The long partnership between the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to scientific discoveries and impact that could not have been accomplished by either institution alone.

The future of the UT-ORNL partnership lies with the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, or UT-ORII, which named David Sholl as its second director in April and launched two new “convergent research initiatives” this year that exemplify the institute’s purpose and promise.

Of approximately 20,000 employees working at ORNL or in the UT System, 13 stand out most prominently. These are the Governor’s Chairs, a group of highly accomplished researchers and academics brought to Tennessee to advance fields that are important to the UT System and to ORNL.

The integration of UT and ORNL may be best exemplified by the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, a 13-year-old Ph.D. program that places students at both the university and the lab.

To help the aviation sector reach a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050, DOE’s Center for Bioenergy Innovation at ORNL is setting its expertise and capabilities in plant science, genomics, microbiology and chemistry to the task of creating new low-carbon fuels for airplanes.

After debuting last year as ORNL’s fourth No. 1 supercomputer in a row and granting access to its first users in April, Frontier settled into regular operations this summer.