ResearchResearch
Over the past several years, the college’s research portfolio has grown by leaps and bounds, with a steady increase in funding and significant growth in PhD students. This growth, spurred by the increased quality of our faculty’s research and additional leadership, has enhanced support of graduate programs and new facilities.
Each of the college’s departments maintains an active research portfolio across a wide range of disciplines that often merge for impactful interdisciplinary approaches in the areas of basic and applied engineering and science.
The college also actively encourages and supports undergraduate research experiences to help build strong scientific inquiry among our future engineers.
Much of our research is supported through industry and multi-institutional partnerships, large multi-year grants, and several research centers. As a regional driver of economic development, the college fosters public and private sector innovation, entrepreneurial activity, and job creation through key partnerships, grants, contracts, and other outreach services.
A large part of our success in obtaining more grants than ever in recent years is due to the concierge-level support of the college’s Engineering Research Office. ERO works in concert with the UT Office of Research, Innovation & Economic Development to maximize the support of faculty research productivity across a wide variety of agencies.
University
research
The University of Tennessee is home to thousands of world-class faculty, staff, students, and partners conducting research, scholarship, and creative work at the forefront of knowledge, unlocking solutions to complex challenges and serving the people of Tennessee and communities far beyond.
Research Expenditures
The college has $83.5M in annual research expenditures from NSF, DoE and UT-Battelle, DoD, industry, the State of Tennessee, and other federal and private agencies.
Full-Time Equivalent Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty
The Tickle College of Engineering houses 16 percent of the university’s tenure-line faculty producing more than 50 percent of the university’s externally awarded research expenditures.
24
Early Career Awards since 2016
(Meet our Early Career Awardees)
10
UT-ORNL Governor’s Chairs
2
members of the National
Academy of Engineering
1
Turing Award Winners
Recent Research Highlights
With $5M Award, NSF Selects UT to Lead Global Center for Sustainable Bioproducts
The University of Tennessee (UT) has received a $5 million grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to start tackling one of the world’s biggest scientific challenges. UT’s award…
Surgical Robot Project Receives Up to $12 Million in ARPA-H Funding
MABE Associate Professor Caleb Rucker and a team from the University of Tennessee are part of a landmark, multi-institution surgical robot project that received up to $12 million in funding from ARPA-H.
MRSEC Sparks Collaborative Success
It’s been one year since the UT received a prestigious Materials Research Science and Engineering Center and the collaborations have led to breakthroughs in the lab and an appreciation for a different style of research.