Researchers from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Marmara University in Türkiye have received a U.S. design patent for a wearable device intended to help people with essential tremor.
Essential tremor is a neurological movement disorder that can cause involuntary shaking during voluntary movements, making everyday activities such as eating, drinking, writing and using a computer difficult.
The device, which fits around the wrist and forearm, senses tremor and responds in real time. As the system identifies the frequency of a user’s tremor, it’s designed to generate a response that reduces shaking while allowing smoother movement.
Professor Erkan Kaplanoglu, head of UTC’s Department of Engineering Management and Technology and director of the Biomechatronics in Healthcare Initiative, is the lead inventor.
“Essential tremor is very common, especially for elderly people,” Kaplanoglu says. “Whenever they try to grab something or just try to move something, their hands start to tremor, start shaking.”
Researchers designed the device as an affordable, nonsurgical option that users could operate independently. Its modular construction allows components to be configured for different users and body sizes. The system weighs about 1.6 pounds, depending on its configuration.
UTC collaborators include Ahad Nasab, professor of engineering management and technology, and Gazi Akgun, research assistant professor in UTC’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress.
Marmara University researchers also contributed.
The team has developed prototypes and is seeking clinical input, funding, market research and manufacturing capabilities to move the technology toward commercialization. The patent is Kaplanoglu’s second U.S. patent and fourth patent overall.
Enrollment record broken with 11,809
UTC welcomed 11,809 students for the fall 2026 semester, marking the second-highest overall enrollment in the university’s 140-year history and a record for graduate enrollment.
Graduate enrollment reached 1,749 students, up 5% from the previous record of 1,664 set last year. The graduate population includes more than 550 professional and research doctoral students.
UTC also reported a more than 90% increase in dual enrollment compared with fall 2025. The university has expanded dual-enrollment initiatives with local charter schools and continues to host University High on campus, allowing high school students to earn college credit before graduation.
This fall, UTC students represent 93 of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 45 states and 52 countries.
Students curate art exhibition
Works that have spent years or even decades out of public view are on display at UTC’s Institute of Contemporary Art in “Reconsidered Recollections,” an exhibition curated by 24 UTC students.
The exhibition, drawn from UTC’s Permanent Collection of Art, is on view through Tuesday, Sept. 22, when a closing reception will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at ICA Chattanooga in the Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine St.
The university’s permanent collection contains more than 2,200 works.
Featuring paintings, prints, photographs and textiles, the exhibition grew out of ART 4150: Object Archaeology, Research, Writing and Interpretation for the Museum, taught by UC Foundation Assistant Professor of Art Bart Pushaw. Students selected works from the collection, researched their histories and worked together to find connections among pieces that initially appeared unrelated.
One student, junior art education major Natalie Wells, researched an unidentified tapestry that had been stored rolled around a wooden plank with little documentation. Using scholarly sources, articles and newspaper clippings, Wells identified the artist as Pam Reeves Macon, an Atlanta artist who worked in batik during the 1970s.
The students’ research will remain with the works when they return to Special Collections, adding new information about artists, titles and dates to the University’s records.
UTC professor earns aging award
Dr. Kristi Wick, the Vicky B. Gregg Chair of Gerontology and a UC Foundation associate professor in UTC’s College of Nursing, has received the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging’s Trusted Partner in Aging Award.
The award recognizes a state, regional or local partner whose collaboration strengthens services for older adults through resources, education and partnerships.
Wick received the award Sept. 10 in Murfreesboro for work associated with UTC’s MobileMOC program, which provides health and wellness services to older adults in rural communities across Southeast Tennessee.
MobileMOC works with senior centers, healthcare providers, community organizations and the Southeast Tennessee Area Agency on Aging and Disability to bring services directly to older adults who can face barriers including transportation difficulties, geographic isolation and limited access to preventive healthcare.
MobileMOC’s interprofessional team includes UTC faculty and students from nursing, occupational therapy, social work, nutrition and dietetics, and business and finance. Services include health screenings, chronic disease education and management, medication support, cognitive health education, fall prevention, home-safety education and social work intervention.
From April 2025 through August 2026, MobileMOC traveled approximately 23,000 miles and recorded 4,327 clinic encounters in Southeast Tennessee. Students contributed 1,710 hours alongside faculty and community partners.