Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

More than 350 people pre-registered for the two-day “Tennessee Smart Mobility Expo,” which launched on Wednesday at the Music City Center in Nashville.

As the name implies, the event focused on all things related to mobility. It was a gathering of thought leaders from across the industry who came together to discuss the latest transportation technologies, innovations, and research that make Tennessee an emerging leader in mobility solutions.

A non-fireside chat 

Two individuals – Randy Boyd, President of the University of Tennessee (UT) System, and Stuart McWhorter, Commissioner of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) – had a conversation about artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear energy. Each answered a question, then posed a question to the other person. McWhorter asked Boyd about how UT is dealing with AI, and Boyd responded with four points.

1. First, the institution is using AI to improve efficiency in operations, citing as one example the record number of applications that the Knoxville campus received.
2. Second, the university and all of its campuses are making sure that students are AI-enabled. That includes the new UT, Knoxville College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies.
3. Third, through the UT Research Foundation, UT is investing in AI start-ups such as the recently announced investment in VisualizAI.
4. Finally, UT is partnering with TNECD to help businesses better understand and incorporate AI in their operations.

In response to a follow-up question from Boyd, McWhorter noted that TNECD is focused on 11 or 12 industry clusters, and AI “applies to all of them. It’s not just AI, but the power behind AI.”

That prompted an exchange about the important role that nuclear energy is playing and something that will become even more so in the future, particularly as AI and data centers drive huge power demand.

Drawing on the focus of the event, Boyd said, “You can’t think about mobility without thinking about power. We need to double down on nuclear.”

Panel explores innovation

The Expo kicked off with a panel that featured two DENSO executives – one from Maryville and the other from California – along with two representatives of two different parts of the University of Tennessee. It was moderated by Victoria Hirschberg, Assistant Vice President and Chief Economic Development Director for the UT System. The focus of the discussion was on a long-standing relationship between DENSO and UT, both the Center for Industrial Services (UTCIS), represented by Danny Norman, and the UT at Chattanooga (UTC) campus, represented by Mina Sartipi.

UTCIS first worked with DENSO, starting in 1998, while the UTC relationship is much newer, initiated after Hirschberg and Sartipi met Peyton Winstead when the Director of Digital Solutions happened to be at DENSO’s North American headquarters in Michigan at the same time they were making a visit.

Another panel discussed first round of TNGO investments

The Transportation Network Growth Opportunity (TNGO) is an TNECD-funded initiative that seeks to fund promising research that could further advance Tennessee’s reputation as a leader in mobility. Two university representatives and a third from a start-up described their work.

1. Sabya Mishra of the University of Memphis described a TNGO project focused on fixed-line transit between two West Tennessee cities – Jackson and Memphis – and the Ford BlueOval City site near Stanton.
2. Will Barbour of Vanderbilt University that is focused on the use of dual-lidar technology, initially in Clarksville.
3. Thomas Rush of Electrovia that is deploying a dynamic, wireless charging system that delivers 500 kw of “booster” power.

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