ISSE News & Activities 2011 and 2012
04/2012—Ruth Anne Hanahan, with ISSE's TN WRRC, received one of four 2012 Environmental Leadership Awards from the University of Tennessee. Read the story.
04/2012—Rachel Chen's Center for Sustainable Business and Tourism co-hosted the 2012 Leadership Summit on Sustainability on April 10 and April 12.
03/2012—Catherine Wilt, Director of ISSE's Center for Clean Products, gave a presentation at the 5th annual Sustainable Business Summit held at Lipscomb University. On March 27, 2012, she participated in a session titled "Sustainability Goals 2.0: Envisioning the Next Horizon," along with sustainability executives from Nissan North America, Exel/DHL, Bridgestone-Firestone Retail Operations, and Gaylord Entertainment.
02/2012—Toy manufacturers wishing to demonstrate environmental leadership and a commitment to safeguarding children’s health can now pursue certification to North America’s first and only third-party environmental toy standard. ISSE's Center for Clean Products (led by Catherine Wilt) were key participants in the development of the standard. Read the news release. Cat Wilt was interviewed on WBIR-TV about her work with the toxic toy standards.
01/2012—On January 19, 2012, six ASCE students from the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) attended the Integrated Approach to Sustainability Workshop held by ASCE in Nashville, TN. ISSE and UT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering provided financial support for the trip. Read the students' report on the Workshop.
12/2011—The following presentations were made by Ungtae Kim at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, Dec 5-10, 2011, in San Francisco, CA: T.W. Kim, J.Y Yoo, U. Kim, and J.H. Ahn. Uncertainty Analysis of Bivariate Drought Frequency Curve Using Copula-Based Random Generation; T.W. Kim, P. Yoon, H.H. Kwon, and U. Kim. Non-stationarity, Extreme Rainfall, and Frequency Analysis in South Korea; D. Jayasekera, J. Kaluarachchi, and U. Kim. Modeling the Hydrology and Water Allocation Under Climate Change in Rural River Basins: A Case Study From Nam Ngum River Basin, Laos.
12/2011—The following presentation was made by Ungtae Kim at the SERDP Annual Meeting, Nov 29-Dec 1, 2011 in Washington D.C: P. Jardine, C. Hansel-Wankel, J. Parker, R. Gentry, K. Scheckel, U. Kim, Y. Tang, M. Stewart, and L. Le. "Assessing the Potential Consequences of Subsurface Bioremediation: Fe-oxide Bioreductive Processes and the Propensity for Secondary Mineral Precipitation, Media Structural Breakdown, and Contaminant–Colloid Co-Transport." The following poster was also presented at the meeting: P.M. Jardine, C.M. Hansel, J.C. Parker, R.W. Gentry, K.G. Scheckel, and R.J. Simeone. Assessing the potential consequences of subsurface bioremediation: Fe-oxide bioreductive processes and the propensity for contaminant-colloid co-transport and media structural breakdown.
12/2011—Tim Ezzell (Director, ISSE's Community Partnership Center [CPC]) presented findings from CPC's recent rural development research before the staff of the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, DC on December 1, 2011. On December 2, this year’s Appalachian Teaching Project students presented their research before the leadership of the Appalachian Regional Commission in Washington, DC. This year’s UT class researched Appalachian energy futures and developed sustainable energy strategies for three Appalachian communities. Bruce Tonn and Tim Ezzell were in DC with this year’s class.
11/2011—The Inaugural Watershed Symposium at the University of Tennessee was held on Monday, November 14 at the University Center. The purpose of the symposium was to promote newly proposed undergraduate and graduate watershed minors to be made available to students in Fall of 2012, and to share current watershed-related research interests among researches and students at UT. The symposium was organized by a grassroots group of 37 faculty members with watershed interests coming from five colleges of the University (Agriculture and Natural Resources, Architecture and Design, Arts and Science, Engineering, and Law). The work of several ISSE researchers was represented including Tim Gangaware, Bruce Tschantz, and Larry McKay. Chris Cox served as the moderator of a Panel Discussion entitled "Future of Watershed Research and Education at UT." Among the topics discussed by the panel were the proposed undergraduate and graduate watershed minors, watershed-related career opportunities for students in various majors, opportunities for interdisciplinary watershed research, and the content and format of the symposium in future years. Larry McKay participated as a panelist and gave a platform presentation entitled "Interdisciplinary research on waterborne pathogens and fecal indicators."
11/2011—ISSE Senior Fellow Milton Russell presented a paper, “Energy Technology and the Challenge of a Low-Carbon Transition,” at the “EU-US Summit on Science, Technology and Sustainable Economic Growth” in Brussels, Belgium on September 29. Read it here (a PDF file).
10/2011—Eric Ogle with ISSE's Community Partnership Center (CPC) presented and facilitated sessions at the Rural Telecommunications Congress annual conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, Oct. 18-19, 2011. The conference was attended by federal and state technology leaders involved with broadband and telecommunications infrastructure, applications, and policy development. Eric’s presentation was titled “Best Practices in Collaborative Engagement,” which discussed the complexities involved with broadband availability, adoption and utilization, and highlighted the top ways that universities can help communities gain benefits from the adoption of broadband applications, and also discussed how mobile applications like the CPC-developed Knoxville Beck Tour can help support local businesses and organizations while increasing the technical capacity of communities. Also, Eric moderated a panel, “Applications Driven by Convergence,” which featured discussion from Mark Johnson of U.S. UCAN, Jean-Jacques Thiebault of Strategic Scout, Paris, France, and Kyle Hollifield of Bristol Virginia Utilities. Key points included using broadband to sustain a competitive local economy, enabling opportunities for enhanced digital literacy and lifelong learning, and facilitating meaningful participation with both for-profit and non-profit sector anchor institutions.
10/2011—The Tennessee Solar Energy Association (TSEA) participated in the Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Fair sponsored by the Knoxville – Knox County Community Action Committee on October 28, 2011.
10/2011—Tennessee Solar Energy Association's 2011 Solar Tour, held Oct. 22 in Knoxville, filled a KAT bus for a tour of installed solar sites preceded by an hour talk on energy conservation and installing solar for your home. Stefan Partin is developing an economic model for solar installations that can be an income stream for electric power distributors in Tennessee. The plan is to hold a workshop at the November 16th meeting of TenneSEIA members. The workshop would introduce Stefan’s model to the distributors. If the distributors agree with the model, it may ease the path for solar legislation that would be lobbied by TenneSEIA and others. Responding to a call from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, TSEA provided his office with information on community solar opportunities for a city in Oregon that would demonstrate the dispatachability of distributed neighborhood solar energy.
09/2011—Rachel Chen (Director, ISSE's Center for Sustainable Business and Tourism) was a keynote speaker, invited by the U.S. Travel Association to speak on “Promoting Sustainable Business and Tourism: Conservation, Innovation, and Sustainability” at the U.S.-China Tourism Commissioners/Directors Leadership Summit, Hawaii, Sept 26, 2011.
09/2011—Catherine Wilt (with ISSE's Center for Clean Products) was appointed by the Chancellor to serve on UT's Committee for the Campus Environment.
09/2011—Rachel JC Chen (Director, Center for Sustainable Business and Tourism) recently graduated from the HERS Denver Summer Institute, held July 24-August 7 at the University of Denver. Offering HERS Institutes annually since 1976, Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) is the premier residential professional development program dedicated to advancing women leaders in higher education administration. The seventy-two participants selected for this year’s Denver Summer Institute represented 62 institutions from 26 states across the US and 6 other countries. They included a president, vice presidents, associate vice presidents, as well as faculty, deans, directors and chairs of academic and administrative departments. Chen’s participation in the HERS Denver Summer Institute was sponsored by the Chancellor’s and Provost’s Offices. She was selected by Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek to represent UT Knoxville.
Dr. Chen has also accepted Chancellor Cheek's appointment to serve as a member of the Commission for Women. The UT Commission for Women (CFW) is a body appointed by the Chancellor to advise on planning, implementation, and evaluation of University programs, policies, and services designed to improve the status of women on the Knoxville Campus.
08/2011—The Tennessee Solar Energy Association (TSEA, housed at ISSE) had a significant presence at the Solar Solutions Conference this past week. The conference, sponsored by TVA and the University’s Tennessee Solar Institute, had 600 people attending the two day meeting. There were 50 exhibitors as well as 45 speakers participating. TSEA provided a seminar called Solar 101, which was given by TSEA's technical Director, Stephen Levy. It was over an hour and a half presentation on the basic aspects of solar energy, both solar thermal systems as well as solar photovoltaic systems. Stefan Partin and Stephanie Magoon (TSEA interns) manned the exhibit booth, handing out over 80 brochures on the organization and answering questions from the attendees. According to the two organizations running the meeting, there will be a follow-up meeting early next year with an announcement to follow. Stephanie Magoon was with TSEA for the summer as an intern and has left for Nepal for her next semester. She will return to East Tennessee State University in the spring to complete her education. TSEA is looking for a replacement intern to serve the organization in handling the website, membership activities, and office correspondence. Anyone interested, please send a resume to Stefan@tnsolarenergy.org.
08/2011—Rachel Chen, Director of ISSE's Center for Sustainable Business and Tourism, was honored by a listing in Who’s Who in America. She was also an awarded participant of HERS, Advancing Women Leaders in Higher Education Administration, Higher Education Resource Services (HERS). Dr. Chen was selected by Chancellor Jimmy Cheek of the University of Tennessee to participate in the 2011 Denver Summer Institute of HERS. In addition, Dr. Chen received a grant from the TN Department of Tourist Development to conduct a project titled "Tennessee Green Certification Program: An Industry Study."
07/2011—The article, Hidden Dangers and Public Safety at Low-head Dams, authored by Bruce Tschantz (with ISSE's TN Water Resources Research Center) and recently published in the ASDSO Journal of Dam Safety, has been reprinted in the Spring 2011 Currents Newsletter of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (EWRI/ASCE). The article was also reprinted this Spring by American Whitewater for online viewing. The entire article can be also be viewed at the ASDSO website.
06/11—ISSE Researcher Phil Jardine gave an invited presentation to the U.S. National Committee for Soil Science, National Acad1emy of Sciences on June 16, 2011, titled "Impact of Scale-Dependent Coupled Processes on of Contaminant Fate and Transport in Subsurface Environments."
06/11—The Tennessee Solar Energy Association (TSEA) participated in the meeting of TREEDC on June 24, 2011 in Franklin. TSEA was asked to address the issue of the status of solar technology and its future here. TSEA has been asked by the Tennessee Solar Institute to co-host an introductory solar informational talk on solar photovoltaic energy for the home and small business as part of the 2011 Tennessee Valley Solar Solutions Conference sponsored by TVA and the Tennessee Solar Institute (TSI) scheduled for August 9 and 10th at the Grand Ole Opryland Hotel. The meeting is free but you must register. TSEA will also have an exhibitor booth at the meeting. TSEA will be holding its annual membership meeting on August 8th at the Grand Ole Opryland Hotel along with two workshops on solar actions that would lead to increased manufacturing and jobs in the state. In addition, Jim Hackworth and Stephen Levy visited Mayor James Talley at his Ducktown office to discuss the idea of community solar and its advantages to the Ducktown community and its impact on tourism.
06/11—The Knox County Water Quality Forum Fundraiser was held in June 2011 at Preservation Pub on Market Square. It was sponsored in part by ISSE, which is part of the Water Quality Forum. Celebrity bartenders included coordinators of the Rainy Day Brush Off program. Tips collected during the fundraiser went towards the program, which brings together local artists to decorate rain barrels that are auctioned off to the community.
05/11—Shesh Koirala made the following presentation: S. R. Koirala and R. W. Gentry. Hydrologic Response to Climate Change in the Clinch River Watershed. ASCE-EWRI 2011, World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, May 22-26, 2011, Palm Springs, California.05/11—Eric Ogle, with ISSE's Community Partnership Center, presented at the 2011 Broadband Communities Summit in Dallas, Texas, on April 27. The session topic was “Universities’ Role in Rural Broadband Availability and Adoption.” Eric presented four of the top ways that universities can help communities gain an economic benefit from the adoption of various broadband applications, and then discussed how mobile broadband applications like Knoxville’s Beck Tour can help support local businesses and organizations while increasing the technical capacity of communities.04/11—Stephen Levy with the Tennessee Solar Energy Association (TSA) presented a talk on the opportunities in solar energy to a class of AMTEC students at Roane State Community College this past Friday. The TSEA is helping organic farmer, Jerry Baird, prepare an application for a REAP grant along with a Pathway lending loan for the construction of both a solar thermal and a solar electrical system for powering his organic farm. The solar thermal system will provided heated water to his drip irrigation system at night with the objective of increasing plant growth and prolonging the growing season. The solar electric system will be providing the energy to operate his well pumps for irrigating his planted fields. Jerry has signed a bequest to the University of Tennessee for his property with the desire to provide a living laboratory for organic farming initiatives and it will be called the Jerry Baird Organic Horticulture Research and Education Endowment. The UT legal clinic is helping with a review of the Department of Agriculture REAP grant program as it can apply to Mr. Baird’s application.
04/11—Bruce Tschantz, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Associate with the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, has the lead article in the current issue of the ASDSO Journal of Dam Safety. The article, Hidden Dangers and Public Safety at Low-head Dams, summarizes Dr. Tschantz's continuing national study of accidents at these structures, which often include old abandoned mill dams. He presents the complex hydraulics below this class of dams, often called "drowning machines," to show how they create a public water hazard; discusses structural and non-structural measures to reduce drownings; and examines a drowning case study to illustrate the overpowering forces and factors acting on drowning victims. Interested kayakers, canoers, rafters, and other river users are referred to article details in the Vol. 1, Issue 1, 2011, pp. 8-17, of the Journal. He recently presented a summary of his low-head dam research to the 2011 Virginia Lakes & Watershed Association conference in Richmond.
04/11—Roy Arthur, Research Associate with ISSE's Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, represented the University at a workshop on Developing Effective Regional Integrated Watershed Education Programs during the Georgia Water Resources Conference at the University of Georgia on April 11, 2011. Roy was on a panel to discuss UT's involvement in developing educational watershed programs for local governments.
03/11—The Knoxville News Sentinel ran an article on March 29, 2011 titled "Tennessee officials discuss economic sense of sustainability." It is based on the panel discussion among public sector leaders featured as part of the Week of Sustainable Business and Tourism Leadership held March 29-April 1, 2011 and co-hosted by ISSE's Center for Sustainable Business and Tourism and the UT Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER).
03/11—ISSE Researchers Sheila Webster and Rex Short served as hosts for the National Environmental Conference held March 17 and 18, 2011 in Knoxville and sponsored by the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE). The conference theme was "Evolving Training Needs of a Sustainable Environmental and Energy Future." ISSE Director Randy Gentry welcomed approximately 75 environmental trainers from across the country to Knoxville. ISSE's Jonathan Overly made a presentation on "Trends in Alternate Fuels and Implications for Training."
03/11—Tim Ezzell (Director of ISSE's Community Partnership Center) is coauthor of a paper, Strategies for Economic Improvement in Appalachia's Distressed Rural Counties, to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers in Seattle next month. The paper’s other authors are Dr. Dayton Lambert (Agricultural Economics) and Dr. Tom Bell (Geography). The paper is based on Dr. Ezzell’s current research project with the Appalachian Regional Commission.
02/11—ISSE Researcher Jack Parker made a presentation to East Tennessee Geological Society on “Cost Optimization of DNAPL Site Remediation Considering Prediction Uncertainty,” on February 14 at Pellissippi State Community College.
02/11—The Knoxville News Sentinel ran an article on February 3, "Beck Tour app spotlights city's past: New software offers information on cultural sites," featuring Eric Ogle, with ISSE's Community Partnership Center.
02/11—Eric Ogle (with ISSE's Community Partnership Center) was interviewed by Whitney Holmes (UT Media Relations) and a short video on his Beck Tour project was produced. The video was featured by the UT Chancellor in a January 25 Tennessee Today article about UT's 50th Anniversary of African-American Achievement Kickoff Event. In addition, the February 1st edition of Tennessee Today has an article, UT Team Develops iPhone App to Drive Tourism in Downtown Knoxville, which includes the video. On February 2, Robin Wilhoit of WBIR-TV featured Eric as a "Newsmaker" on her Wednesday afternoon television show.
01/11—ISSE Researcher Larry McKay was recently elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Read the story in Tennessee Today.
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