How UT is Helping Make East Tennessee a Top Destination for Nuclear Energy
UT Knoxville has one of the best nuclear engineering programs in the country and some of the world’s top experts in the field. We have a unique partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and on-going collaborations with the Tennessee Valley Authority and Y-12 National Security Complex.
East Tennessee is home to more than 150 nuclear-related companies and the state has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening our nuclear economy with the creation of the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council and new investments in workforce development.
This confluence of partnership and resources is why no region is better positioned to be a national leader in nuclear innovation than East Tennessee—and why no institution is better prepared to help lead us there than UT.
The Future is Nuclear
Nuclear energy is the largest domestic source of carbon-free, sustainable, and always-on electricity. Nuclear technologies are the future of clean energy, precision medicine, and national security.
Demand for nuclear energy will continue to increase as reliance on artificial intelligence and complex data analysis grows, said Brian Wirth, head of UT’s nuclear engineering department and the UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair in computational nuclear engineering, for data centers place a heavy and growing burden on the nation’s electric power grid.
Recognizing the opportunity at hand, the state has been putting resources toward cementing Tennessee’s place as the nation’s top destination for the nuclear industry and innovation.
In 2023, Gov. Bill Lee established the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, which included experts from UT, to advise on ways to support the state’s growing nuclear industry. Among the findings were both the recognition of “significant” existing education assets in Tennessee and the need to bolster them even more.
In May, the governor announced funding for a new UT minor in nuclear engineering, providing expertise in the field to students pursuing other degrees. This will shorten the amount of time employers spend training new hires.
Complementing the growing enrollment in nuclear engineering programs at UT, Gov. Lee and his administration are also investing in programs at Tennessee Tech University and at the state’s technical and community colleges, supporting workforce development across all education levels.
Recruiting Industry to Tennessee
UT is also helping to recruit new nuclear companies to the region. In February, Type One Energy announced it would invest more than $220 million to establish a new headquarters in Knoxville and expand fusion R&D with the construction of the Infinity One device at the retired Bull Run coal plant.
In September, Orano USA officials announced their selection of Oak Ridge as the location to construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility, creating more than 300 new jobs.
In his comments about Orano’s announcement, Gov. Lee called Tennessee “the number one state for nuclear energy companies to invest and thrive.”
The state’s recruitment and workforce efforts build on a legacy in nuclear innovation and will drive continued investment in a nuclear energy ecosystem for the future of Tennessee.
Driving Innovation
At UT, we are working to both prepare the workforce that will support our growing nuclear economy and drive innovation through research and economic development.
Faculty in our Institute for Nuclear Security are collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex to improve radiation detectors and enable the optimized design of advanced nuclear reactors. The Department of Energy selected UT to lead eight national labs and 15 other universities in a $25 million nuclear consortium aimed at advancing knowledge and innovation around global security, clean energy, and artificial intelligence.
The Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing at UT, a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, is using our expertise in AI, advanced materials and nuclear energy to create high-performance materials designed for use in nuclear reactors supporting nuclear fission and fusion.
Top-Ranked Nuclear Engineering Department
Students studying in the Zeanah Engineering Complex are working with state-of-the-art fusion based technology and designing experiments to improve the detection of illicit transportation of contraband. This hands-on experience is preparing them for careers in nuclear engineering and adjacent fields like applied physics, electrical engineering, and computer science.
It’s also why UT ranks No. 6 among nuclear engineering programs in the nation. UT’s department is nationally recognized for its work on nuclear security and non-proliferation, the sustainability and expansion of nuclear power, and advancing radiological engineering.
With an estimated 40,000-plus jobs across Tennessee in the nuclear industry, we are not only preparing UT graduates to step into these roles but taking our land-grant promise to serve Tennesseans beyond our own campus. We are working closely with high schools and technical and community colleges across the state to provide dual credit classes to encourage interest in nuclear careers and to support the future of Tennessee’s growing industry.
The future of energy is nuclear, and the future of nuclear is right here in Tennessee.
By working alongside state and local government organizations, industry leaders, and partners like Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Lab, UT is committed to helping the state realize its full potential.
We will continue to collaborate with partners and leaders in our state to develop solutions—like the provision of clean, affordable, safe and secure power—that are important to our fellow Tennesseans.