Michele Wise Wright was a trailblazer for minority students at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. The dynamic leader launched the inaugural National Society of Black Engineers chapter at UTSI among other accomplishments.

K. Scott Malone (BS/BME, ’85) has used his engineering background from the University of Tennessee to become a successful orthopedic doctor. Malone is combining his skills by launching a new big data company for athletic injuries.

UT alum Jeremy Myers began working at NASA in machine design, maintainability, and reliability right after graduating. He is now a lead engineer helping develop cameras that can be used to take photos on the moon.

Hannah Hajdik (BS AE ’20) has been honored with two prestigious awards: the Amelia Earhart Fellowship and the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences’ John McCarthy Student Award.  

Derrick Bailey (BS, Aerospace ’24) has been named a 2024 Tau Beta Pi Laureate as part of an exclusive group of only 121 others to win the award since the program started in 1982. 

Xiaopeng Zhao’s former student, healthcare roboticist Fengpei Yuan (PhD ’24), has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Alek Clark took a winding path to the University of Tennessee. The third-year aerospace PhD student worked many jobs before enrolling at UT in his 30s.

Josh Dobbs will be featured in a new national space STEM awareness campaign, Space4All, which spotlights the importance of space and highlights pathways to success in space-related STEM education and careers.

Recent PhD grad Ryan Spencer created ThermaMatrix Inc which provides inspection solutions that support clean manufacturing.

Nicole Beautz (MABE ’22) has been named one of Nashville’s Top 30 Under 30 professional and philanthropic leaders for 2024 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation TN Chapter.