Tennessee economic development staff highlight university research partnerships on statewide tour

Staff member, Economic and Community Development, told the meeting that department staff have spent the last couple of months touring Tennessee research institutions to promote collaboration between industry and university research and development assets. “Alright. It's April Fools' Day, so just wanted to go ahead and get that out there, but we're this is no joke,” the staff member said, describing the outreach effort.

The staff member listed visits to Vanderbilt University, the University of Memphis, UT Health in Memphis, Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). They said the University of Memphis recently received an R1 designation and noted the city’s research concentration: “I think it's like 1 of 6 cities in the country that has 2 r1 universities right here in Tennessee,” the staff member said.

The department representative described a range of campus-industry activities observed on the tour, including Belmont’s work with artificial intelligence and data across its colleges, MTSU’s curriculum and research in quantum technologies, and a concrete management facility where industry, faculty and students collaborate on concrete technology development. “Our job in our department is to really connect industry with the research and development assets in our state,” the staff member said, adding that the department shares these developments with industry in the U.S. and abroad.

The staff member said the state will continue similar site visits and provide further updates as the department documents more research and development assets and partnerships. “We're gonna be doing more of these... we'll give you more as we get more done,” they said.