University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute

NEW INVENTION ALERT - UT-ORII's Michael Toomey is working with a team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers on a new invention to address the long-standing challenge of inorganic phase change materials' use in building envelopes by encapsulating them in a secondary sheath. Toomey is a R&D associate in ORNL's Chemical Sciences Division and part of UT-ORII's Clean Manufacturing and Advanced Materials convergent research initiative. This new innovation was featured as one of ORNL's top new inventions for March 2025. Way to go, Toomey and team! https://lnkd.in/eMWXTa68 University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee Research Randy Boyd

Why should we care about modeling river ice breakups over Alaska? During the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium this week, Russ Limber, a PhD candidate with the Bredesen Center's Data Science and Engineering program, shared how the lessons learned from the river ice breakups in Alaska can help us in the future. Limber and about 40 other UT and ORNL researchers and graduate research students shared their research this week during UT-ORII's Annual Research Symposium. Limber works with ORNL's Jitendra Kumar on his research through the Bredesen Center's UT-ORNL joint graduate program. Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education University of Tennessee, Knoxville Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee System Jitendra Kumar

Hugh Medal, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, is involved in a Science Alliance-funded StART project that will help ensure electricity to homes and businesses during disruptive weather events like big storms and tornadoes. Medal presented his research at today's UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium. Medal's goal is to develop interoperable and flexible Microgrid Design and Planning Tools (MDPT) that would effectively conduct real-time, long-term planning and reconfiguration for large-scale power distribution networks. The project is unique because it is the first to consider redefining the boundaries of microgrids as part of the reconfiguration responses while factoring in the unique disturbances stemming from the adoption of Variable Renewable Energies (VREs). The VREs refer to electricity generation technologies where the primary energy source varies depending on weather conditions and cannot easily be stored, such as solar, wind, ocean and some hydropower generation technologies. Medal said his team plans to strategically place backup power sources called Distributed Generation Sources (DGs) in different areas. That way, even if a large part of the main power network goes down, these backup power sources can connect the loads and form microgrids that can operate independently and efficiently provide power to the affected area. Medal is collaborating with ORNL researchers Guodong Liu and Yang Cheng. Medal is also mentoring UT doctoral student Dhiraj Pokhrel. The Science Alliance's Support for Affiliated Research Teams (StART) program was designed to deepen the collaborative spirit between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee Research Hugh Medal

Could AI Coding Assistants Be Creating Security Risks for SMART Cars? Doowon Kim, an assistant professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is teaming up with researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to tackle security threats in connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). Their focus? Defending against "poisoning attacks" on AI-powered coding assistant tools and other security vulnerabilities. Kim is leading one of the 11 joint teams of UT and ORNL researchers funded through the Science Alliance's Support for Affiliated Research Teams (StART) program in FY 24. Kim shared their team's progress at the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium yesterday. The Science Alliance and UT-ORII invested over $2.5 million in strengthening UT-ORNL research collaborations in FY24. Kim highlighted that while CAV technology promises safer, more efficient, transportation through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, security remains a major gap. “Adversaries can inject forged or malicious information into the CAV ecosystem, leading to wrong decisions and safety risks like car accidents,” Kim explained. “Our goal is to strengthen security and safety in the CAV ecosystem.” Kim is collaborating with Jinghui Yuan, a research and development associate at ORNL’s Vehicle Systems Integration Research Group, and other experts at UT and ORNL to fortify CAV systems against these emerging threats. Stay tuned for updates on this cutting-edge research! Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory Randy Boyd Doowon Kim Jinghui Yuan Kevin Heaslip Lei Cheng

Steven Tavis presented his research on Stable Isotope Labeling Proteomics at today's University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium. Tavis is a PhD candidate in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education's Genome Science and Technology programs --- one of UT's three joint graduate programs with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Tavis is working with ORNL's Robert Hettich and Dana Carper and Caltech's Victoria Orphan and Magdalena Mayr. The project is funded by DOE's Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee Research #utorii

Hugh Medal, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering, is involved in a Science Alliance-funded StART project that will help ensure electricity to homes and businesses during disruptive weather events like big storms and tornadoes. Medal presented his research at today's UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium. Medal's goal is to develop interoperable and flexible Microgrid Design and Planning Tools (MDPT) that would effectively conduct real-time, long-term planning and reconfiguration for large-scale power distribution networks. The project is unique because it is the first to consider redefining the boundaries of microgrids as part of the reconfiguration responses while factoring in the unique disturbances stemming from the adoption of Variable Renewable Energies (VREs). The VREs refer to electricity generation technologies where the primary energy source varies depending on weather conditions and cannot easily be stored, such as solar, wind, ocean and some hydropower generation technologies. Medal said his team plans to strategically place backup power sources called Distributed Generation Sources (DGs) in different areas. That way, even if a large part of the main power network goes down, these backup power sources can connect the loads and form microgrids that can operate independently and efficiently provide power to the affected area. Medal is collaborating with ORNL researchers Guodong Liu and Yang Cheng. Medal is also mentoring UT doctoral student Dhiraj Pokhrel. The Science Alliance's Support for Affiliated Research Teams (StART) program was designed to deepen the collaborative spirit between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee Research Hugh Medal

At today’s UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Annual Research Symposium, Ark Ifeanyi, a PhD candidate in the Bredesen Center's Energy Science and Engineering joint UT-ORNL graduate program, shared his research on Prognostics and Health Management for Nuclear Power Reliability and Maintenance. Ifeanyi is working under the guidance of Professor Jamie Coble at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Nuclear Energy University Program — driving advancements in predictive maintenance and improving the reliability of nuclear energy systems. Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System University of Tennessee Research Brynn Voy

Today, at the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Second Annual Research Symposium, Bredesen Center graduate student FADY ANEES discussed his research on the benefits of Dual-Source Heat Pumps in Cold Climates. Anees is a PhD candidate in the Bredesen Center's Energy Science and Engineering joint UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory graduate program. Anees was one of about 50 UT and ORNL researchers and graduate students who presented their groundbreaking work at UT-ORII's research symposium. University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee SystemUniversity of Tennessee Research Oak Ridge National Laboratory #utorii

Tianchun Xue presented her research on Characterizing the Location and Effect of Radiation-Induced DNA Damage at today's University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute's Second Annual Research Symposium. Xue is a PhD candidate in the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education's Genome Science and Technology programs --- one of UT's three joint graduate programs with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Xue works in Rachel Patton McCord's lab at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. University of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System Oak Ridge National Laboratory University of Tennessee Research

Today at the University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute’s Annual Research Symposium, participants learned how UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are joining forces to develop radiopharmaceuticals to diagnose and treat neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) — a rare and highly vascularized type of tumor. Alexis Sanwick, a nuclear engineering graduate student at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, presented details about this important research. Sanwick is working under the leadership of UT Assistant Professor Ivis Chaple Gore, PhD and Nikki Thiele, a staff scientist in ORNL’s Chemical Sciences Division. Gore’s research is supported by the Science Alliance’s StART program, which funds collaborative research between UT and ORNL. NETs affect about four in every 100,000 people, according to the National Institutes of Health — and currently, there are only a handful of FDA-approved radiopharmaceuticals available to diagnose and treat them. Survival rates vary, with pancreatic NETs posing the highest risk, as fewer than 25% of patients survive beyond five years post-diagnosis. This work reflects UT-ORII’s commitment to advancing radiopharmaceutical therapies through its newest Convergent Research Initiative, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville University of Tennessee System UTHSC Office of Research University of Tennessee Research