Distinguished Scientist Program
The Science Alliance Distinguished Scientist Program supports high profile, joint UT-ORNL leadership in research areas where University of Tennessee (UT) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) share complementary strengths. The program has been the Science Alliance’s anchor program since 1984.
Distinguished Scientists hold a tenured distinguished professorship at UT; most also hold a distinguished scientist appointment at ORNL, nominally half time at each institution. The appointments include an ongoing discretionary research fund equal to 12 month’s salary.
Current Distinguished Scientists
Elbio Dagotto
UT Department of Physics & Astronomy; ORNL Division of Materials Science & Technology
Elbio Dagotto primarily uses computational techniques to study transition metal oxides, oxide interfaces, and the recently discovered iron based, high-temperature superconductors. These materials and others studied by his group show promise both for technological applications and for advancing fundamental concepts in condensed matter physics.
Dagotto has several active collaborations with ORNL scientists working with materials from manganese oxides to iron based high temperature superconductors. Additionally, he serves as principal investigator of a DOE Field Work Proposal, FWP, at ORNL, entitled “Theoretical studies of Complex Collective Phenomena,” which secured a grant from the Department of Energy that supplied $1.9 million for 18 months to ORNL.
E-mail: edagotto@utk.edu | Tel: (865) 974-2122
Takeshi Egami
UT departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Physics & Astronomy; ORNL Division of Materials Science & Technology
The physics of liquids is much less developed than the physics of solids. Takeshi Egami explores new science of liquids and gases using computer simulation (including quantum mechanical calculations) and neutron and synchrotron x-ray scattering experiments.
Egami is currently participating in a number of active collaborations with ORNL scientists, including Department of Energy projects whose fiscal year budgets total more than $2.7 million.
Additionally, Egami has served as Editor for Advances in Physics from 2011 to the present and Divisional Associate Editor in Condensed Matter Physics for Physical Review Letters.
E-mail: egami@utk.edu | Tel: (865) 974-7204
Funding Research
The Science Alliance has awarded over $2 million annually for UT-ORNL joint research to UT faculty and graduate students and undergraduate students through internships, fellowships and grants. Science Alliance programs include:
- Distinguished Scientists
- Student Mentoring and Research Training (SMaRT)
- Graduate Advancement, Training and Education (GATE)
- Support for Affiliated Research Teams (StART)
- Program for Advancing Collaborative Teams (PACT)
Governor’s Chairs
Similar to the Distinguished Scientist program, the Governor’s Chairs program provides joint appointments at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory for some of the nation’s top scientists, transforming such fields as clean manufacturing, energy production, environmental systems and computing technologies.
The Governor’s Chair program is managed by the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) in coordination with ORNL and UT. To accelerate collaborative research between UT and ORNL, UT-ORII is expanding its prestigious Governor’s Chairs program.
