International Alumnus Visits
left to right: Lynn Patterson, Sheila Burlison, Sandra Baker, Cheol-Khoan Choi, Gary Wilson, & Frank Leach 
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Volume 4 -
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Fall 2006 Past Issues: Archive |
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Web:
www.utm.edu/tiep |
E-mail:
tiep@utm.edu |
In Memory of TIEP Founding Members:
John Eisterhold & Charles Gillon
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UTM’s Visiting Hirosaki Professor Takao Komatsu
The University of Tennessee at Martin and Hirosaki University in Japan have been fortunate to maintain and conduct a visiting professor exchange for over twenty years as part of their sister university relationship. UTM is pleased to have Professor Takao Komatsu as this year’s distinguished visiting professor from Hirosaki. Professor Komatsu is currently teaching a graduate level class, Advanced Number Theory. In addition, he recently spoke on the history of mathematics at his first colloquium and is scheduled to make presentations on specialized topics in number. Professor Komatsu has published numerous articles and technical reports and is co-author of the book Practical Courses for Teachers of Technical Education. Professor Komatsu said that many young people today do not like math because it’s complicated and hard to master. He went on to say, “To accomplish anything, people must make an effort in order to achieve a goal. The first stage is complicated, and if they stop, it doesn’t yield anything, but if they continue and are able to accomplishment something, they have a good feeling about themselves inside.” Komatsu thinks that this is often the case when it comes to the field of mathematics. Komatsu said that a feeling of individual accomplishment, whether small or big, is experienced when a student is able to say, “I got it” or “I could solve it” after having made the effort and achieving success with a complex math problem. Komatsu sees an analogy between solving math problems and running a 10K race. He says, “At first, running a 10K race, like complex math problems, may seem difficult, but with training, a person can achieve success and have a sense of accomplishment in doing something they were not able to do before, and this is an individual feeling.” Running happens to be Professor Komatsu’s hobby. He has been an avid runner since high school and has participated in this activity on and off for the past 20 to 25 years. In this year’s Soybean Festival 5K race, Komatsu achieved a first place finish over all. Professor Komatsu, who will be at UTM through the end of Fall Semester, is here with his wife, Setsuko, and his two sons, Yoshiya and Ibuki. |
Recent Trips
TIEP Instructor Mr. Frank Leach recently visited Japan and met with several TIEP & UT Martin Alumni during his recruiting trip to Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.Mr. Vachik Lazarian has just returned from Thailand and Japan.Ms. Sandra Baker, TIEP Director, was in China and India in October on a University sponsored trip.
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From Spring to Summer 2006, the TIEP Outstanding Student Award has been given each term to a student from Saudi Arabia. The deserving TIEP students were... |
Spring 1
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Fall 1 Winner: Shu-Mi Yu (Connie) from Taiwan
Korean Winner of Fall 2: Min-Ku Chang
Ratchtar Karasuddhi |
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Ratchtar Karasuddhi
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Liliana PalaciosTIEP recently heard from Liliana Palacios. She recently spend 10 months in Ethiopia where she worked as a nurse with the international organization Doctors Without Borders. She worked in the Amhara region. At the time of her e-mail she was in Spain and was about to leave to return home to her native Colombia. She wants to maintain contact with friends made during her stay in Martin. She wrote that we should say “Aisoh” (Amharic word) to everyone. Thanks to Liliana for the inspiring news! Anita LuhulimaAnita Luhulima attended TIEP in the early 90s and recently contacted TIEP via Sandra Baker recently with fantastic news. After finishing her first assignment in Geneva, Switzerland, Anita began working in the Embassy of Indonesia as First Secretary in Washington, DC. Her husband is also an Indonesian diplomat and they have one daughter. Anita has just received a full scholarship from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston for a program involving residency in both Boston, Massachusetts and Buenos Aires, Argentina. An Outstanding Couple! ...Ten years later...Two former TIEP students from Taiwan were married nearly two years ago. On two separate occasions, each was named Outstanding TIEP Student in 1996. Fang-Yi Wei (Flora) spent two semesters at UT Martin after finishing TIEP and continued her Bachelor's degree at UT Knoxville and her Ph.D in Communications Broadcasting at the University of Memphis where she has been teaching as part of the Fellowship Program there. She recently visited TIEP and chatted with us while on her way to a job interview for Assistant Professor with the Dept. of Communications at UT Martin. Her husband, Jeng-Hon Wei, also a former TIEP student, is currently an Environmental Engineer in Atlanta for the Georgia State Government. Congratulations to the successful couple! It is a pleasure to hear news directly from our former TIEP students. Thank you for remembering us. All of us at TIEP wish you both the best of continuing success! |
E-mail from TIEP Alumni
Amjad Jallad wished us Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2006 and wrote: I want to let you know that you still in my heart and my memories and I never forget the kindness and hospitality that you provided me all the time. Also, I consider my success is because of your knowledge and information that you taught me. Thank you. By the way, currently I work at General Motors and I'm married. I have 2 boys and I'm expecting a third one. May God bless all of you, Best regards, Amjad Jallad |
Marcela Rincon wrote about her trip home: Thanks and good luck with Spring I! Hello… at first I want to say thanks for being part of my experience at Martin during the last six months. This has been full of good memories and knowledge… most of that because of each one of you. I’m still in the US enjoying the beauty of Florida and having the last chance to get some rest. I’m going home by the end of January and I’m planning to find a good job as soon as possible. Also, I want to wish you all good luck for the new term, which if I’m not wrong, is starting tomorrow. Thanks again.
Marcela Rincon Marcela recently e-mailed again to let us know that she is now working for an insurance company. |
Maria Esteves is a friend of TIEP and former student whose mother Carmen used to work in the International Programs Office. She writes: Hello! My name is Susanna D'Lacoste. I was born in January at 1:19 AM I weighed 3.8 Kilos and measured 51 centimeters. All our best wishes for you and yours in 2006! Susanna Maria C. Esteves & Jose L. D'Lacoste Good News!!From: Walter Sanchez _____________________________________ Yousaku Ohshima sent us a delightful greeting in Dec. 2005 and several photos of his travels. This particular trip was to New York City with views of Rockefeller Center and the night-lit skyline. Thanks for sharing your travels with us Yousaku! |
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Lynn Patterson's Grammar Class - Fall 2006 |
Alumni, please send your latest news and photos!We would love to hear from you! |
