A program designed to bring exceptionally accomplished researchers to Tennessee has signed up six of the nation’s top scientists to work jointly at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Governor’s Chairs Program, initiated by Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, set out to exploit and enhance the synergy between the state’s flagship campus and a leading multipurpose national lab.
As many as 20 scientists eventually will be hired for four existing institutes operated jointly by UT Knoxville and ORNL— the Joint Institute for Biological Sciences, the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, the Joint Institute for Neutron Sciences, and the Joint Institute for Advanced Materials Sciences.
The first appointment to the program occurred in 2006, when Jeremy Smith accepted the Governor’s Chair in Molecular Biophysics in the Joint Institute for Biological Sciences. Smith specializes in cross-disciplinary work in computational biology, biophysics, and chemistry. His work has focused recently on using neutron scattering to study bioremediation and protein folding.
In 2009, another five scientists accepted UT–ORNL Governor’s Chairs:
Alexei Sokolov is the Governor’s Chair in Polymer Science and holds appointments in the Department of Chemistry and ORNL’s Division of Chemical Sciences. Sokolov’s work in polymers involves fabricating large molecules atom by atom in an effort to control their properties and create substances with useful characteristics. His work will have implications for the development of fuel-cell technology and other alternative energy applications.
The Governor’s Chair for Global Nuclear Security is Howard Hall, a nuclear chemist who explores ways to detect and control illicit radioactive materials. He also focuses on methods for responding to and recovering from nuclear incidents.
Yilu Liu, an electrical engineer specializing in smart-grid technologies in electrical power production and distribution, holds the Governor’s Chair for Power Electronics. Liu’s work focuses on developing new and better ways to monitor and understand the flow of electrical energy through the nation’s power grid.
FACULTY RECRUITMENT & RETENTION
- UT Knoxville opened the Tennessee Teaching and Learning Center to provide all members of the faculty with opportunities for professional growth through programs, services, and resources that spark creative ways to improve teaching and learning. The center showcases many of the campus’s best-regarded teachers and shares best practices from around the world.
- The university unveiled enhanced benefits for tenured and tenure-track 9-month faculty members, including a paid semester with modified duties when there is a new child in the household, whether by birth, adoption, or foster care. New provisions also provide a year of unpaid leave for family care or for medical reasons involving the faculty member, a spouse, a child, or a parent. The university also offers a variety of other benefits, including professional development leave, leadership development opportunities, family tuition waivers, and faculty and family rates at the campus recreation and wellness center.
- UT Knoxville’s National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), which celebrated its 1-year anniversary, has already created 25 new jobs in Knoxville, 17 of which were filled during the first year. Twenty-one jobs are full time, including benefits. NIMBioS will employ 50 post-doctoral fellows over the next 5 years.
Thomas Zawodzinski also specializes in energy issues. His focus, however, is on ways to make fuel cells and other energy storage technologies more durable over time and to ensure that the cells function properly at high temperatures. He works to improve the basic mechanics of the chemical reactions in fuel cells and batteries. As the Governor’s Chair for Electrical Energy Storage, he serves in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UT and in the Division of Materials Science and Technology at ORNL.
Environmental microbiologist Frank Loeffler holds the Governor’s Chair in Microbiology and Civil and Environmental Engineering. Loeffler’s research centers on discovering ways to clean the environment, counter the damage humans do to ecosystems, and improve environmental health. He studies how naturally occurring bacteria break down pollutants like chlorinated solvents, radioactive wastes, and greenhouse gases.
