Empirical Evidence

Letter from the Dean

I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the College of Basic and Applied Sciences at MTSU for the 2021–22 academic year. Having served as chair of the Chemistry Department for the past nine years, I have witnessed great accomplishments resulting from the hard work and dedication of our students, faculty, and staff. Our members have won numerous nationally competitive awards, experienced important research breakthroughs, established cutting-edge programs, built new industry partnerships, and engaged our community with impactful outreach. I want to thank our outgoing dean, Bud Fischer, for his leadership over the past nine years and acknowledge the key role that he played in these successes. This issue of Innovations serves as a testament to the perseverance of our students, faculty, and staff in what has been an unusually trying year. As you read about the achievements of your fellow Blue Raiders, I hope you feel the same True Blue pride that I do.

Our singular focus in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences is student success, a concept that we define very broadly. For example, student success means encouraging our students to aim high and then helping them reach those goals. This magazine features several recent CBAS graduates who are fulfilling lofty dreams in postgraduate education (“A Healthy Start,” p. 4 ). Success also can mean shaping the future in stimulating, secure, high-tech jobs as highlighted in our Data Science program (“At the Speed of Byte,” p. 12). Sometimes, student success has a fun side, as members of our Concrete Industry Management program have learned in their partnership with IndyCar Grand Prix Racing (“Wheels in Motion,” p. 16 ). In the basic sciences, student success might mean participation in faculty-led research to expand mankind’s understanding of the universe. Assistant Professor Hanna Terletska, in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, earned a prestigious national research award for her work in designing new materials that could have big societal impacts in coming decades (“Quantum Leap,” p. 22). In the end, student success is always about finding a way to make your education meet your passion. One of our graduating seniors has found that science helped her connect with a passion for helping people, and she shares her journey with a touching essay excerpt (p. 27).

The articles here are just a taste of the many exciting things happening in our college. I hope they bring back fond memories of your time and connections at MTSU. We are proud of all of our alumni, so I hope you regularly share with others how MTSU and the College of Basic and Applied Sciences have been an influence in your life. As the pandemic subsides and activities return to normal, I look forward to reconnecting with many of you on campus again at one of our lectures or social events.

Greg Van Patten

Interim Dean

MTSU's Science Building