• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds

 

Advanced composites expert named newest UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair

Posted at 10:14 am June 18, 2015
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Uday Vaidya

Uday Vaidya

KNOXVILLE—The position of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as leaders in the manufacturing revolution has taken another bold step forward with the hiring of Uday Vaidya as the Governor’s Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing.

Vaidya becomes the 14th UT-ORNL Governor’s Chair and the seventh devoted to some aspect of advanced manufacturing, underscoring the importance of this research and the role of the two institutes in it.

“We are pleased to welcome Uday and the leadership he brings in the growing area of advanced composites manufacturing,” said UT Chancellor Jimmy G. Cheek. “His research will contribute to the vital building blocks we have with ORNL and our momentum as leaders in the field.”

“This is a significant opportunity to provide leadership and serve as a bridge between UT, ORNL, industry and academic partners,” said Vaidya, who also will serve as a professor in UT’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering.

“The industry is in urgent need of trained engineers with comprehensive knowledge in the design, modeling and manufacturing of advanced materials—including composites—and many of those innovations are possible through a comprehensive ecosystem such as the one our institutions provide,” he said.

Advertisement

Vaidya, who comes from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, added that those innovations will help keep UT and ORNL at the forefront of research.

The work is also important to the economy of the United States and its position as a global leader in the automotive, energy, and aerospace industries, which are trending toward the use of lightweight yet durable carbon fiber construction.

Currently, producing such material in large quantities can be cost-prohibitive, but UT, ORNL, and the new Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation can make them more readily attainable, according to Vaidya.

“There is exponential growth of advanced composites both in the U.S. and around the world,” said Vaidya. “Between the Governor’s Chair program, some of the research already being conducted, and in particular IACMI, which President Obama announced in January, UT and ORNL are clearly going to play a leading role for years to come.

“The opportunity to serve as both a Governor’s Chair and with a leadership position with IACMI is incredibly exciting and truly phenomenal.”

That optimism for the future of advanced manufacturing and acknowledgment of the importance of the UT-ORNL relationship was echoed at both institutions.

“Uday’s unique combination of basic and applied research coupled with his strong industrial interactions will complement ORNL and UT’s strengths in carbon fiber and composites research and development,” said Martin Keller, ORNL’s associate lab director for energy and environmental sciences.

Advertisement

Taylor Eighmy, UT vice chancellor for research and engagement and co-chair of IACMI, said Uday’s leadership “is both welcome and important to our efforts in composites, especially around IACMI.”

“Moreover, he is our third Governor’s Chair in concert with ORNL in the very strategic area of advanced manufacturing—strategic for us, ORNL and for the state of Tennessee,” Eighmy said.

While the Governor’s Chair program is one of the more notable examples of collaboration between UT and ORNL, the two institutions also share partnerships, researchers and faculty at several locations, including the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Education and the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility.

Aside from his materials-related work, Vaidya said he is interested in engaging minority and underrepresented students in STEM fields and advanced manufacturing technologies.

Other joint UT-ORNL Governor’s Chairs are:

  • Jeremy Smith, a computational biologist who came to UT and ORNL from the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He was appointed in 2006.
  • Howard Hall, an expert in nuclear security who came to UT and ORNL from Lawrence Livermore National Lab. He was appointed in 2009.
  • Yilu Liu, an electric grid researcher who came to UT and ORNL from Virginia Tech. She was appointed in 2009.
  • Frank Loeffler, a biologist and environmental engineer who came to UT and ORNL from Georgia Tech. He was appointed in 2009.
  • Alexei Sokolov, a polymer scientist who came to UT and ORNL from the University of Akron. He was appointed in 2009.
  • Thomas Zawodzinski, an energy storage researcher who came to UT and ORNL from Case Western Reserve University. He was appointed in 2009.
  • William Weber, a materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He was appointed in 2010.
  • Brian Wirth, a radiation expert who came to UT and ORNL from the University of California, Berkeley. He was appointed in 2010.
  • Terry Hazen, an environmental biologist who came to UT and ORNL from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was appointed in 2011.
  • Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, a materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from The Ohio State University. He began his position in 2013.
  • Steve Zinkle, a nuclear engineering and materials scientist who came to UT and ORNL from another position at ORNL. He began his position in 2013.
  • Philip Enquist, a specialist in planning and energy-efficient design with the firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. He began his position in 2014.
  • Arthur Ragauskas, an expert in biofuels, bioenergy and biorefining who came to UT and ORNL from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He began his position in 2014.

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, Advanced Materials, composites, engineers, Governor's Chair in Advanced Composites Manufacturing, IACMI, Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Jimmy G. Cheek, manufacturing, Martin Keller, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Uday Vaidya, University of Tennessee, UT, UT-ORNL Governor's Chari

Advertisements

 


Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Some of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require significant time to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More Education News

Oak Ridge Schools Logo

Schools publish number of open seats per school

Oak Ridge Schools has published the number of open seats available in each grade at elementary and middle schools for students who are interested in cross-boundary and out-of-district tuition enrollment. The number of … [Read More...]

Austin Knight Foundation donates $5,000 to Roane State’s EMS program

A foundation established by the parents of a former Roane State Community College student recently donated $5,000 in support of the community college’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program. William “B.J.” Hillard … [Read More...]

Roane State to host Virtual FAFSA Workshop on March 24

Roane State Community College’s Financial Aid team is inviting current and potential students to a Virtual FAFSA Completion Workshop on March 24. During the sessions, students will have the opportunity to work … [Read More...]

Eby elected chair of state school board

Bob Eby, a former chair and vice chair of the Oak Ridge school board, has been elected chair of the Tennessee State Board of Education. He will serve a two-year term. Eby was appointed to the state school board by … [Read More...]

CNC Bootcamp returns to Oak Ridge High School this spring

A popular bootcamp is returning to Oak Ridge High School this spring thanks to a recent partnership between Roane State Community College and the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing … [Read More...]

More Education

More U.S. Department of Energy News

Eight new members join DOE’s environmental advisory board

The U.S. Department of Energy recently welcomed eight new members to its Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management citizen advisory board. The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board is a federally chartered … [Read More...]

DOE conducting controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation

The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting controlled burns of grassland areas on the Oak Ridge Reservation through mid-April, weather permitting. People may see smoke from this activity. However, smoke in Oak Ridge … [Read More...]

UCOR announces management change

United Cleanup Oak Ridge LLC, the lead cleanup contractor at federal sites in Oak Ridge, has announced a top management change that will be effective April 1. UCOR Chief Operating Officer Tom Dieter has announced he … [Read More...]

Y-12 honored with DOE sustainability partnership award

The Y-12 National Security Complex recently received a U.S. Department of Energy Sustainability Award for Strategic Partnerships for Sustainability. The Y-12 team was recognized for its efforts to improve efficiency, … [Read More...]

UPF construction could cost more, take longer

The Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12 National Security Complex was supposed to be completed by 2025 for no more than $6.5 billion, but that might no longer be the case. In the past week, federal officials said … [Read More...]

More DOE

Recent Posts

  • Ken Tarcza, Ph.D., joins ORAU as chief of staff
  • Community Band to perform ‘Music for Spring’
  • Eight new members join DOE’s environmental advisory board
  • DOE conducting controlled burns on Oak Ridge Reservation
  • Schools publish number of open seats per school
  • History Museum to celebrate new Hutment Exhibit
  • Community Egg Hunt is Saturday, April 1
  • Austin Knight Foundation donates $5,000 to Roane State’s EMS program
  • Roane State to host Virtual FAFSA Workshop on March 24
  • Today: International Festival at Children’s Museum

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2023 Oak Ridge Today