Institute for Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
UT is launching the Knoxville Quantum Accelerator (K-Quantum) to strengthen the region’s leadership in quantum technologies and translate quantum innovation into tangible economic benefits for companies and communities across Tennessee.
Orlando J. Rojas, an internationally recognized leader in sustainable materials science, has been named the UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair for Circular Biomaterials. Rojas’ work centers on soft matter. He seeks to understand how nature assembles complex, hierarchical materials from abundant molecular building blocks, and to translate those principles into industrially relevant, sustainable and cost-effective technologies.
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.
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.
The high-heat flux facility will evaluate how materials react under extreme conditions in a fusion device. The results will enable both private and public entities to qualify and validate the materials used in fusion pilot plant designs.
Hua “Kevin” Bai and Sheng Dai have been elected National Academy of Inventors Fellows — the highest professional distinction awarded to inventors.
