Partnerships
Leveraging the co-location of academic, corporate, and government R&D teams to support technology translation.
UT prizes partnerships with industry, which inform and support use-inspired research, accelerate the pace of technology commercialization, and strengthen our education and training programs. UT students are often hired by our industry partners. For more information on our corporate partnership programs, contact our Partnerships team.
“Our goals with the institute are to create a broad tapestry of researchers not constrained by a physical location while creating opportunities for collaboration with industry partners, national labs, and other universities, colleges, and K-12 partners.”
—Jon Phipps, IAMM Director of Operations
Placed-based Innovation & Partnerships
UT’s place-based initiatives weave together research, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and economic supports to advance inclusive innovation-focused economic growth.
IAMM has a significant presence on the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm, a mixed-use innovation hub developed to co-locate academic and industry R&D, workforce development, and start-up incubation programs. Strategic corporate partners like Volkswagen embed their R&D teams on the Cherokee Farm campus.
Explore co-location opportunities at the UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm
IAMM also supports programs in UT’s Manufacturing & Design Enterprise, a Knoxville-based facility that co-locates programs supported by manufacturing companies, UT, and community and technical college partners.
Impactful Partnerships
BAE Systems
UT partners with BAE Systems on projects in support of the US Army. BAE Systems is an international defense, aerospace, and security company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions, and customer support services.
Eastman Innovation Center
In 2022, Eastman extended its years-long relationship with UT through this dedicated innovation center, located at UT. The partnership is deeply focused on materials science and chemical engineering solutions to better understand and develop solutions for a more sustainable world.
Lockheed Martin
UT and defense technology company Lockheed Martin announced the signing of a new five-year master research agreement, reinforcing a longstanding partnership that helps UT take its research capabilities from the lab to the field.
Volkswagen
In 2020, Volkswagen and UT announced the UT Research Park as the home of the first Volkswagen North American Innovation Hub. The hub harnesses the expertise and capabilities of UT, Volkswagen, and ORNL with a multi-project focus on composites; creating novel, bio-derived materials for a circular economy; wireless fast charging; and more to find practical and sustainable solutions.
Y-12 National Security Protype Center
UT and Y-12 signed an agreement to collaborate on initiatives that enhance national security. As part of that collaboration, the partners will develop a National Security Prototype Center in Oak Ridge, TN to solve complex manufacturing problems.
On-Campus Opportunities
The SPARK Innovation Center provides early-stage technology companies access to faculty and student talent, world-class research labs and facilities, and the entrepreneurial support they need to become successful companies.
New ventures formed by UT innovators to commercialize their technologies tap the wrap-around services provided by UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, including its NSF I-Corps program and Alumni Mentor programs, as well as Technology Maturation and proof-of-concept funding available through the Chancellor’s Venture Fund and the University of Tennessee Research Foundation.
Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students considering careers as entrepreneurs in high-growth companies participate in entrepreneurship training coordinated through the Graduate School.