Partnerships
Leveraging the co-location of academic, corporate, and government R&D teams to support technology translation.
UT supports convening and collaboration programming to strengthen and nurture academic-industry-government collaborations. UT provides concierge services to strategic external partners, including private and public sector organizations, and to all research teams based in UT’s facilities.
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
Impactful Partnerships
America’s Cutting Edge
Managed by IACMI through an agreement with the Department of Defense (DOD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program, ACE is a national Computer Numerical Control machine training program. Developed by UT Professor Tony Schmitz, the joint DOD and Department of Energy (DOE) initiative is helping reestablish American leadership in the machine tool industry through transformative thinking, technological innovation, and workforce development. The curriculum combines advanced training tools and techniques from UT, the scientific expertise of DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL, and the proven workforce development capabilities of IACMI.
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.
IACMI — The Composites Institute
A world leader in composites, IACMI was funded by the Department of Energy in 2017. IACMI advances discovery and innovation in composites and so contributes to the nation’s energy and economic security. The needs of more than 150 IACMI corporate partners shape its research foci, which support a growing advanced composites sector while de-risking technologies and supporting a robust supply chain. IACMI also engages educational, economic development, trade, and professional organizations to develop workforce capabilities that are critical to the growth of companies of all sizes.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 114,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Lockheed Martin Huntsville, Alabama, location supports the backbone of America’s missile defense with the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system.
The University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, is less than an hour from Huntsville, and works in partnership with Lockheed Martin to achieve the national missions of the Department of Defense, NASA, and the aerospace industry.
SEAMTN
Led by UT, SEAMTN is a consortium of companies, colleges and universities, national laboratories, non-profit organizations, and the State of Tennessee that seeks to strengthen the US industrial base by investing in machine tool research and development, education, workforce development, and supply chain support. SEAMTN is part of the 2021 cohort for new defense manufacturing communities established and funded by the Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP).
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 Complex
The Y-12 National Security Complex is a premier manufacturing facility dedicated to making the nation and the world a safer place and plays a vital role in the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Security Enterprise. Y-12 helps ensure a safe and effective US nuclear weapons deterrent. Y-12 also retrieves and stores nuclear materials, fuels the nation’s naval reactors, and performs complementary work for other government and private-sector entities.
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.