{"id":1598,"date":"2025-06-10T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/?p=1598"},"modified":"2025-10-14T11:30:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T15:30:35","slug":"cutting-edge-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mae\/news\/cutting-edge-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting-Edge Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"is-style-utkwds-paragraph-large\">New Y-12 Collaboration Has \u2018Transformational\u2019 Potential<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new enhanced collaboration between the University of Tennessee and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.y12.doe.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Y-12 National Security Complex<\/a>\u00a0will lead to career-enhancing opportunities for Tickle College of Engineering students and provide access to world-class facilities at a level never seen before at UT.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Officials with UT and Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex for the NNSA, signed an agreement May 30 to collaborate on initiatives that enhance national security.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the collaboration, the partners will develop a National Security Prototype Center (NSPC) in Oak Ridge to solve complex manufacturing problems, combining Y-12\u2019s experience in high-precision classified manufacturing and UT\u2019s expertise in advanced materials and manufacturing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVery few colleges of engineering have this type of partnership or capabilities, and I am excited about the possibilities for our students and faculty,\u201d said TCE Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis dean of the college. \u201cCombined with the tremendous partnerships we have with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we are continuing to build a world-class ecosystem to address critical national needs in manufacturing, nuclear security, and national security.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to establishing the National Security Prototype Center, the agreement will allow Y-12 and UT to collaborate in other areas:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recruiting a Distinguished Chair for National Security Manufacturing to lead the NSPC program and implement effective collaborations. The position will hold a joint appointment between UT and Y-12.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Creating shared facilities to advance NSPC objectives; UT and Y-12 will create shared facilities to house collaborative NSPC programs supported by the U.S. Department of Defense.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leveraging emerging technologies such as digital twins and extended reality for high-consequence industries. Both parties intend to play a national leadership role in the development and deployment of these technologies in high-consequence environments such as nuclear material and energy production and emergency response.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Delivering hands-on education and training programs for the nation\u2019s future-ready nuclear energy, security, and national defense workforce. Programs will include science, technology, engineering, mathematics and areas related to skilled technical work and will be flexible.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"width:100%\"><div style=\"width: 15%;height: 10px;margin: 40px 0 px;border-bottom: 6px solid #ff8200\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Opening New Doors to Success&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The 60,000-square foot NSPC will allow TCE faculty and students to have access to classified space for manufacturing research and development at a higher level of technology readiness than ever before. The center will focus on turning innovative ideas into prototypes that will provide solutions for the nuclear deterrence, national security, and nuclear energy sectors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs national leaders in advanced manufacturing, partnership on this facility is an excellent opportunity to extend our capabilities and opportunities,\u201d Mench said. \u201cThrough this partnership, our faculty and students will be able to work within world-class facilities at the leading edge of manufacturing and materials science. It will open doors for our research enterprise that we not previously accessible and very few other universities have access to.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The collaboration will provide TCE students with internships and future job opportunities and allow the college to help train future Y-12 workforce through expanded educational offerings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe collaboration between Y-12 and TCE faculty will open up multiple avenues of applied research that is critical to our national security,\u201d said Kivanc Ekici, the head of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering. \u201cI believe MABE department\u2019s prominence in manufacturing will be an asset for this exciting new partnership.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mench was part of a leadership team from both entities that worked to develop the vision for the enhanced collaboration. The pioneering spirit they both share provided a strong framework for future success.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt is a tremendous tribute to the support from the academic leadership at the university and CNS that such a bold vision was implemented so quickly,\u201d Mench said. \u201cIn time, I believe this partnership will be transformational to the college as we continue to work together to maximize the benefits of this partnership to all stakeholders, including the state and region.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"width:100%\"><div style=\"width: 15%;height: 10px;margin: 40px 0 px;border-bottom: 6px solid #ff8200\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683,&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:rpotkey@utk.edu\">rpotkey@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Y-12 Collaboration Has \u2018Transformational\u2019 Potential A new enhanced collaboration between the University of Tennessee and Y-12 National Security Complex\u00a0will lead to career-enhancing opportunities for Tickle College of Engineering students and provide access to world-class facilities at a level never seen before at UT.\u00a0 Officials with UT and Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[485,486],"class_list":["post-1598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-consolidated-nuclear-security","tag-y-12"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cutting-Edge Partnership<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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