Research Partners & Facilities
Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
UT is a global leader in materials and manufacturing research and innovation, and the Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM) is the centralized base for this work. IAMM connects the many distributed facilities found throughout UT’s physical footprint where multidisciplinary efforts span bioderived materials for the circular economy to resilient materials for use in harsh environments. Through co-location of academic, industry, and government teams, IAMM supports the investigation, synthesis, and characterization of advanced materials and their fabrication into working prototypes and manufactured products.
With partners spanning the globe, UT’s Quantum Center at IAMM has powerful tools to create and characterize quantum matter, including large-scale simulations, scanning tunneling microscopy, angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, neutron scattering, resources for single crystal and epitaxial growth, and SQUID magnetometry.
IAMM’s core facilities are equipped with an extensive collection of leading-edge technologies and capabilities and are staffed by domain experts.
Nineteen physics faculty members are affiliated with IAMM.
Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
UT’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (UTK-MRSEC), the Center for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (CAMM), brings together experts from diverse fields to make groundbreaking discoveries materials for future quantum technologies, and advanced materials for extreme conditions, which are crucial for energy, transport, and security. The center utilizes the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in tandem with experiment, synthesis, and modeling. At the core of CAMM is a culture of research, innovation, and learning. The center is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and works closely with minority serving institutions in the Southeast US to address the lack of diversity in STEM fields.
CAMM’s facilities include state-of-the-art equipment for materials synthesis, structural characterization, electronic structure studies, and physical property measurements.
Joint Faculty Physics Professor Alan Tennant serves as CAMM’s director, while Professor and Department Head Adrian Del Maestro leads the quantum materials initiative.
Shull Wollan Center
Joint Faculty Physics Professor Alan Tennant is director of the SWC; Professor Cristian Batista is the assistant director.
The Shull Wollan Center is dedicated to promoting excellence in advancing the application of neutrons to the forefront of science and industry and to the training and education of future researchers. The center is located on the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) site at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. A purpose-built facility funded by the State of Tennessee, the center contains conference and office space to support workshops, lectures, and temporary workspaces for visiting scientists, postdocs, and students. The center also contains eight laboratory facilities, which are available for use by all SWC visitors and affiliates.
Joint Institute for Nuclear Physics and Applications
Physics Professor Robert Grzywacz is director of JINPA.
The primary mission of the Joint Institute of Nuclear Physics and Applications, JINPA, is to promote and support basic nuclear physics research and nuclear and radiological applications of common interest to the participants by providing an intellectual center and support for researchers working in the Joint Institute, to the mutual benefit of the sponsors and participants.
UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute
The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute was launched by the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2021, in response to America’s need for a stronger pool of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the world’s premier research institution, empowering leaders and teams to pursue breakthroughs in an environment marked by operational excellence and engagement with the communities where we live and work. UT-Battelle, LLC, was established in 2000 as a private not-for-profit company for the sole purpose of managing and operating the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. Formed as a 50-50 limited liability partnership between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute, UT-Battelle is the legal entity responsible delivering the Department of Energy’s research mission at ORNL.
ORNL Spallation Neutron Source
SNS produces neutrons with an accelerator-based system that delivers short (microsecond) proton pulses to a steel target filled with liquid mercury through a process called spallation. Those neutrons are then directed toward state-of-the-art instruments that provide a variety of capabilities to researchers across a broad range of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. SNS is available to researchers around the world with varying degrees of experience. Submitted research proposals are reviewed by independent scientists from within the neutron scattering community to ensure the most promising ones are chosen.