For release September 25,
2006
DANIEL CITES FRUITS OF RESEARCH
Technology Corridor Council
Discusses
‘Economic Impact’ in UTSI, AEDC Visit
Research creates knowledge, which rejuvenates
university faculty members and ultimately helps “the state to
prosper,” Dr. Donald C. Daniel told members of the Middle
Tennessee Technology Corridor Council when they visited The
University of Tennessee Space Institute Sept. 21.
After reviewing the Institute’s various areas of research –
ranging from applied fluid dynamics and biomedical physics to
computer mechanics and flight systems – Daniel emphasized that
“You can’t be a great university unless you are a great research
university.”
Andrea Loughry of Murfreesboro, vice chairman of the UT trustees
and chair of the Corridor Council, accompanied the delegation to
UTSI where they had lunch, heard various presentations, and then
journeyed to Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) for a
tour.
“We need more students – especially full-time,” said Daniel, UT
associate vice president and UTSI’s chief operating officer
since June. “We’ll have between 400 and 500 counting part-time
and Short Courses, but we only have about 60 full-time students.
I want to increase this by at least 50 percent.”
With more research funding, more graduate research
assistantships can be awarded, he said, noting that this is the
number one reason students choose a university. Responding to
questions, he said about 80 percent of UTSI’s students are from
the United States – a lower percentage of international students
than most universities.
He emphasized that UT’s strategic plan stresses “student success
and access,” which he said is urgently needed in Tennessee,
which ranks 44th in the nation re: education.
“We have a lot of outreach to kids in this area,” Daniel said,
noting that several courses were offered to area high school and
younger students this summer including an ASM Materials Camp.
“The kids’ eyes would really light up on the last day when they
fired rockets in the circle out front,” he said. “I’d press my
nose to the glass watching.”
Briefing the visitors at AEDC, Dr. Edward Kraft, a two-time
graduate of UTSI and technical advisor to the Center’s
commander, said of the 58 major test facilities at AEDC, 14 are
“unique in the world.” He stressed AEDC’s $500-700 million
“economic impact” on surrounding communities and reviewed the
role of Arnold’s engineers and scientists over the past 55
years. They are “on the front edge of developing planes and
rockets,” he said, adding that “much of what you see (re:
technology) on CNN came through AEDC.”
Kraft marveled that within two years of Chuck Yeager’s breaking
the sound barrier in 1947, AEDC had several major new
aeronautical projects “on the drawing board.”
A presentation by Ms. Diane Bryant, executive director of the
Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce, featured Tullahoma’s
strengths, including its close proximity to Huntsville,
Nashville, and Chattanooga.
Daniel noted that of UTSI’s nearly 2000 graduates, more than 500
of these hold, or have held, responsible positions at AEDC. He
invited civic clubs in need of speakers to contact UTSI, noting
that he and others at the Institute are eager to speak in the
community. He thanked Dick Farrar of Fayetteville, chairman of
the Support Council, for his leadership since taking office this
year.
Other Support Council members at the meeting were Dick Austin,
Jim Woodard, Dan Pierre, and Ed Kraft. Corridor members in
addition to Ms. Loughry and others attending included Rick
Peters, executive director of AEDC, Steve Benefield, president
of the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce; Holly Sears,
director of economic development, Laurel Baes, and Tara Stone,
all with the Rutherford Chamber; Dr. Bob Bell, president, and
Ken Currie, both of Tennessee Technological University; John
Black, executive director of Smyrna Airport, Michael Schulz,
representing U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, Dan Wheeler with UT
Extension Service in Columbia, Mike Boyle, Dean of Continuing
Education at Middle Tennessee State University, and Clint Gwin,
Southeast Community Capital. Attending with Dr. Daniel were Dr.
Joel W. Muehlhauser, UTSI assistant vice president and research
dean, and Daniel’s personal assistant, Scott Van Zandbergen.
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Visiting with Andrea Loughry
are Dan Wheeler, left, of Columbia and Steve
Benefield of Murfreesboro.
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Dick Austin, left, talks with
Rick Peters and Ed Kraft from AEDC and Joel W.
Muehlhauser.
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Participants in a meeting
of the Middle Tennessee Technology Corridor
Council gather on the UTSI patio during a
recent meeting at the Institute. From left,
front row, are Dick Austin, Dan Wheeler,
John Black, Mike Boyle, Dr. Donald C.
Daniel, Chair Andrea Loughry, Dan Pierre,
and Diane Bryant; back row, Dr. Joel W.
Muehlhauser, Clint Gwin, Laurel Baes,
Michael Schulz, Holly Sears, Jim Woodard,
Dr. Ed Kraft, Steve Benefield, Rick Peters,
Tara Stone, Ken Currie, and Dick Farrar.
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Michael Schulz from U.S. Sen.
Lamar Alexander’s staff comments at the luncheon
as Support Council Chairman Dick Farrar listens.
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John Black, executive director of
Smyrna Airport, visits with Tara Stone, Holly Sears,
and Laurel Baes from Rutherford Chamber of Commerce
while Mike Boyle, Michael Schulz, and Clint Gwin
talk in the background.
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-- UTSI Photos |
Writer: Weldon Payne
(931) 393-7222
wpayne@utsi.edu
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