The Allen Medal in mathematics was originated by John Mebane Allen in 1890 and has since been presented annually. It is noted to be one of the oldest awards given by the University of Tennessee. The Allen Medal is given to recognize freshman students who demonstrate, upon testing, the best knowledge of Algebra, Plane Geometry, Trigonometry, Analytic Geometry, Single Variable Calculus, and/or any other areas of mathematics as may be determined by the department head and select faculty members. Presented by Dr. Vladimir Yushutin, this year’s winners are Tyler Parsons Reynolds (1st place) and Albin Brejeon (2nd place).

The John H. Barrett Prize tradition began in 1970. It is an annual memorial award given to outstanding undergraduate seniors who have a concentration in mathematics or are mathematics majors.
Presented by Dr. Remus Nicoara, this year’s winners are Aaron Bailey, Megan Borgognoni, Journey Keen, and Matthew Riedel.

This award is funded by the faculty and staff of the mathematics department. It is awarded to an undergraduate in the Math Honors program who has demonstrated excellent academic performance.

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s winners are Justin Brentwood, Ashleigh Clark, Jack Peltier, and Michael Rice.

The Dr. Warren L. & Kyleen D. Franz Endowed Mathematics Scholarship was established in 2015 to support mathematics majors who demonstrate successful academic performance.

Presented by Dr. Toai Luong, this year’s winners are Nicolette Abate, Daniel Blackston, James Kurschner, Robert Lawrence, Megan Meece, Michael Rice, and Jonah Weston.

The James A. Cooley Memorial Scholarship was established to honor the memory of James A. Cooley and to help qualified and deserving mathematics students secure a college education. Professor Cooley was Head of the Department of Mathematics from 1942 until he returned to full-time teaching in 1961. Preference is given to students interested in a teaching career.

Presented by Dr. Remus Nicoara, this year’s winners are Justin Brentwood, Virginia Jordan, James Kurschner, and Megan Meece.

This scholarship helps support a future mathematics teacher. Applicants must be fourth-year undergraduate students pursuing a major in mathematics, with intent to become a high school mathematics teacher. Polly Anna Harris, a former UTK math major, taught at Bearden High School for many years before she retired. She was a recipient of the UT Alumna and Presidential Award for outstanding teaching. This scholarship is sponsored by her family, son, David Harris, MD, who is also a former UTK math major, and his wife Patricia, son, Frank Harris and wife Abby Avery, daughter, Paula Morrison, also a former UTK math major, and her husband G. Grainger Morrison.

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s winner is Kirsten Checolo.

The Lucille and Herbert Lee Scholarship Awards were established in 1986 by a generous endowment from the Lee estate, and are awarded to sophomore and upperclassmen mathematics majors with outstanding records of academic achievement. Herbert E. Lee, who received his Ph.D. from Duke University, taught mathematics at UTK for three decades until his retirement in 1969. He, and his wife Lucille, were cheerful, friendly, outgoing people who always kept students’ welfare in mind.

Presented by Dr. Remus Nicoara, this year’s winners are Nicolette Abate, Sally Hoyt, Robert Lawrence, Jacob Lund, Emma Michalak, Regan Rhyne, and Jonah Weston.

J. P. and Gladys Maples set up their scholarship endowment fund to encourage scholastic excellence.

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s winner is Mary Wilfong.

The April Marie Memorial Scholarship was established in 2021 by Mrs. Sharon Morton in memory of her daughter April who was a Mathematics graduate student who died as a result of a kayaking accident in 2019. The scholarship supports students who are studying Applied Mathematics and have demonstrated financial need.

This year’s winner is Jacob Lund.

The Cooper D. Schmitt Endowment was established in 1987. The goal of this fund is to provide undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships and appropriate awards to outstanding students in the Department of Mathematics at The University of Tennessee.

Presented by Dr. Yulan Qing, this year’s winners are Ashleigh Clark, Tyler Hall, Sally Hoyt, Virginia Jordan, Jiya Patel, Regan Rhyne, William Wehby, and Mary Wilfong.

The Simms Foundation Scholarship was created through a generous gift from Carol Sue Simms in 2014. The Simms Foundation Scholarship is a 4-year merit scholarship awarded to an incoming freshman with an excellent high school record who will major in math and has an interest in teaching.

Presented by Dr. Remus Nicoara, this year’s winner is Austin Newman.

This is the first year the Sisk Scholarship is being given. Karen L. Sisk Scholarship is a 4-year award given to incoming students from outside of the four largest metropolitan areas in Tennessee.

This year’s winner is Fiona McKeivie.

Pi Mu Epsilon is dedicated to the promotion of mathematics and the recognition of students who successfully pursue mathematical understanding.

Presented by Dr. Jochen Denzler, this year’s Mathematics Department awarded memberships to the Pi Mu Epsilon Honors Society goes to Carter Austin, Jack Peltier, Ashley Burger, Daniel Blackston, and Megan Meece.

The Kenneth Vann Scholarship is a 4-year award for an incoming student with a promising high school record and an intention to study math.

Presented by Dr. Hung Nguyen, this year’s winners are Macy Fagler and Giada Sachitano.

The Dr. Glenn R. and Elise I. Young Scholarship was established in 2010. Its purpose is to support Physics or Mathematics majors who demonstrate successful academic performance.

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s winner is Jack Peltier.

The Putnam exam is an annual exam in mathematics for college students across the country. We recognize those who took this exam in December 2023.

The participants were Lucas Hinds, Adam Krcal, Alexander Nash, and Thomas Williamson.

The department publishes problems, known as “Puzzlers”, to math majors and minors. This award recognizes two students who have provided complete and insightful answers to the Puzzlers.

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, the 1st place winner is Nicolette Abate, and the 2nd place winner is Daniel Blackston.

At the 104th Annual MAA-SE Section Meeting, UT’s Jeopardy team came in fourth place.

Recognized by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s team members are Nicolette Abate, Christina Anderson, Justin Brentwood, and Athena Shead.

This award was established by friends and colleagues in memory of Dr. Randall E. Cline. It is to provide student aid for scholarly activities associated with graduate student work in the University of Tennessee Department of Mathematics. Currently enrolled and prospective math graduate students are eligible for the award.

Presented by Dr. Vyron Vellis, this year’s winner is Evan Habbershaw.

The Dorothea and Edgar D. Eaves Awards were established in 1977 in order to recognize outstanding teaching among graduate teaching assistants.

Presented by Dr. Jochen Denzler, this year’s junior-level winner is Dimitrios Nikolakopoulos and the senior-level winner is Calvin Wong.

This award was established in 2019 to recognize excellence in teaching, as well as significant contribution to the undergraduate education mission of the Department of Mathematics. The award is designed to encourage Math GTAs to deepen their involvement in the educational mission of the department.

Presented by Dr. Vyron Vellis, this year’s winners are Dalen Dockery and Andrew Gannon.

The goal of these awards is to recognize outstanding academic achievement among graduate students. It was established several years ago to parallel the award for outstanding teaching among graduate students.

Presented by Dr. Letian Chen, this year’s winners are Van Le, Amber Young, and Lucy Jiang.

The Yueh-er, Hong-hsu and Clarence Cheng Kuo Fellowship Endowment was established in 2003 by Dr. Yueh-er Kuo to promote Masters’ degree education in the Department of Mathematics. Yueh-er Kuo was a professor in the Department of Mathematics since 1964. She was an expert in educating Masters’ degree students in addition to her own research. She had 56 thesis and project students and many of them are very successful in their careers. Hong-hsu Kuo was the husband of Yueh-er Kuo and was a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Clarence Cheng Kuo was the son of Yueh-er and Hong-hsu. He was a brilliant model student of University Nursery School. This award is given to graduate students with outstanding academic merit.

Presented by Dr. Steve Wise, this year’s winners are Andrew Gannon, Caden Farley, Miriam Abbate, and Roxana Barrios.

The Spike Tickle Fellowship was established by Mr. John D. “Spike” Tickle to recognize students who have an outstanding academic performance and desire to use their talents and education in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). The award is given to a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences to focus on teaching and/or research efforts in mathematics.

Presented by Dr. Vyron Vellis, this year’s winners are Junyuan Fang, Kimberlyn Eversman, Daniel McBride, Nathan Burns, Fotis Ioannidis, Shannon Hall, and Madison Pratt.

The Graduate Advancement and Training Education Fellowship supports collaborative research between the university and ORNL and allows students to focus on their research.

Recognized by Dr. Steve Wise, this year’s winner from the department is Sam Gruber.

This award goes to a professor who has done an exceptional job teaching a course for graduate students this school year. A generous gift from Mrs. Ann S. Keith Rea helps to support the award. Voted on by the graduate students, this award is meant to recognize the work and dedication a professor has given to help students understand the course material.

Presented by Daniel McBride, this year’s winner is Tadele Mengesha.

This award goes to a professor or staff member who goes above and beyond to mentor, advise, or in general help graduate students this year in a non-teaching capacity. Again, the winner is chosen by a vote of graduate students.

Presented by Vinnie Jodoin, this year’s winner is Rosario Dow.

The SIAM UTK Graduate Student Research Showcase is a presentation competition established in 2021 that showcases the research of current graduate students and their advisors. Presentations are 20 minutes in length with 5 minutes for questions and are judged by a panel.

Presented by Lane Rogers, this year’s 1st place winner is Ryan Campbell, 2nd place winner is Trung Nguyen, and 3rd place winner is Junyuan Fang.