Solving Problems for Tennessee

Developing quantum technology, conducting plant trials and advancing turfgrass research all demonstrate the University of Tennessee’s diversity in research. It also reflects its financial diversity.

Kari Babski-Reeves, UT System associate vice president for research, says UT’s well-balanced research portfolio comes from funding sources, including federal and state agencies along with industries, nonprofits and foundations.

“When there are fluctuations in funding, we’re a little less impacted than some other schools with less diverse portfolios,” she says.

That showed during the past year’s funding cuts and grant terminations across the federal government. While UT lost about $20 million in unspent funding for research projects through federal grant terminations in 2026, other institutions across the nation faced cuts that were much larger.

“We lost very little money overall, especially when you’re comparing with a number of other institutions across the nation,” Babski-Reeves says.

However, she cautioned, UT could see decreases during the 2027 fiscal year research expenditures.

The partnership between universities and research emerged during World War II when the government needed additional experts in physics, engineering, psychology, sociology and more. University experts across the nation helped to quickly advance scientific research. Now, in some fields, Babski-Reeves says, industry has outpaced university researchers.

But universities still march forward in research, changing what is known.

“Technology advances that you’re seeing in AI and quantum, those are all based on fundamental and foundational research conducted at universities,” she says. “You don’t have those advances without that investment. We can’t even get to having quantum computers if we’re not investing in research at the university.”

The partnerships among the government, universities and industry have led to swift progress during the past 30 years, she says.

“Without those investments, I’m not sure how you make those rapid advancements. Industry can’t do it by themselves because they’re trying to sell a product,” she says.

She points to NASA, which generates solutions that industries then figure out how to use.

“The real value comes in that you solve for this specific problem, but you realize how many other types of problems it touches,” she says. “A lot of discoveries are accidental, right? They’re looking to solve one thing, and they accidentally solve something completely different. It would be a shame to lose that.”

Across UT, researchers still make discoveries and find solutions.

At UT Chattanooga, work continues with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a quantum network, which could help with faster sharing of large data sets. UT Knoxville researchers study how a 3-D printed foot interacts with grass, accelerating and turning on it. That research helped with turf science during the FIFA World Cup, but Babski-Reeves says that it also can be used to discover how to better treat natural resources so they’re not degraded by pounding feet.

The UT Institute of Agriculture provides research about plants and animals to solve problems that bedevil farmers.

Those examples only crack a window on UT’s research impact, according to Babski-Reeves.

“We ask, what are the problems for the state of Tennessee? Then we invest some money back to the state to ensure we have facilities that allow us to study those problems,” she says.