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. Vyron Vellis, this year’s winners are John McGuigan (1st place) and Karlotta Schley (2nd place).

The tradition of the John H. Barrett Prize 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 Joshua Douden and Kristina Wilson.

The Mary K. Cook Memorial Mathematics Scholarship was established in 2023. At the time of her graduation in 1967, Mark Cook was one of two women studying computer science, which was then housed within the mathematics department. The award was established by her sons, Joe and Byron Clark.

Presented by Dr. Olivia Feldman, this year’s winner is Kristen Joyner.

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. Christopher Strickland, this year’s winners are Aaron Bailey, Journey Keen, Matthew Riedel, and Jonah Weston.

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. Mark Bly, this year’s winners are Ashleigh Clark, Frank Standaert, Juno Murray, and Virginia Jordan.

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. Marie Jameson, this year’s winners are Kristen Joyner, Emma Michalak, Mia Wallace, and Grace Wisdom.

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 David Harris and Paula Morrison, this year’s winners are Bridget Bireley and Mackenzie Williver.

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 Cooper Austin, Justin Brentwood, Tyler Hall, Kevin Jaimes-Villagomez, Maya Mosley, Michael Rice, Regan Rhyne, and Rondi Quass.

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

Presented by Dr. Tuoc Phan, this year’s winner is Orion Vllasi.

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.

Presented by Jack Ryan, this year’s winners are Madeline Dorminy and Arthur Hawkins.

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.

Presented by Dr. Jochen Denzler, the participants are Tyler Hall, Jacob Looney, Alexander Nash, and Smit Patel.

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

Presented by Dr. Joan Lind, the 1st place winners are Nicolette Abate and Jonah Weston. This year there is a tie for first place.

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 Nicolette Abate, Aaron Clark, Brooklyn Crabtree, Gabriel Johnson, Robert Lawrence, Blake Milstead, Smit Patel, Francesca Ravelli, Evan Ward, and Alex Zhang.

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.

Presented by Dr. Tuoc Phan, this year’s winners are Rachel Heimel, Lillian Mayfield, and Emma Upton.

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 Nicolette Abate, Megan Borgognoni, Justin Brentwood, Brooklynn Crabtree, Michael Rice, Jonah Weston, and Grace Wisdom.

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. Marie Jameson, this year’s winners are Dylan Krulewitz and Jack Peltier.

At the 103rd Annual MAA-SE Section Meeting UT’s Jeopardy team came in second place.

Recognized by Dr. Joan Lind, this year’s team members are Nicolette Abate, Luke Carpenter, Parker McCoig, and Smit Patel.

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. Steve Wise, this year’s winner is Sagnik Jana.

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

Presented by Dr. Tim Schulze, this year’s senior-level winner is Vincent Jodoin and junior-level winner is Sam Gruber.

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.

This year’s winners are Jessica Kingsley, Madison Pratt, and Melissa Pulley.

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. Yulan Qing, this year’s winners are Nathan Burns and Jacob Honeycutt.

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 Jessica Kingsley and Dimitrios Nikolakopoulos.

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 winner is Eve Shaw.

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 Charlotte Beckford.

Ann S. Keith (Rea) Math Faculty Teaching Award

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 Jessica Kingsley, this year’s winner is Remus Nicoara.

Service Award

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 Jessica Kingsley, this year’s winner is Pam Armentrout.

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 Dr. Christopher Strickland, this year’s 1st place winner is Tingao Lucy Jiang, 2nd place winner is Jordan Pellet, and 3rd place winner is Johannes Krotz.