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Jamie Coble has been named the Tickle College of Engineering’s first Southern Company Faculty Fellow in recognition of her work as an assistant professor of nuclear engineering.

“I’m honored and grateful to have been selected for this recognition and to be associated with Southern Company, given it operates and is expanding its nuclear power operations,” Coble said. “This will enable me to focus even more on the issues surrounding the safety, sustainability, and economic competitiveness of nuclear power as a key carbon-free energy source.”

Southern Company is America’s premier energy company, with 46,000 megawatts of generating capacity and 1,500 billion cubic feet of combined natural gas consumption and throughput volume, serving 9 million customers through its subsidiaries.

Operations include nearly 200,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines and more than 80,000 miles of natural gas pipeline. Southern Company’s nuclear energy facilities generate more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity, and the addition of Vogtle nuclear units 3 and 4 will add about 2,200 megawatts.

The company, headquartered in Atlanta, has been a strong partner of the college, providing co-op experiences for large numbers of students and jobs for alumni.

Kim Greene, a 1988 UT engineering graduate, is the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“Professor Coble is an outstanding educator who has earned several honors as a result of her work to improve nuclear reactors,” Greene said. “Her research, which largely focuses on making nuclear energy more economically competitive while meeting strict safety standards, is vital to our industry.

“We have partnered with the University of Tennessee to create the faculty fellow position to further solidify our relationship with the university. Its Tickle College of Engineering is committed to excellence in scientific research and the training of engineering professionals in all disciplines.”

Brad Adams, Southern Nuclear’s vice president of engineering, added, “We’re happy to partner with scholars in the field of nuclear energy as we work to innovate the generation of clean, safe, and reliable nuclear energy. I am impressed with Professor Coble’s nuclear engineering experience, particularly in reliability and maintenance, and I look forward to the advancements we can make with the work we do together.”

Coble earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in nuclear engineering at UT in 2005, 2006, and 2010, respectively, as well as a master’s in reliability and maintenance engineering from UT in 2009.

After spending two years as a scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, she returned to UT in 2013 and has been a key faculty member in the department.

Coble is a member of the American Nuclear Society (ANS), Women in Nuclear, and Tau Beta Pi, and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

She is an active member of the governance of the ANS’s Human Factors, Instrumentation, and Control Division and has participated in International Atomic Energy Agency research programs on nuclear plant monitoring, digital instrumentation and control, and cybersecurity.

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CONTACT:

David Goddard (865-974-0683, david.goddard@utk.edu)