Assistant Professor Devina Sanjaya holding her RDA award with MABE Department Head Kivanc Ekici
Assistant Professor Devina Sanjaya was one of nine tenure-track faculty members from across campus to complete the 2022-2023 Research Development Academy, a collaboration between the Office of the Provost, the Division of Diversity and Engagement, and the Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development. The year-long academy is designed to support tenure-track faculty from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds who have the potential to contribute to UT’s discovery mission and advance UT’s values of diversity and inclusion.
During the academy, Sanjaya received several personal and professional development opportunities like attending monthly group sessions, participating in the National Center for Development and Diversity’s Faculty Success Program, one-on-one coaching, and community building. She also received a stipend to help support her research.
“Attending the Research Development Academy was a great experience and beneficial to my future research endeavors,” said Sanjaya. “I was able to connect and build relationships with people from different colleges, think of creative ways to explain my research to the public, expand my network to the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, and use the stipend to build a relationship with program managers at the Department of Defense.”
At the conclusion of the academy, Sanjaya gave a presentation that showcased her wide variety of research projects geared towards improving the efficiency of computational fluid dynamics, which is integral to many scientific discoveries and processes including the development of new aircrafts, missiles, warheads, and hypersonic vehicles.
Sanjaya said she considers the program to have been a worthwhile investment, and she highly encourages junior faculty to apply to future cohorts of the Research Development Academy.
Contact
Kathy Williams (williamk@utk.edu, 865-974-8615)