Funding Big Ideas
The University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute (UT-ORII) is expanding funding opportunities for university faculty members and graduate students engaging in UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory collaborative research. Each year, UT-ORII and the Science Alliance invest about $7 million in UT-ORNL joint research.
Convergent Research Initiatives
A core pillar of UT-ORII’s approach is support for Convergent Research Initiatives (CRIs), within which a concerted investment is made to support UT and ORNL’s collaborative work in emerging areas of strength for the combined institutions . CRIs within UT-ORII will typically receive $20 million in direct funding from UT and ORNL over a five-year period.
$4.5
Million
invested in joint UT-ORNL
student research since 2019.
$21
Million
investment in UT-ORNL joint research since UT-ORII’s launch in 2021
$7.0
Million
average yearly investment in joint
UT-ORNL research.
Grant Opportunities
Graduate Advancement, Training and Education (GATE)
The Graduate Advancement, Training and Education (GATE) program supports meritorious, collaborative research between graduate students and ORNL via assistantships and fellowships awarded by individual departments.
Support for Affilitated Research Teams (StART)
The Science Alliance started the StART grant program in 2019 to generate new funding for collaborative UT-ORNL teams of scientists and engineers.