Board Awards More Than $300K to Tennessee Universities
NASHVILLE – Grants totaling $308,700 will be awarded this year to 12 universities across Tennessee from the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners.
The Board’s annual grant awards help support and foster greater interest in the fields of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and interior design among Tennessee students. Since the program’s inception in 2002, the Board has awarded over $3.2 million that may be used by universities to purchase computers for students, laboratory or instructional equipment, library resources, or to pay intern development program fees or examination fees for students in accredited programs. Funding is provided from the Board’s revenues or reserve funds.
“Education is the foundation for developing the knowledge and skills needed to practice the design professions and to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare,” said Board Executive Director John Cothron. “The Board welcomes the opportunity to assist in the education of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and interior design students across all of Tennessee.”
The following universities will receive funding:
- Christian Brothers University—$14,738 to the School of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase triaxial testing equipment for soils, electronics laboratory hardware, and a computer with software.
- Lipscomb University—$13,691 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination fees for students and to purchase a bench top hole saw tube and pipe notcher, a circuit board printer, and a shop hydraulic press. The FE exam is typically the first step in the process leading to licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE), and may be taken by students in the senior year of an engineering curriculum.
- Middle Tennessee State University—$3,000 to the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences for the interior design program. Funds will be utilized to purchase a student computer for the resource library, reference materials, and computer-related items.
- O’More College of Design—$3,000 to the School of Interior Design. Funds will be utilized to purchase a 3D laser printer.
- Tennessee State University—$19,915 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase equipment for the Architectural Engineering laboratory for structural and materials testing, including laboratory mixers, a curing box, molds, a compressometer/extensometer, a digital strain gauge set, and a concrete corrosion mapping system.
- Tennessee Technological University—$37,322 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase video teleconferencing equipment to facilitate distance education partnerships with other higher-education institutions in Tennessee.
- Union University—$12,161 to the Department of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a vertical mill and accessories.
- University of Memphis—$22,136 to the College of Engineering; $24,476 to the College of Communication and Fine Arts for the architecture and interior design programs. Funds will be utilized to purchase laser traffic sensors for the College of Engineering, and computer workstations for the architecture and interior design programs.
- University of Tennessee-Chattanooga—$26,761 to the College of Engineering and Computer Science; $3,000 to the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies for the interior design program. Funds will be utilized to purchase Chemical Engineering laboratory equipment for a new biology-related lab station and a new materials synthesis lab station, and student workstations, computer monitors, and design studio supplies for the interior design program.
- University of Tennessee-Knoxville—$45,124 to the College of Architecture and Design; $43,512 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a gas chromatograph system and SMART podium interactive displays for the College of Engineering, and computer software, a plotter, and large LCD displays for the College of Architecture and Design.
- University of Tennessee-Martin—$14,749 to the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Funds will be utilized to purchase a traffic monitor and multifunction data acquisition devices.
- Vanderbilt University—$25,115 to the School of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping system.
The Tennessee General Assembly and Governor Bill Haslam authorized funding for the grants (2015 Public Acts, Chapter 427, Section 7, Item 28).
###