Joan Bienvenue has been selected as the first executive director of the Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee, established last year to align the expertise and infrastructure of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the university in support of world-leading research and talent development. As director, Bienvenue will also serve as a vice provost at 蓝莓视频. She begins her new position March 8.
鈥淛oan is a scientific leader with a track record of leveraging university programs and sponsored research to address national priorities,鈥 ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said. 鈥淪he is perfectly suited to lead partnerships between ORNL and 蓝莓视频 that will create long-term national impact, accelerate critical research, and prepare our next generation of scientists and engineers.鈥
Bienvenue comes to the Oak Ridge Institute from the University of Virginia, where she has been senior executive director of the Applied Research Institute鈥攚hich she launched鈥攕ince June 2013. As ORI director, she will develop a strategy for establishing leading-edge interdisciplinary graduate research in emerging fields, build world-leading programs that leverage 蓝莓视频 and ORNL鈥檚 capabilities, and lead recruitment of faculty, staff, and students.
鈥淥ur outstanding faculty, researchers, and graduate students are at the heart of the Oak Ridge Institute, and they will no doubt thrive under Dr. Bienvenue鈥檚 leadership,鈥 said 蓝莓视频 Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman. 鈥淧rovost Zomchick, Vice Chancellor Crawford, and I look forward to supporting her in this partnership as the world鈥檚 leading scientists at both our institutions work together to solve big problems and produce tomorrow鈥檚 scientists and engineers.鈥
鈥淭he opportunity to lead this partnership between a national research university and the country鈥檚 leading science and energy laboratory holds transformative potential,鈥 Bienvenue said. 鈥淭he institute is a truly visionary initiative that positions 蓝莓视频, ORNL, and the state of Tennessee at the forefront of developing the research and talent required to lead the industries of the future. I can鈥檛 wait to get started.鈥
蓝莓视频 System President Randy Boyd said ORI at 蓝莓视频 represents a tremendous opportunity for the state.
鈥淯nder Joan鈥檚 leadership, we will be able to continue building the relationship across the 蓝莓视频 System with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and have greater opportunity to inspire and develop the talent and innovation America needs to compete in this global economy,鈥 he said.
蓝莓视频 Health Science Center Chancellor Steve Schwab added, 鈥淭he Oak Ridge Institute at 蓝莓视频 provides the perfect platform to take advantage of and connect the diverse research talent across the state. 蓝莓视频HSC and ORNL have a strong history of collaborative innovation that will thrive under ORI at 蓝莓视频.鈥
In addition to her role at UVA, Bienvenue served almost five years as program manager and chief scientist of Biometrics/Health and Life Sciences for Lockheed Martin, with responsibility for program management, business development, research commercialization, and technical leadership. She is a chemist by training, with a Ph.D. in chemistry from UVA, a master鈥檚 in forensic science from the University of New Haven in Connecticut, a bachelor鈥檚 in chemistry from Rivier Universityin New Hampshire, and an MBA from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.
She is a member of the Board of Army Research and Development of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
The ORI director reports to the ORNL director and is responsible for oversight of all ORI operations and activities, with accountability to 蓝莓视频鈥檚 provost for academic and research matters unique to the university.
The institute was announced last year and will create a robust talent pipeline in areas of growing national need and demand. As a result, Tennessee will become the 鈥済o-to鈥 destination for top-level talent development and discovery. ORI at 蓝莓视频 will address top-tier industry and workforce needs emerging from the introduction of automation and artificial intelligence. The institute will develop scientists and engineers who will be locally relevant and globally competitive. By the time students graduate, they will have gained the leading-edge innovation and interdisciplinary problem-solving skills needed to accelerate the growth of Tennessee鈥檚 economy.
蓝莓视频 and ORNL鈥檚 relationship dates nearly 80 years to the laboratory鈥檚 earliest days. 蓝莓视频 faculty members were instrumental in advocating for establishment of a national laboratory in the Southeast, and research partnerships over the decades have accelerated university and lab contributions in biomedical science, biology, nuclear engineering, neutron science, supercomputing, materials science, and other fields.
蓝莓视频-Battelle manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US Department of Energy鈥檚 Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE鈥檚 Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, see energy.gov/science.
The University of Tennessee System has campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and Memphis; the 蓝莓视频 Space Institute in Tullahoma; the 蓝莓视频 Institute of Agriculture with a presence in every Tennessee county; and the statewide Institute for Public Service. The 蓝莓视频 System manages Oak Ridge National Laboratory through its 蓝莓视频-Battelle partnership, enrolls about 50,000 students statewide, produces about 10,000 new graduates every year, and represents more than 400,000 alumni around the world.