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About

The University of Tennessee is committed to making life and lives better through AI research, education, and application.

Assistant Professor Zhenbo Wang holds a nano drone in the Autonomous Systems Laboratory in the Nathan W. Dougherty Engineering Building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Our AI Tennessee Gateway

We are helping Tennessee communities and organizations leverage the benefits of AI and mitigate its risks. Working with academic, industry, and community partners, we are shaping the future of Tennessee as a leader in the AI-powered knowledge economy.

“By harnessing the power of transdisciplinary research across our institution—and in collaboration with partners across Tennessee—we are making AI actionable, deployable, and built to make a difference. AI Tennessee is expanding our impact statewide by aligning research, education, and workforce development efforts to meet the evolving needs of our communities and industries.” 

—Vasileios Maroulas, Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of the AI Tennessee Initiative

Pillars

  • Research
  • Education and workforce development 
  • Infrastructure 
  • Partnerships 
  • Community engagement
The Molecular Beam Epitaxy Core Facility at the University of Tennessee.

Goals

  • Advance cutting-edge research and creative activity across all disciplines at their intersections with AI 
  • Expand the number of Tennessee students developing skills and core competencies in AI to prepare them for the AI-enabled jobs of today and tomorrow
  • Partner with industry and institutions statewide to position Tennessee as a national and global leader in the AI-powered knowledge economy 

“AI is a huge growth area and priority for the federal government, for the state of Tennessee, and for UT. We are educating more students to be fluent in those technologies and tools, and we are investing in faculty who will contribute advancements to the innovation economy that benefit the citizens of Tennessee and the nation.” 

—Jennifer Webster, Chief of Staff, UT Office of Research, Innovation, and Economic Development

AI Tennessee

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Research Areas

AI for Education and Workforce Development
AI for Knowledge and Discovery
AI Systems
Applied AI
Fundamentals of AI

Research Gateways

UT Research supports five Gateways defining the university’s strategic priorities—AI Tennessee is one of them. Find out about the other four gateways here.

The university is recruiting top-tier faculty members to join two cluster hires, one in Foundational Artificial Intelligence and one in Science-Informed Artificial Intelligence.
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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
865-974-1000

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.

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