UT’s Science Alliance announced three Tickle College of Engineering graduate students as recipients of 2023 Graduate Advancement Training and Education (GATE) fellowships.

The GATE program supports graduate students through assistantships and fellowships awarded by individual departments to support meritorious, collaborative research between the university and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

These TCE graduate students will begin their fellowship terms on August 1, 2023.

The primary area of Shamiul Alam’s PhD research in the Min Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) revolves around the development of device models and circuits aimed at enabling next-generation memory, logic, and logic-in-memory systems utilizing semiconducting, superconducting, and topological devices. The outcomes of Alam’s PhD research carry significant implications for fields like artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and quantum computing. Alam works with Assistant Professor Ahmedullah Aziz in the NorDIC Lab.

John Hirtz’s PhD research in the Department of Nuclear Engineering investigates the structural changes of spinel oxides in extreme conditions. His focus is on creating sample environments at extreme pressure and high temperature with the ability to perform in situ characterization. These measurements are performed at multiple beam lines at Argonne National Laboratory and ORNL.

Hirtz works with Professor Maik Lang in the Disordered Materials (DISMAT) Group.

Sanjita Wasti works on the manufacturing and characterization of different types of composite materials in her research within the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering. Her PhD study focuses on the development and processing of natural and hybrid fiber-reinforced composites for automotive applications. She is also working on different techniques to improve the interface between natural fiber and polymer matrix.

The Science Alliance is a Tennessee Center of Excellence established in 1984. Its mission is to expand cooperative ventures in research with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and in that process enhance science and engineering research programs at the University of Tennessee.

Wasti works with Uday Vaidya, UT’s Governor’s Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing Professor, at the Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility.