Lee Shippy
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) recently profiled CBE doctoral student Lee Shippy and his relationship with his longtime mentors, Professor Pete Counce and Adjunct Professor Jack Watson.
Shippy completed his master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1990. Over the years, Shippy kept in touch with Counce and Watson, calling them up with questions about his work.
“I look to them as experts in their fields, and if I have a question, they’re open. They’re very welcoming,” Shippy said.
In 2018, he returned to East Tennessee to work at Y-12 National Security Complex and obtain his PhD under the guidance of his previous advisors. Their research together has resulted in a patent-pending technology that could lower production costs for rare earth and other metals in industries such as consumer electronics and battery manufacturing.