington, Tennessee pursuing a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering and a Graduate Certificate Program in Reliability and Maintainability Engineering.

Greg received his undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), majoring in Nuclear Engineering and minoring in Business.  Greg shared that his passion for nuclear engineering comes from wanting to protect the planet and make a difference in the world.  While an undergraduate at UTK, he was actively involved in Campus Crusade for Christ and Phi Eta Sigma, a national honor society founded to encourage and reward academic excellence.  As a graduate student, Greg has been heavily engaged in community service and outreach activities, especially with middle and high school students, through his involvement with the STEMpunk Reverse Science Fair, High School Introduction to Engineering Systems for Twelfth Graders (HITES12) Program, Tennessee Teachers Energy Camp, Science Expo, and Nuclear Science Week.  Greg is also active in department and college leadership development, including serving as a College of Engineering Professional Practice Ambassador for the past two years, a Nuclear Engineering Department Ambassador for the past year, and an officer of both the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and Women in Nuclear (WiN) university chapters.  This year, Greg has taken on the role of President of the ANS.  As his nominator said, “Greg displays a true volunteer spirit; he fully involves himself in campus activities and outreach programs while maintaining a high standard for his coursework.”  Outside of his many curricular and co-curricular pursuits, Greg also enjoys music, singing, and the great outdoors.

Greg plans to graduate with his master’s degree this spring and enter into a Ph.D. program in Nuclear Engineering in the fall.  We wish him the best of luck in his very bright future!