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SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering established at UTC

When the U.S. Department of Defense needs to know how to steer a submarine through rough waters or how an airborne chemical contaminant might spread throughout a city, the computational engineers at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s SimCenter give them the answers.

Armed with this level of expertise and almost $20 million in private support, the UTC SimCenter is becoming the SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering.

As a national center, the SimCenter will utilize integrated multidisciplinary research and education programs to establish next-generation technologies. Through its master’s and Ph.D. programs, the National SimCenter will educate a new breed of engineer for computational solutions of a broad range of real-world engineering problems, with consequent leadership and national impact in critical technology areas affecting sustainable energy, environment, health care, and defense.

"We have been very pleased with the success of the SimCenter since its inception here at UTC," said UTC Chancellor Roger Brown. "The SimCenter has exceeded all of its benchmarks, and taking this next step to become a National Center for Computational Engineering will allow the program to grow, to serve more students, and to be more competitive for research projects."

Computer modeling and simulation is estimated to be a $150 billion industry and growing at a rate of 24 percent annually.
Since its opening in 2002, UTC SimCenter has averaged about $4 million annually in outside research support by agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as private industrial partners. These projects have been a catalyst for economic development, research, and education in the region.

The creation of the SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering provides a major focal point for technological advancement in the region and strengthen Chattanooga’s significant role in the Tennessee Valley Tech Corridor. Already, businesses are taking advantage of the computational research opportunities offered at the SimCenter and at least one business is opening an office in Chattanooga so that it can work with the SimCenter researchers.

Huntsville-based Radiance Technologies has announced the opening of a new project office in Chattanooga with an initial staff of eight engineers. In addition to providing systems engineering and technology development services to the government, Radiance has added the capability to design, develop, fabricate, integrate and test both components and systems.
U.S. Congressman Zach Wamp and U.S. Senator Bob Corker were both on hand the day of the campus announcement.

"I am so proud of my city," said Corker, former mayor of Chattanooga. Calling the announcement "another one of those great chapters in the Chattanooga story," Corker said the Chattanooga community is different "because we continue to build on each other’s successes."

The establishment of the SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering is made possible by private support from the Benwood Foundation, the Lyndhurst Foundation, the University of Chattanooga Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Maclellan Foundation, the Tucker Foundation, and several anonymous donors. "In Chattanooga, all good things happen because people give," said Wamp. "As a catalyst, we cannot overestimate the power of these foundations. With these resources, the sky is the limit."

Computational engineering combines engineering, computational mathematics, and scientific computing to create computer simulations for problems such as hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, propulsion, heat transfer, and structural integrity. By providing simulated testing environments, computational engineering helps shorten the traditionally lengthy process of designing and building sophisticated prototypes.

The SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering will operate in partnership with the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which will provide access to its next-generation supercomputing resources.

The SimCenter: National Center for Computational Engineering will focus recognition on UT and UTC as top mathematics and engineering research universities, boosting research dollars and attracting new students and faculty members. The new National Center could eventually recruit up to 100 additional Ph.D. and M.S. students to Chattanooga.

"The University of Tennessee is committed to the educational and economic vitality of this state," said UT President John Petersen. "The National SimCenter will help fill a critical need for highly educated computational engineers and move Tennessee forward in science and technology.

Regional tuition credit now available

Students from selected counties in north Georgia and Alabama are again eligible for a regional tuition credit at UTC in fall 2008.

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees has approved the plan to allow eligible students from Catoosa, Dade, Fannin, Murray, Walker, and Whitfield counties in Georgia and Jackson county in Alabama to pay a reduced tuition amount beginning in fall 2008. To receive the regional tuition credit, students must have completed 60 credit hours (either at UTC or another accredited college or university) and be admitted to UTC as an undergraduate student in good academic standing.

“We are pleased with the level of participants the program received in the short time it was available to eligible students for fall 2007,” said Yancy Freeman, Director of the Office of Admissions. “We believe many more students will be interested in the program, and we are pleased that the UT Board of Trustees has given us additional time to demonstrate the need for this program.”

Eligible students pay the full amount of in-state fees plus 25 percent of out-of-state tuition. Students can continue to receive the tuition credit as long as they maintain good academic standing. Students who are placed on academic probation may regain their eligibility for the tuition credit if they return to good academic standing.

At this time, the regional tuition credit is only available to undergraduate students with at least 60 hours of college credit; it is not available to graduate students.

For more information, call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at (423) 425-4662.

Princeton Review includes UTC College of Business

The UTC College of Business has been featured for the second consecutive year in the Princeton Review’s Best Business School guidebook. The New York-based education services company listed the COB as one of the top five schools with opportunities for women.

“Faculty and staff are committed to offering their students the best quality programs in the College of Business,” said Chancellor Roger Brown. “This national achievement brings welcome recognition to the college and the University.”

The Princeton Review compiled the lists based on its surveys of 19,000 students attending the 290 business schools in the book and on school-reported data. Inclusion in the book is a clear endorsement from the Princeton Review that a student who decides to attend UTC will have a positive experience, according to the editors.

New curriculum, increased minimum class hours and high profile faculty were assets noted by the Princeton Review. Students who completed the survey complimented the strong College of Business faculty and the flexibility of the MBA program, which supports those with careers and families.

The undergraduate and graduate programs at UTC’s College of Business, in both business and accounting, are accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Less than 10 percent of the world’s business schools have achieved business and/or accounting accreditation from AACSB.

University Strategic Plan reaches implementation phase

Chancellor Roger Brown and the two co-chairs of the Strategic Planning Committee, Drs. Karen Adsit and Charles Nelson, announced the completion of the first phase of the Strategic Planning initiative and the beginning of the implementation of the plan.

“For almost a year, we have been examining our strengths and weaknesses, our challenges and our opportunities, and one element continued to come forward as a strength. Our close relationship with the community and the number of partnerships we have developed to further our educational, research, and service mission were both unique to our campus and generally considered beneficial to all parties,” Brown said.

Brown said the future of UTC through 2013 will focus on partnerships, both within and outside the institution. These partnerships are designed to advance the educational, societal, and economic development aims of this campus, along with those of the UT system, the Chattanooga region, the state, and the nation. University students, faculty and staff, alumni, critical community members, and other targeted organizations will participate together in these educational, scholarly, creative, service, and economic partnerships.

See the video produced to highlight University partnerships and introduce the Strategic Plan.

To further define the University’s goals and to establish measurable outcomes, the plan sets out four strategic initiatives, each with a corresponding set of action steps and measures. These four areas are:

Partnerships for Students: Teaching and Learning
Partnerships for Education and Research
Partnerships for Diversity
Enabling Partnerships, which outlines financial, administrative, and infrastructure needs to meet the goals of the plan.

A strong commitment to student learning and success is demonstrated by the initiatives included in the plan, Brown said. Campus success in diversity also continues to be an emphasis.

Brown announced that Dr. Deborah Arfken, Dean of The Graduate School, will head the implementation of the UTC Strategic Plan. Brown thanked Strategic Planning Committee Co-Chairs Adsit and Nelson for their contributions.

“I have to offer my sincerest gratitude to two of our colleagues who carried the burden of this process on their shoulders and who never complained. They attended meeting on top of meeting; they juggled their regular teaching and administrative duties during this time; and the most impressive part of all is that they pulled it off. The plan they have handed over to this campus captures the essence of who we are today and plots a well thought out course for what kind of campus we should aspire to be in the near future,” Brown said.

Christmas on WUTC-FM 88.1

WUTC-FM 88.1 will provide an entire day of holiday programs with a distinctive public radio twist beginning at 6 a.m. on December 25. A special Christmas edition of National Public Radio’s news magazine, “Morning Edition,” will be first, followed by:

10 a.m. - A public radio two-hour seasonal tradition of Handel’s Messiah will be performed by combined choirs from Philadelphia

Noon - Upbeat Christmas songs will be performed by the Morehouse and Spellman college glee club

1 p.m. - NPR news features and essays will express the meaning of Christmas across America

2 p.m. – Christmas is celebrated in different parts of the country with performances in concert halls and auditoriums

3 p.m. - Grammy Award winning group Klezmatics will perform traditional Jewish favorites with a concert of Hanukkah music

4 p.m. - NPR will be airing a Christmas edition of its afternoon news magazine “All things Considered ”

Evening programs return to musical entertainment for the holidays:

8 p.m. - Grammy Award winning group Blind Boys of Alabama will be putting a gospel spin on some Christmas classics

9 p.m. - Hear jazz performers rework Christmas favorites for the new edition of “Jazz Piano Christmas”

10 p.m. – Tune in to the 2007 Paul Winter Solstice Concert at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City

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