EF158 Announcements

1. We still have a lot of equation sheets from past exams in ZEC 358. Remember that you are allowed to use all four of your previous equation sheets on the final, so unless you want to make a new one for the content from those modules, make sure to come get the old one!
2. The most frequently missed MC questions (<60% correct) across the four module exams were:
   • Exam 1: question 2
   • Exam 2: questions 1, 9, and 10
   • Exam 3: questions 2, 3, 7, and 9
   • Exam 4: questions 1, 3, and 9
   • Question 17 on exam 4 also had an average below 50%. Because we want to make sure everyone learns this content, these questions are most likely to be modified and appear again on the final, along with other entirely new questions.

https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5AwUU433BH7hVtQ

Drs. Hicks and Kit must both receive the minimum 105 responses for everyone to get the credit. Please remember that these responses are anonymous and we cannot determine which of you have or have not responded, but only the total responses. You can login at https://planning.utk.edu/ to complete the evaluation. When leaving comments, please enter comments for each of us since we cannot access each other's results. You may want to keep a copy of your comments if they will be similar for each.

Dr. Penumadu (https://cee.utk.edu/people/dayakar-penumadu) and Dr. Stephen Young in Civil and Environmental Engineering want to hire an undergraduate majoring in Mechanical Engineering or Civil Engineering to work in their research group. The work will involve nanoindentation of materials, mechanical testing, and microscopy.

• Starting pay rate: $15/hour
• Minimum work hours: 10 hours per week during Fall/Spring terms (20-40 hours/week during summer term)
• Minimum GPA: 3.5 or higher preferred, 3.25 or high acceptable as well
• Student should be a self-starter

If you are interested, send an email to Dr. Stephen Young (syoung13@vols.utk.edu).

The Cook Grand Challenge Honors Program partially takes its name from an international program called the Grand Challenges Scholars Program which was founded to help engineering students understand the greatest technological challenges facing society and to prepare them to contribute solutions to those problems. These issues are defined by the National Academy of Engineering's 14 Grand Challenges. Over 100 schools across the world have joined in this effort. Students in the program are expected to demonstrate competencies in five areas: research/creative project related to one of the Grand Challenges, multidisciplinary knowledge, entrepreneurship, multicultural awareness, and social consciousness. All Engineering students are welcome to join the program. Students completing an honors concentration in TCE must demonstrate two of these competencies.

In this information session, we will discuss the common ways that TCE students use coursework and extracurricular activities to demonstrate these competencies.

More information is available at https://honors.tickle.utk.edu/overview/.

They will be set up on the first floor of the Zeanah Engineering Building from 9:00 AM–3:00 PM on the following dates: 

• April 4th-5th
• April 9th-11th
• April 16th-18th

We will speak with those interested about duties, training, and logistics. This is the perfect opportunity for students taking summer classes and looking to grow their leadership abilities.  

Training Dates: TBD

• April 26th-April 27th 
• May 2nd-May 3rd

HITES12 Program Dates: July 7-12, 2024
eVOL10 Program Dates: July 14-19, 2024  

*Housing will be available for night counselors*

Below are the links to apply and learn more about the programs:

Program Info: https://tickle.utk.edu/inclusivity/diversity/pre-college/

The counselor positions are open to all rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors in the Tickle College of Engineering.
Application: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0j50Gux7LBeAbQO

The coordinator position is open to graduating seniors, graduate students, or rising seniors with strong organizational and leadership skills.

Application: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b7VgNsOZCAp8bum

Dear TCE Honors Students:

This coming Fall 2024 I will be offering regular and online asynchronous sections of Math 257, the honors version of Math 251. As an honors course, this course will provide a richer and deeper experience, but for students who may be concerned about it: honors does not mean harder grading and lower grades. I often teach honors courses in order to do something different, and my grading policy is that students should make the same grade for the same amount of work in the honors course as in the regular version. This fall I will be debuting a new online system for learning linear algebra, which virtually eliminates the notoriously tedious and mistake-prone repeated 6th grade math that continues to be a feature of most basic matrix algebra classes. (If you have ever done Gaussian Elimination, you know what I mean.) I am working with two TCE alumni, who are now software engineers, to create this system. In MathMentor, apps perform the basic arithmetic while the student gets to focus on the problem solving steps. You are welcome to give some of the apps a try at https://www.mathmentorapp.com/demos

I suggest trying the Gaussian Elimination app first—instructions are in the upper left corner. It is presented there as a game with a leaderboard, but I will not be expecting inordinate speed for this course. The important thing is that you (and I, for that matter) won’t have to deal with making some small arithmetic mistake and wasting time trying to figure out what went wrong—especially on a test or the final! The app does all the basic math for you, so you can make the higher level decisions. If you see from the result that you made a poor decision--for example if your quick mental fraction arithmetic was wrong--just hit the “undo” button.

Important note: Math 257 officially has a prerequisite of Math 148 (honors Calc II), when in fact the course as I am teaching it only requires Math 142. Therefore, if you have had Math 142 but not Math 148, you must email the Math Undergraduate Assistant, Nicole Crombie at bcrombie@utk.edu to confirm that you have credit for Math 142 (including AP credit) and let her know whether you wish to take the in-person Section 1 at 12:40 MWF or the asynchronous online Section 2. The two sections combined are capped at 30 students with 8 students already enrolled, so I would encourage you to sign up soon if you are interested. If the sections fill up, Nicole can add you to a waiting list. It may be possible (but there are no guarantees) to increase the cap. Mainly I am just trying to judge the demand at this point.

The MathMentor materials are highly suited to online asynchronous education because you learn mathematics processes by doing them, not by watching them. I will record the in-person class each day and post the recording on Canvas. The in-person class time will be spent on strategies for using the apps, with students working with me on their own devices while I go through some examples, plus context, background, and enrichment. All office hours will be both live online and in-person, and I’ll promptly answer emailed questions. For the asynchronous section, the two midterms and final exam will be in-person on campus in the evening. Schedule of tests and final for the asynchronous section are TBD. Finally, it is not required to be in TCE honors to take the course, so if you have friends who might prefer this approach, they are welcome to also sign up. If you have questions, feel free to email me.

Conrad Plaut
Professor
Mathematics Department
University of Tennessee

This information meeting is for students interested in joining and restarting our EWB chapter which became inactive during the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 in 2020-2021.

If you cannot attend the meeting but are interesting in finding out more about EWB are or interested in joining, please fill out the form linked below. Contact Dr. Kevin Kit (kkit@utk.edu) with any questions.

https://forms.gle/oiGPGztqCH3N1QmB9

The link below lists several TCE faculty that have indicated their interest in supporting new students as part of this program. While students are not limited to these faculty, this list could serve as a resource for students who are seeking a mentor.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rJ44yoA-xBrardba7-WbbxNtQbGrouYCrCH6Za2JZOE/edit?usp=sharing

The program will begin October 14 2024 and run through April 25 2025. Student participants will

• be paid $15 per hour for up to 158 hours during the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters
• be expected to commit to at least 6 hours per week up to a maximum of 10 hours per week
• receive a budget of $1000 for materials and supplies to support the project (funds not spent can be used to pay for additional work hours beyond 158)
• be required to attend 3 professional development seminars during the period of the program
• be required to display a poster at EUReCA in April (date TBA but probably Apr 15 or 22)

Application link: https://utk.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0UqMbDes0Mqb1gW