Innovation South Facility opens in UT’s Research Park

From left: Andin Faison of Partners Development; Deborah Crawford, vice chancellor for research; Matthew Mench, dean of the Tickle College of Engineering; Uday Vaidya, UT-ORNL Governor's Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing; Donde Plowman, chancellor; Orlando Diaz of Partners Development; and Brett Malone, president and CEO of Cherokee Farm Development Corporation, during Innovation South’s recent grand opening. (Photo from University of Tennessee) 

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility and Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation now have a new home complete with additional lab space for testing composite materials, a recent announcement from the university said.

According to a news release, the two programs will be housed at Innovation South facility in UT’s Research Park at Cherokee Farm, located just off Alcoa Highway across the Tennessee River from the flagship university’s main campus. The building features a 40,000-square-foot high bay and laboratory space for UT faculty, students, and industry collaborators to prototype and test sustainable composite materials used in advanced manufacturing, precision agriculture, architecture, and automotive applications.

The announcement said faculty and students from UT’s Tickle College of Engineering, College of Architecture and Design, and Institute of Agriculture will also have a presence at Innovation South.

“Innovation South is a microcosm of the innovation ecosystem developing here in greater Knoxville,” Deb Crawford, UT’s vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, said in a public statement. “Working with our private and public sector partners throughout the region, we are creating and supporting the growth of Tennessee companies and equipping Tennesseans of all ages with skills that lead to rewarding careers.”

University leaders said IACMI, a 140-member-plus research consortium of companies, will use the new headquarters to create opportunities for collaboration “to create commercial solutions in the advanced manufacturing of composites.”

“Innovation South provides a strategic location for IACMI that will serve as a hub in the Southeast for regional collaboration,” Chad Duty, IACMI CEO and a professor of mechanical engineering at UT said. “This new location, co-located with the Fiber and Composites Manufacturing Facility, offers exceptional opportunities for public-private partnerships, providing IACMI members and industry leaders with access to innovative research, world-class facilities and shared office space in Knoxville.”

According to the university’s announcement, Innovation South also includes spaces for workforce training for K-12 students, community and technical college students, university students, and workers looking for professional development.

“This facility will be amazing for participants at all levels, because they will get hands-on experiences with everything industry needs them to know,” said UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Uday Vaidya, who spearheaded the idea for an expanded Fibers and Composites Manufacturing Facility at Innovation South.

“We will have a process flow pretty much like industry, starting with incoming material and moving up in stages,” Vaidya continued. “It will be a place to conduct research and development at scale and transition innovative ideas and concepts to field commercial applications. This is unique to the East Tennessee ecosystem. Innovation South enables us to develop materials-by-design solutions that will reduce the cost, energy and manufacturing time of next-generation products.”