The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and MSC Industrial Supply Company have announced a public-private research partnership aimed at advancing machining across the United States.

Under the partnership, MSC’s team of professional metalworking specialists will work closely with undergraduate and graduate students, as well as manufacturers, to conduct research that will enable and drive innovation in smart manufacturing.

To reflect MSC’s commitment to machining research as a premier distributor of metalworking products and services to industrial customers, the Machine Tool Research Center at UT will host the MSC Machining Research Laboratory.

“This partnership provides the presence of MSC as a leader in machining on the UT campus at the Machine Tool Research Center,” said Tickle College of Engineering Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair in the college. “This unique relationship highlights UT’s commitment to manufacturing research, including advanced machining, and provides a tremendous opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to work with MSC on solving real-world machining problems and developing next generation machining capabilities.”

At UT, Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering Professor Tony Schmitz will serve as lead on the project.

Schmitz holds a joint appointment with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and is also director of both the Machine Tool Research Center as well as the Southeastern Advanced Machine Tools Network (SEAMTN), a consortium of companies, colleges and universities, national laboratories, non-profit organizations, and the state of Tennessee that seeks to strengthen the US industrial base.

The full announcement can be seen at MSC.