Recent graduates credit dual-degree program in engineering for professional success

January 10, 2006
Karen B. Eldridge, Director of News and Public Information
865.981.8207; karen.eldridge@maryvillecollege.edu

Young alumni of Maryville College are proving again that the four-year, liberal arts college offers a great foundation for a career in engineering.

Samuel Caylor and Edwina Booth Merritt, who both came to Maryville College from Sevier County in 1999 and graduated in 2003, were recently featured in the University of Tennessee’s College of Engineering newsletter for outstanding accomplishments.

Enrolled in the College’s dual-degree program for engineering, Caylor and Merritt spent their first three years at Maryville, completing Maryville College’s general education requirements and the mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science courses necessary for further study in engineering or applied science. The remaining time was spent at UT. At the conclusion of their studies, they have two bachelor’s degrees – one from Maryville and one from UT’s College of Engineering.

Edwina Booth MerrittMerritt, the daughter of Dan and Mary Booth of Gatlinburg, was recognized as the College of Engineering’s top graduate for the fall 2004 class. Earning her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UT, she graduated with the highest GPA in the college.

The newsletter also listed Merritt’s curricular and extracurricular activities, including several service projects sponsored by the UT Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers and membership in the Beta Beta Beta National Honor Society and the Chi Epsilon National Honor Society. She completed an internship with the City of Sevierville Department of Engineering prior to graduating.

Caylor, the son of Jimmy and Lynn Caylor of Sevierville, was photographed with other graduate students and Dr. Ben Blalock, an assistant professor in UT’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering who was awarded four grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Exploration Systems Research and Technology.

Sam Caylor is a graduate research assistant for Dr. Ben Blalock and a member of a research team working on projects funded by grants from NASA.

Sam Caylor, left, is a graduate research assistant for Dr. Ben Blalock, right, and a member of a research team working on projects funded by grants from NASA.

According to the newsletter, “This new initiative is the initial phase of a robotic mission to the moon, scheduled to take place in 2020. The next phase of the project will be a manned mission to Mars. The Blalock team has generated almost $1 million in new incoming grants and contracts for 2005 alone. The NASA funding allows Blalock to fully incorporate students in his research testing and procedures, developing prototype chips to be used for the missions.”

Now in his first year of graduate work in electrical engineering, Caylor hopes to eventually earn a master’s degree in analog electronic design and obtain an engineering job with an integrated circuit design company. His work with Blalock’s team should open many doors.

“I am a graduate research assistant for Dr. Blalock, and the NASA project is one of many projects that our research group is currently working on in the field of extreme environment electronics,” he explained. “For this project, I am responsible for writing programs for testing the Bioluminescent Bioreporter Integrated Circuit (BBIC) that corresponds with this project.  Our lab is called the Integrated Circuits and Systems Laboratory (ICASL).”

“I just recently flew to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Space Life Science Laboratory to help them set up more research and testing for the BBIC project.”

Dr. John Nichols, professor of mathematics and chair of Maryville College’s Division of Mathematics and Computer Science, said he isn’t surprised that the former students are making names for themselves.

“Edwina was a model student. She always set high standards for herself and always accomplished her goals,” Nichols said. “And Sam is an excellent role model for future engineering students. We are very proud of his academic work both here at Maryville College and the University of Tennessee. While taking classes at UT in 2003, Sam was able to continue his participation in varsity sports here at Maryville College. This was no easy task, considering the time demands on playing varsity sports. I commend Sam for his efforts in his academic work and in baseball.”

Since the late 1970s, Maryville College has had several formal dual-degree arrangements with accredited schools of engineering, including UT, Vanderbilt University, Washington University (St. Louis), Tennessee Technological University and Auburn University. The arrangement enables students to combine extensive preparation in the liberal arts with professional training in engineering, Nichols explained.

“The program is good for the College and for society as a whole,” he commented. “It brings top students to our campus for approximately three years, where they not only get all the mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science needed for engineering, but they also get most of the liberal arts courses that other students take.

“Here, students hone both their writing and oral communication skills and acquire a whole set of values like an aesthetic appreciation of our environment that non-liberal art engineering students don’t normally get,” he continued. “This educational experience sets our engineers apart from others and greatly benefits society. Dual-degree engineers go out into the world with a much broader education and with a greater appreciation and respect for our environment.”

Merritt currently works for VISION Engineering and Development Services, a civil engineering consulting firm that provides a wide variety of civil engineering and surveying services out of offices in Maryville and Sevierville. From the Maryville office, she does some general site design, but is primarily responsible for erosion control permitting.

A colleague in VISION’s Sevierville office is an earlier Maryville College graduate, Kevin Hedrick, who also earned bachelor’s degrees through the MC-UT dual-degree program in engineering. Hedrick, the son of Willie and Marie Hedrick of Sevierville and a 1996 graduate of Sevier County High School, finished his bachelor’s degree in engineering at UT in 2001 and a year later, earned a master’s degree in environmental engineering. He worked in the City of Maryville’s Engineering Department for three years before recently joining VISION to work in civil site design.

As an undergraduate student, he maintained a 3.9 GPA while playing football for the Fighting Scots. The Burger King Corporation named him a Division III College Football Scholar Athlete in 1999 and donated $10,000 to the Maryville College general scholarship fund in his name. 

“Small class sizes facilitated frequent interaction between the instructors and students,” Hedrick said. “The education I received at Maryville has served me well in engineering school and the workplace.”

Merritt agreed, pointing out that the composition and speech course she took during her first year at Maryville College prepared her well for presentations she would later make at UT and in her professional life.

“Because of the classes at MC, I felt very confident presenting information to my peers,” she said. “I greatly enjoyed the three years that I spent at Maryville College. I feel that the liberal-arts education that I received while at Maryville contributed to my success in engineering courses at UT.”

Caylor added that the College’s senior study requirement has helped him prepare for writing his master’s thesis.

One of the distinctive features of a Maryville education, the senior study requirement calls for students to complete a two-semester research (one-semester for engineers) and writing project that is guided by a faculty supervisor. According to the College’s catalog, the Senior Study:  The Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression program “facilitates the scholarship of discovery within the major field and integrates those methods with the educational goals fostered through the Maryville Curriculum.”

Open House scheduled for Feb. 4

High school students who are interested in the dual-degree engineering program or any of the other 50 major fields offered at Maryville College are invited to Open House, hosted by the College’s Admissions Office on Feb. 4.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. in the Music Hall of the Fine Arts Center and is soon followed by a welcome session, after which attendees are invited to attend academic program sessions led by College faculty members. Campus tours, sessions for parents and students and lunch are also on the day’s agenda.

While there is no charge for Open House, reservations are required and may be made by calling 865.981.8092 or 1.800.597.2687, by e-mailing the Admissions Office at admissions@maryvillecollege.edu or by filling out an online registration form.

Maryville College is ideally situated in Maryville, Tenn., between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Knoxville, the state's third largest city. Founded in 1819, it is the 12th oldest institution of higher learning in the South and maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Known for its academic rigor and its focus on the liberal arts, Maryville is where students come to stretch their minds, stretch themselves and learn how to make a difference in the world. Total enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is 1,103.