The Office of Research and Engagement and the UT AgResearch Office remain open and operational, and staff are keeping regular business hours to continue to provide support to the university community.

Health Safety Plans, are required for all on-campus facilities that support research, scholarship and creative activities. Anyone engaged in research, scholarship, and creative work on campus or at off-site locations must complete their daily health self-screening check, and if required to self-isolate complete the self-isolation form.

Implementing safe practices for research, scholarship, and creative activities will help limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep faculty, staff, postdocs, students, and the Knoxville community safe.

Find more information on ORE’s COVID-19 Information page.

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Guide to COVID-19 Infection Response in Research Labs, Studios and Creative Spaces: the attached document (also online)  details the necessary procedure for dealing with a case of COVID-19 infection or suspected infection.  This document builds on the more general campus guidance for when a case of COVID-19 is reported, and is designed to assist department heads and lab directors. Continue reading →

We understand that the recent restrictions to research activity have been difficult for researchers and laboratory personnel and appreciate the effort UT faculty, staff, and students have made to keep our community safe. Our focus at this time is on maintaining safety while avoiding damage to people’s research programs. If everyone working in a laboratory or research setting follows the safety guidelines in place, we will minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure and spread among our campus community.

As a reminder, laboratory health safety plans must be in place and approved in order to conduct lab work. These plans should be updated when a) persons are added to the group of individuals working in a lab; b) there are any changes or additions to experimental work that affect health safety plans; or c) there are changes that would lead to persons working alone. Continue reading →

1. Research Activity Level during Phase 2: Consistent with the UT Knoxville Return-to-Work plan, research will continue to operate at a state of reduced activities.  Beginning June 8, permissible laboratory work in Phase 2 is expanded to include exploratory, longer-term, and other research in addition to that required for contractual obligations, student progress, and operational maintenance.

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