From the N95 mask used widely during the pandemic to the conservation-friendly no-till technique that changed farming and lightweight advanced materials that are altering vehicles, one doesn’t need to look hard to see how University of Tennessee research discovers solutions for existing problems. One idea, one thought brought about by education, knowledge and opportunity can change the unknown to known.
To solve problems, we must understand the past. Inventions and discoveries come from research, and research reaches forward from a strong foundation of education. Research has advanced humankind. And, here at UT, we are a world leader in research.
The University of Tennessee is no stranger to this pursuit of knowledge—the impact is evident across the state and even the world. At UT Knoxville, researchers are exploring rubber manufacturing, and it will likely yield impacts on material sustainability and durability for car tires. At UT Southern, a research team combats human trafficking through its student assisted investigations and development of training platforms for the U.S. Department of State.
One researcher at the UT Health Science Center is leading a grassroots health care revival, while a UT Martin alumna continues to champion cancer research and a UT Chattanooga professor reflects on medieval medicines. The UT Institute of Agriculture, through its initiatives to help rural communities play to their strengths, have helped build industries. At the Institute of Public Service, SMART is researching efforts to reduce the devastation caused by fentanyl in illicit drugs.
UT research simply makes our lives better.
As you flip through the pages of Our Tennessee, I hope you’ll connect with the ways UT’s research endeavors are paving a better path forward. Furthermore, I hope your curiosity is ignited by our campuses’ abilities to provide answers to questions you hadn’t considered and solutions to problems you thought unsolvable.
Just as UT can point to past research and show how it has changed lives through the N95 mask and no-till farming, one day future generations will point to current UT research and show how it has affected lives.
I know our researchers and students will help make this the greatest decade and beyond for UT and for Tennessee.
