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YOU.T.S.I. E-Newsletter
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| MAY 2004 |
Volume
1, |
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Making sure we keep the UTSI FAMILY informed encouraged and enlightened.
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“We in the Human Resources and Services Office believe that we can contribute to the future success of UTSI by making sure we keep the UTSI FAMILY informed, encouraged and enlightened,” said Patricia Burks-Jelks, Director, when she suggested an on-line newsletter for the faculty, staff and students of the Space Institute. It will also be for the perusal of the UTSI Support Council, Alumni Council and other Friends of the Institute. This newsletter will be emailed periodically…perhaps on a quarterly basis… or whenever we have breaking news. We will share with you the triumphs and trials of our day-to-day campus life, as well as news on a larger scale.
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Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be. ~Clementine Paddleford~
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CONGRATULATIONS Other UTSI staff who have earned degrees using this program are: Pam Selman, Becky Stines, Jim Goodman, Dee Merriman, Penny Smith, Richard Gulley, Callie Taylor, Charlene Hane, Wes McMinn, Betty Bright, Greg Heatherly, and Chris Armstrong. Still others are working diligently every day toward a degree. (If your name should be among these recognized for their efforts, and it was inadvertently omitted, Dear Reader, please forgive the omission and let us know. We will surely remedy that in the next edition). |
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You, too, can follow in their footsteps to earn an increase of up to 6% (for a PhD!) per UTSI Personnel Procedure 405 at: http://personnel.utsi.edu/proc405.html “Adjustments for Completing Additional Degree Work: Current employees of UTSI have an opportunity to increase base pay by completing additional degree work. Employees who put forth the extra effort to further their education return the additional skills and knowledge acquired to the work places, as well as increasing each person's overall marketability and the ability to serve in his/her position. The amounts of additional compensation are reviewed periodically. The percentages of increase added to base salary the pay period following when a degree is conferred are as follows:
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Talk doesn’t cook rice. ~Chinese Proverb~
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Fee waiver forms and UT policy info can be found below….
For additional information regarding fee waiver and various benefit information, please refer to the UTSI Human Resources website at http://personnel.utsi.edu.
FEATURED DEPARTMENT COMPUTER SERVICES Richard,
Lisa and Charlie are the terrific threesome who keeps us all computing.
They are becoming more and more proficient at preventing fires instead of
putting them out. Their current focus is setting up a domain so that UTSI folk
can log onto the domain and CS will be able to backup user files for
them. This will also allow CS to troubleshoot computer problems from
their office and will shorten resolution time |
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Doing our job helps you do your job. It is our pleasure and privilege to be here for you. ~Lisa Lehman~
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Richard concentrates on network issues such as security and management. Charlie works closely with Richard setting up the server/domain and with network issues. He also assists users with hardware and software problems. Lisa helps users with problems and requests ranging from software, hardware, connectivity, training, and maintenance of the UTSI website. All of them respond to requests for computer services and frantic telephone calls for HELP! “In our small department we all must have some knowledge of all Information Technology (IT) issues instead of handling only specific troubles. The UTSI Family are a nice group of folks and are generally patient and easy to work with,” Lisa said. Richard tells us that new computers, a printer, and a scanner have been purchased for the student computer lab. Target completion date for the student lab is May 21st. A few PCs have also been purchased for faculty/staff. CS will attempt to remove all Win9X machines from the network this summer beginning after the lab is finished. Also, thanks to the generosity of the Center for Laser Applications group, a mobile teleconferencing unit has been made available to UTSI. This will make it possible to conference (or perhaps do student interviews) with office facilities that have similar capabilities. We have had this capability in the past, but only in limited areas that were difficult to schedule because of class times. This unit can be placed in H-111, Lower A Short Course – anywhere there is a network connection. This service should be available June 1st. The dates given are only estimates. Richard says, “We are doing this work with existing staff and normal service must be maintained during the process. I do believe these changes will help us all work smarter and more efficiently. But change never comes without a price. For Computer Services that price is a lot of hard work this summer. Hopefully the price for all our users will only be some inconvenience.”
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I do believe these changes will help us all work smarter and more efficiently. ~Richard Gulley~
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What they want you to know: They encourage those who contact them by phone to also fill out a trouble ticket at http://cs.utsi.edu/request. This will allow CS to document repeated hardware and software issues, and better enable them to give some instruction when they assist us, to avoid our further frustrations with the same problems. Richard
says, “We will be moving all UTSI users to a Microsoft Exchange 2003
server. Antispam and antivirus solutions will also be implemented that,
hopefully, will make our workday a little brighter.” ANNOUNCEMENTS ●The 2003 Service Awards Ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. in the Lobby. Refreshments will be served. ●The UT Office of Retirement and Benefit Services will present informative sessions to UTSI employees June 3 & 4 in the Lower A Short Course Room. Reservation forms will be coming to you from their office in the next week or so. The Life Planning Seminar is an annual event that will cover detailed information concerning your retirement plan, tax deferred income, wills and estates, and question and answer sessions which will allow you the opportunity to ask individual questions. ●Registration for Summer Semester 2004 is being held March 1st - May 24th, and will be closed May 25th and 26th. Registration system hours are 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. EDT Monday through Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Deadline for priority registration, fee payments and confirmation of attendance is May 24th, 3:30 p.m. CDT. Final registration and late fees begin May 27th. Classes begin June 1st. FYI Revisions to Fiscal Policy on Travel: URL: http://www.tennessee.edu/policy The University’s travel policy has been revised to coincide with the state’s policy. Effective May 1, 2004, the standard mileage rate for a personally owned automobile increased from $.32 to $.35/mile for all business travel. For more information call the Treasurer’s Office at (865) 974-3086 or contact Audit and Consulting Services. VISITORS Dr. Gary Flandro and his student Steve Stasko recently entertained visitors from the Adventure Science Center and Sudekum Planetarium in Nashville (formerly known as the Cumberland Science Museum) and their exhibit design team from Appelbaum Associates in New York. Steve made a presentation concerning research they might be able to incorporate into the concept development phase of a new hands-on, interactive exhibit. After a Q&A session and discussion, they left very excited about the possibilities. They loved our beautiful campus, and were amazed to find us here doing so many different kinds of research. Dr. Flandro and Steve offered their further assistance to the on-going project. 20 participants in the Coffee County Leadership Program will tour UTSI May 26th. |
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Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it. ~Katherine Whitehorn~
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FEATURED RESEARCH Dr. Gary Flandro and Steve Stasko collaborate on this research project: The Feasibility of Large Scale Tether Propulsion The “space elevator” concept, that is, a tower or cable reaching from earth to geosynchronous orbit, has long been confined to the realm of science fiction. Such a structure would be over 36,000 km long and weigh millions of tons. Despite the large scale of the project its promise of less costly and regular access to space has kept the idea alive. Recent advances in lightweight high strength materials have moved the full ground to orbit (GTO) elevator closer to reality. A less massive alternative to the ground to orbit elevator is offered by the orbiting space elevator. The combination of a suborbital spaceplane that will rendezvous above the Earth’s atmosphere with a free orbiting tether offers a less technically daunting task than the construction of a full, GTO elevator; this can be accomplished without any appreciable loss in the cost savings attributed to the full elevator. In this space launch system, the tether can be viewed as a reusable upper stage. Every major problem encountered in a study of the tether-spaceplane combination is applicable to the full GTO elevator. In fact, the development of the orbiting elevator can be seen as a proving ground for the full space elevator. This program will focus on providing the framework needed to implement large scale tether-based propulsion; through the data gathered, several initial designs for both earth orbiting tether systems and full GTO elevators will be produced. The study will create an informed measure of the feasibility of the tether propulsion concept with specific attention given to the following areas: structural design, orbital stability of large structures, construction and deployment, suborbital rendezvous, space debris hazards, and space environment effects. These problems are multidisciplinary, involving the fields of spacecraft design, solid mechanics, space power generation, orbital mechanics, flexible body dynamics, aerodynamics, optimal control, and low thrust propulsion.
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The man who has no imagination has no wings. ~Muhammad Ali~
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GOOD NEWS! NASA's 2004 astronaut candidate class was introduced during Space Day activities at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. Among those introduced today was UTSI graduate Randolph Bresnik, Major, U.S. Marine Corps. Major Bresnik is 36, an F/A- 18 pilot and experimental test pilot based in San Diego, California. He was born in Fort Knox, Ky., has degrees from The Citadel, S.C., and the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTSI graduate in Aviation Systems). He’s getting married this month in a Scottish castle. UNTIL NEXT TIME… Please send comments, questions, complaints, suggestions to Judy at jrudder@utsi.edu or telephone extension 267. This publication is for and about you, so please send information you would like to share, either professional (research, contracts, conferences, papers, presentations, etc.) or personal (births, deaths, marriages, trips, home-runs, graduations, grandchildren, etc.) Thank you all for your hard work and dedication to the betterment of UTSI. ###
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