STEP^MT Partnerships

Business & Industry Partners ---- High School Partners

» Summer Research Internships

Companies, organizations, and STEP^MT will jointly fund summer research internships for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduates to work full time in the summer on research projects for the off-campus partners. The student will receive a research stipend from STEP^MT and/or compensation from the business. Several "shared expense" contract arrangements are available to suit the partner's needs. For more information please visit our Summer Undergraduate Research in Industry (STEP-IN) page or contact us at stepmt@mtsu.edu. To view the complete list of our business and industry partners, click here.

» Summer Research Teams

An MTSU STEM faculty mentor, two STEM students (including students from the Tennessee Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, TLSAMP), a Rutherford County High School (RCS) STEM teacher and a high school senior will form a summer research team. Each team will tackle a specific research project over the summer. The Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce will help identify RCS teachers. STEP^MT will fund 5 research teams each summer. For more information please visit our Summer Research page or contact us at stepmt@mtsu.edu. To view the complete list of our high school partners, click here.

» Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)

STEP^MT will provide assistance to MTSU and TLSAMP STEM students who would like to spend the summer doing research at another university or national lab. We hope to facilitate 5 REUs the first summer and increase the number each summer.

High School Partners

Blackman High School

• Sarah (Sally) Millsap (teacher), Courtney Ginn (student), "Evaluation of seed oils for conversion into biodiesel and chemicals" -- Summer 2005
• Colin Klaus (student), "Breaking the speed of light with sound pulses" -- Summer 2006
• Sarah (Sally) Millsap (teacher), Jia Zhu (student), "Superior Methods for Biodiesel Preparation" -- Summer 2006
• Norrisha Chesterfield (student), "Can we land and stop an airplane on a frictionless surface and generate electricity?" -- Summer 2007
• June (Haimi) Kim (student), "Sequencing and Analysis of the Switchgrass Chloroplast Genome" -- Summer 2007
• Brandon Ladd (student), "Protease involvement in rheumatoid arthritis" -- Summer 2007
• Matthew Lance (student), "Aerospace Friction Stir Welding" -- Summer 2007
• Jacob Bell (student), "A Major in Mathematics Education Middle Grades (6-9)" -- Summer 2008
• Mary Hayden (student), "Conversion of Biomass-Derived Feedstocks to Valuable Fuel and Chemical Products" -- Summer 2008
  
• Ryan Stahr (student), "Nanostructured Materials for Sensing Applications" -- Summer 2008

Lavergne High School

• Joe Moos (teacher), "Cost Modeling for Space-based Telescopes" -- Summer 2006
  
• Joey Brown (teacher), "Aerospace Friction Stir Welding" -- Summer 2007
• Joey Brown (teacher), Roy West (student), "Programming Khepera Robot II for Navigation and Exploration" -- Summer 2008
• Peter Schine (teacher), "Conversion of Biomass-Derived Feedstocks to Valuable Fuel and Chemical Products" -- Summer 2008

Oakland High School

• Joan Simmons (teacher), "A Major in Mathematics Education Middle Grades (6-9)" -- Summer 2008
  
  

Riverdale High School

• Hezekiah Ford, III (teacher), Jacqueline Villamizar (student), "Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II: What Order Should We Teach Them?" -- Summer 2006
  

Siegel High School

• Kimberley Hinton (teacher), Cathy Coppola (student), "Expanding our understanding of the microbiocidal properties of chlorine dioxide (Cl02) using newer generation technology" -- Summer 2005
• Jeff Martin (teacher), Dustin Temple (student), "In Situ Resource Utilization for the Moon and Mars—Iron Oxide Reduction to Metallic Iron Using Microwaves" -- Summer 2005
• Jan Cathey (teacher), Brandon Cathey (student), "Breaking the speed of light with sound pulses" -- Summer 2006
• Afrah Mohammed (student), "Evaluation of water quality improvement in Middle Tennessee streams due to use of riparian vegetated buffer strips and best management practices" -- Summer 2006
• Kavon Togrye (student), "Cost Modeling for Space-based Telescopes" -- Summer 2006
  
• Kimberley Hinton (teacher), "Sequencing and Analysis of the Switchgrass Chloroplast Genome" -- Summer 2007
• Jeff Martin (teacher), Matthew Clayton (student), "Investigation of Granular Material Segregation in a Horizontal Rotating Tube from an Energy Perspective" -- Summer 2007
• Jan Cathey (teacher), Thomas Bowling (student), "Hydrogen Fuel Cells using Sand as the Primary Fuel" -- Summer 2008
  

Smyrna High School

• Nancy Hendrix (teacher), Natalie Franklin (student), "Middle School versus High School Algebra 1: A Study to Recommend Future Placement and to Study Current Differences" -- Summer 2005
• Chris Garner (teacher), Michael Bolton (student), "Evaluation of water quality improvement in Middle Tennessee streams due to use of riparian vegetated buffer strips and best management practices" -- Summer 2006
  
• Chris Garner (teacher), "Protease involvement in rheumatoid arthritis" -- Summer 2007
• Brandi Malone (teacher), "Can we land and stop an airplane on a frictionless surface and generate electricity?" -- Summer 2007
• Chris Garner (teacher), Celia Gendron (student), "Isolation and Characterization of Novel Bacteria from Human-made Aquatic Environments" -- Summer 2008

Wilson Central High School

• Heather Corban (teacher), Jennifer Hamilton (student), Kacey Jo Hathaway (student), "Capture the Sun: Solar Radio Astronomy" -- Summer 2005

Business and Industry Partners

ATI Stellram Metalworking Products
1 Teledyne Place
Lavergne, TN

Contact: Ed Tonne, Human Resources

Sponsored Projects:

• Jason Schneider, Dr. Richard Redditt, Summer 2007
• "Insert Geometrics" -- Steven Holman, Dr. Richard Redditt, Summer 2008

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
801 Pine Street
Chattanooga, TN 37402-2555

Contact: Matthew Canada, Human Resources

Sponsored Projects:

• "Pharmaceuticals in the Actuarial Profession: The Creditable Coverage Actuarial Value Test" -- Dustin Gray, Dr. Don Hong, Summer 2008

BioMimetic Therapeutics
389-A Nichol Mill Lane
Franklin, TN 37067

Contact: Dan Perrien

Sponsored Projects:

• Sara Serati, Dr. Judith Shardo, Summer 2007
• "Screening Scaffolds for Rotator Cuff Regeneration: Cellular Migration in Collagen Pads is Enhanced by rhPDGF-BB and Inversely Related to Collagen Density" -- Nida Shirazi, Dr. Michael Thompson, Summer 2008

BioVentures
1453 Kensington Square Ct.
Murfreesboro, TN 37130

Contact: Elliot Dawson, CEO

Sponsored Projects:

• Amber Hampton, Dr. Mike Thompson, Summer 2005
• Jacob Acton, Dr. Andrienne Friedli, Summer 2005
• "Determination of NMR Parameters Needed to Study miRNA" -- Philip Mnirajd, Dr. James Howard, Summer 2007

Bridgestone Firestone
535 Marriott Drive
Nashville, TN 37214

Contact: Chinh Sidad, Human Resources

Sponsored Projects:

• Robert Amponsah, Dr. Dwight Patterson, Summer 2005
• Linda Talley, Dr. Lisa Green, Summer 2005
• "Dirty Tire Mould" -- Ben King, Dr. Ngee Chong, Summer 2008
• "Firestone Tires: From Paper to Production" -- Matthew Bush, Dr. Richard Redditt, Summer 2008

CIM Patrons

Contact: Heather Brown, MTSU Faculty Liaison

Sponsored Projects:

• "Investigating Eastman Chemical Fibers for Use in Concrete" -- Jason Crabtree, Dr. Heather Brown, Summer 2008

Comptroller of the Treasury
First Floor, State Capitol
Nashville, TN 37243

Sponsored Projects:

• Jeremy Breece, Dr. Sung Yoo, Summer 2005

Environ
201 Summit View Drive, Suite 300
Brentwood, TN 37027

Contact: Rick Lockwood, Manager

Sponsored Projects:

• "Investigation of nutritional requirements for reliable reproduction and survival in the water flea" -- Shannon Roche, Dr. Rebecca Seipelt, Summer 2008

Federal Express
3131 Democrat Rd Bldg B420
Memphis, TN 38118

Contact: Mark Blair

Sponsored Projects:

• Mack Hawkins, Summer 2006

Genetics Associates
1916 Patterson St, Suite 400
Nashville, TN 37203

Contact: Ronda Moseley, Brenda Neal

Sponsored Projects:

• Krista Lee, Dr. Donald Burden, Summer 2006

Polymer Technology
2315 Southpark Dr.
Murfreesboro, TN 37128

Contact: Tom Hooper, CEO

Sponsored Projects:

• "Research for the Design and Development of Halogen Free Flame Resistant Systems in Engineering Resins" -- Phillip Mnirajd, Dr. Dwight Patterson, Summer 2008

Stinger Medical, Inc.
1152 Park Avenue
Murfreesboro, TN 37129

Contact: David Troutman, Human Resources

Sponsored Projects:

• Jennifer Duckworth, Dr. Chong Chen, Summer 2007
• Chris Stocker, Dr. Karim Salman, Summer 2008

Tennessee Concrete Association
1161 Murfreesboro Rd, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37217

Contact: Alan Sparkman

Sponsored Projects:

• Clint Corbin, Dr. Heather Brown, Summer 2006