AI Tennessee
Positioning Tennessee as a powerhouse for AI innovation and impact
Innovating with Purpose
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, launched AI Tennessee to develop and deploy artificial intelligence solutions that advance the health and prosperity of communities and organizations throughout Tennessee.
Modeling Interdisciplinary Exploration
AI Tennessee taps the ingenuity and expertise of multidisciplinary communities of researchers and educators—at UT and other Tennessee colleges and universities—to serve the state’s people and organizations.
Aligning interests statewide
AI Tennessee is aligning government, industry, and academic efforts across Tennessee to ensure that AI contributes to growth in key economic sectors including nuclear energy and security, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and forestry, health care, and mobility.
RESEARCH AREAS
applied ai
UT researchers explore how AI systems such as natural language processing, digital twins, and robotics are implemented and influence decision-making in real-world settings. They apply tools developed by our systems experts to improve policy, logistics, and resource management. Their work supports diverse applications, from disease detection and supply chain resilience to investment strategies and lending decisions.
ai for education and workforce development
UT faculty create and share tools that help students and educators engage with AI responsibly. Beyond preparing the next-generation workforce, they are leading efforts to upskill and reskill current workers. This work empowers Tennesseans of all ages, in settings from classrooms to factory floors to C-suite offices, to build the skills and competencies they need to thrive in an AI-driven world.
Learn about AI for Education and Workforce Development Research at UT
AI for new Knowledge and discovery
AI and scientific discovery are deeply interconnected. UT researchers leverage AI to uncover new physical laws, chemical properties, and advanced materials, driving innovation in high-impact sectors like smart manufacturing. They also apply scientific principles to improve AI itself, increasing the accuracy and reliability of AI-driven automation by developing models and simulations that adhere to the physical and chemical laws governing real-world processes.
Learn about AI for New Knowledge and Discovery Research at UT
ai systems
UT researchers are advancing AI systems by developing more efficient machine learning pipelines, improving knowledge representation, and reducing energy consumption while boosting computational performance. They are designing, optimizing, and deploying new AI architectures to serve critical sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, cybersecurity, and health care. This work includes innovations in edge computing, embodied agents, and multi–agent systems, all engineered to tackle real-world challenges and enable real-time decision-making.
Fundamentals of AI
Tackling increasingly complex real-world challenges with AI demands continued advances in foundational capabilities. Our researchers are working on the theories, hardware, software, and models that underpin neuromorphic, quantum, hybrid, and other high-performance computing systems; core investigations into the gap between machine and human intelligence; advances in deep learning and other machine learning techniques; and the development of trustworthy and explainable AI.
World-Class Faculty
Our faculty represent colleges and disciplines across UT. These experts are transforming AI and its uses in the lab and in everyday applications. They are collaborating to solve complex challenges in AI theory, computing hardware, discovery-enabling algorithms, domain-specialized applications, and policy. In every field, they are driving impact.
As part of its cluster hire initiative, UT is recruiting faculty who share a passion for advancing and deploying AI to tackle the critical challenges facing Tennessee and the world. Visit the cluster hiring website to learn more.
AI Tennessee News
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Uncovering How the Brain Adapts—and Why It Sometimes Can’t
From learning instruments to mastering sports, the brain constantly adapts in response to experience through an ability known as plasticity. UT neuroscientist Keerthi Krishnan studies what happens when this process goes awry, aiming to uncover insights that could inform treatments for neurological disorders.
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UT Names New Governor’s Chair for Quantum Devices
Jariwala, a leading scholar in quantum materials and next-generation electronic devices, studies novel materials that can be used to create “microchips of the future.” He will establish a new research lab for material deposition and characterization, building on UT’s existing expertise in quantum materials and expanding the university’s leadership in artificial intelligence.
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Kalinin Receives SEC Faculty Achievement Award
Sergei Kalinin, Weston Fulton Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in UT’s Tickle College of Engineering, has received a 2026 SEC Faculty Achievement Award for driving innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence and materials science.
