Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Tennessee to Launch Exchange Program With Japanese Research Institution

  • 07/08/19

KNOXVILLE, TN – A new institutional partnership between the University of Tennessee (UT) and Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) will send graduate students from UT’s Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education to Japan as visiting scholars to study materials science and advanced manufacturing.

NIMS, a Japanese national research institute focused on materials science, is charged with research and development and advancing expertise in the field. NIMS has collaborative agreements with several universities to provide research and training opportunities to graduate students.

“This program further develops our strong research connections to Japan,” says Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor David Manderscheid. “It is exciting to continue to build on the Bredesen Center’s interdisciplinary research strengths with an international cooperative program.”

As part of the International Cooperative Graduate Program, two UT students in the Bredesen Center will be selected to conduct research for up to a year at NIMS in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, alongside leading scientists from around the world. NIMS researchers will supervise the students as they work toward obtaining their degrees.

Earlier this month, Manderscheid and Vice Provost for International Affairs Gretchen Neisler traveled to Japan to meet with NIMS officials and sign the agreement.

“This agreement represents one of 24 programs available to UT students to engage with Japanese universities and helps expand our research visibility in Japan and in Asia,” Neisler says. “NIMS has strong connectivity to its regional partners and to industries around the globe.”

The Bredesen Center is based at UT in partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Suresh Babu, Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing and director of the Bredesen Center, played a key role in connecting the institutions and advocating for a partnership.

“Dr. Babu is the driving force behind this opportunity, and we are very grateful for his work to help create this program,” Neisler says.

NIMS serves as a designated national research and development institute with the aim of making Japan the most innovation-friendly country in the world. In producing some of the world’s highest level of research and development results, NIMS brings together scientists, knowledge, and funding from industry, academia, and government.

Featured

  • R.I. District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Elementary School

    Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, R.I., recently announced the completion of Gladstone Elementary School, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot facility serves as a replacement for the 1950s-era former building, and it consolidates the student, faculty, and staff populations of Gladstone and Arlington Elementary Schools.

  • Missouri K–12 District Cuts Ribbons on Two New Middle Schools

    Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., recently celebrated the completion of two new middle school facilities with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, according to a district news release. The district officially opened the new Pipkin Middle School and Reed Academy on Sept. 3, both of which were funded through the $220-million Proposition S bond program approved by voters in 2023.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.