Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

From Knoxville:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $850,000 to a team led by Principal Investigator Dr. Prashanth Singh, Assistant Professor in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s (UTK) Tickle College of Engineering. The funding will be used to develop a high-performance cascaded heat exchanger concept for low-cost power generation and the production of high-temperature industrial process heat. The team will design the cascaded heat exchanger based on a flowing particle system serving as both heat transfer fluid and thermal energy storage media.

It is one of nine projects across seven states selected to share in a $33 million announcement to advance concentrating solar-thermal (CST) systems technologies for solar fuel production and long-duration energy storage. CST technologies use mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver, helping to produce carbon-free clean fuels, heat, and storage for a wide variety of application.

UTK researchers will partner with scientists at Sandia National Laboratories.

Another from Knoxville:

The Knoxville Technology Council has announced a meetup on August 22 for technical recruiters, human resource professionals, and technology leaders from around the Knoxville region. The topic is how to create a strong Employee Value Proposition (EVP). The event is scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. EDT at the offices of Avertium, 1431 Centerpoint Boulevard #150. To register, click here.

From Cookeville:

The Biz Foundry is hosting a free event on August 7 designed to help start-ups take their brand to the next level. Titled “Digital Solutions: Developing a Clear Brand Personality,” the 90-minute event will be led by Andrew Buckner, Managing Editor at Cookeville Lifestyle magazine. He will cover:

• Crafting a unique brand voice;
• Employing effective communication strategies; and
• Leveraging social media, email newsletters, and website copy.

The event runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. CDT at The Biz Foundry, 114 North Cedar Avenue. To register, click here.

From Nashville:

A Vanderbilt University researcher has received one of the National Science Foundation’s inaugural “Trailblazer Engineering Impact Awards,” a new $18-million activity to enable researchers with established records of creativity and paradigm-shifting outcomes to pursue novel engineering research projects that will open unexplored frontiers. Dr. Deyu Li, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, leads a group at the institution that studies nanoscale energy and mass transport phenomena to achieve both fundamental understandings and practical engineering applications. Under the $3 million award over three years, he and colleagues will develop approaches using polaritons, a type of energy carrier, to achieve super-efficient radiative cooling beyond the blackbody limit.

From Franklin:

TVA’s inaugural Connected Communities Conference will take place September 24-25 in Franklin. Highlights of the two-day event include an interactive exhibition to learn about Connected Communities resources and projects, insights from TVA leadership about transformative initiatives underway across the service area, and dynamic panel sessions featuring Connected Communities’ Pilot Project and Community Partnership leaders. To learn more about the event or to request an invitation, send an email to connectedcommunities@tva.gov.

Another from Nashville:

Tennessee State University (TSU) and Fisk University have jointly been awarded a multi-million dollar grant over six years to offer materials-relevant graduate degree programs and increase access to research and career opportunities. The funding comes from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Partnerships for Research and Education in Materials (PREM) program that is designed to expand participation and access to materials science-focused facilities, education, training and careers.

A total of 15 awards were announced by the federal agency that total more than $50 million. Eleven of the awards, including the one to TSU and Fisk, are for more than $4 million while another four are seed funding grants of $1 million for three years. In the case of the two Tennessee HBCUs (Historically-Black Colleges and Universities), they will work in partnership with the NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on the project.

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