STAFF
Joan Bienvenue
Executive Director and Vice Provost, UT-ORII
Dr. Joan Bienvenue serves as UT-ORII’s executive director and vice provost. Bienvenue is responsible for developing and overseeing the Institute’s strategy on establishing leading-edge interdisciplinary graduate research in emerging fields; building world-leading programs that leverage UT and ORNL’s capabilities; and leading recruitment of faculty, staff and students.
Allie Burns
Bredesen Center Academic Program Manager
Allie provides leadership and oversight for development and strategic planning for programming and student success. This includes working with stakeholders and university departments to advance the Bredesen Center’s goals for student outcomes.
Shawn Campagna
Director of Scientific Programs and the Science Alliance, UT-ORII
Dr. Shawn Campagna serves as UT-ORII’s director of scientific programs and director of the Science Alliance. He is also a professor in the Department of Chemistry and director of Biological and Small Molecule Mass Spec Core at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Rebecca Christ
Bredesen Center Business Manager
Rebecca manages day-to-day business and administration of the Bredesen Center. She facilitates the departmental budget proposal, oversees all financial and HR processes, and coordinates with other administrative units across campus.
Yanfei Gao
Bredesen Center Interim Energy Science and Engineering Program Director
Yanfei Gao is the ESE Program Director and also holds an appointment as Professor with the Materials Science & Engineering Department. As ESE Program Director, Gao manages the ESE curriculum and supports ESE student progress through instruction of ESE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.
Timothy Guthrie
Student Recruiter, UT-ORII
Timothy Guthrie serves as the student recruiter for UT-ORII’s three interdisciplinary graduate programs in Energy Science and Engineering, Data Science and Engineering, and Genome Science and Technology, all at UT Knoxville.
Lisa Lee
Program Manager, UT-ORII
As UT-ORII’s program manager, Lee is responsible for the U.S. Department of Energy compliance, oversight and management of the UT-ORII’s programs, which include Science Alliance, the SMaRT summer intern program and the Governor’s Chair program.
Dakhota Little
Communications Associate, UT-ORII
Dakhota Little assists with UT-ORII’s overall outreach efforts, serving as communications associate. Little joined UT-ORII in 2022. Little has two years of experience in a product manager role and three years working in higher education
Amber Mathes
Business Manager, UT-ORII
Amber Mathes serves as UT-ORII’s business manager. Mathes is responsible for overseeing business support activities for UT-ORII. She also serves as financial manager for Science Alliance, a Tennessee Center of Excellence, which promotes scientific collaboration between UT and ORNL.
Philip D. Rack
Interim Education Director, UT-ORII
Dr. Philip D. Rack was named the UT-ORII’s interim education director in January 2022. In this role, Rack is leading and growing UT-ORII’s three Bredesen Center UT-ORNL PhD programs at the University of Tennessee Knoxville – Energy Science and Engineering, Data Science and Engineering and Genome Science and Technology.
Rachel Roberts
Bredesen Center Student Services Coordinator
Rachel Roberts serves as Student Services Coordinator at the Bredesen Center providing academic advising and support to graduate students in the three interdisciplinary doctoral programs offered at UT-ORII in Energy Science and Engineering, Data Science and Engineering, and Genome Science and Technology.
Annamarie Russell
Operations Coordinator, UT-ORII
Annamarie Russell serves as the Operations Coordinator for UT-ORII. Russell has functional responsibilities in human resources, business administration, and event coordination.
Albrecht von Arnim
Bredesen Center Genome Science and Technology Program Director
Albrecht von Arnim is the GST Program Director. As GST Program Director, von Arnim manages the GST curriculum and supports GST student progress through instruction of ESE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.
Bridget Waller
Director of Communications, UT-ORII
As UT-ORII’s communications director, Bridget Waller leads media and community relations efforts, social media, website outreach, external marketing, internal communications, events and sponsorships.
Jason Wood
Operations Director, UT-ORII
As UT-ORII’s operations director, Jason Wood is responsible for providing leadership, direction and management of the administrative operations of UT-ORII. He works closely with UT and ORNL colleagues to continue to strengthen the relationship between the two organizations to support the UT-ORII community.
Russell Zaretzki
Bredesen Center Data Science and Engineering Program Director
Russell Zaretzki is the DSE Program Director and also holds an appointment as Associate Professor with the Haslam College of Business. As DSE Program Director, Zaretzki manages the DSE curriculum and supports DSE student progress through instruction of DSE seminar, administration, and faculty relations.