Jeff Smith, special advisor to University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd, will be recommended to the 蓝莓视频 Board of Trustees to serve as the vice president for national labs at the 蓝莓视频 System.
The 蓝莓视频 Board of Trustees will consider the recommendation during its winter meeting on March 1 at 蓝莓视频 Southern.
Pending board approval, Smith鈥檚 new role will serve as the 蓝莓视频 System鈥檚 primary liaison to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) leadership team, the U.S. Department of Energy and Battelle Memorial Institute on matters that relate to the 蓝莓视频-Battelle management and operations contract for ORNL.
Smith retired from the role of deputy director for operations at ORNL in 2021, but was asked by the 蓝莓视频-Battelle board of directors to return as interim lab director in 2023 where he served until October 2023. He is a former member of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors (2017-2022) and served as the 蓝莓视频-Battelle Development Corporation president from 2002-2023.
鈥淲e are so fortunate to have someone with Jeff鈥檚 experience in this role,鈥 Boyd said. 鈥淗is extensive career at ORNL and his service on the TVA board make him the perfect person to oversee our lab relationship.鈥
During his time at ORNL, Smith led a $700 million modernization of the lab that transformed the dated facilities of the Manhattan Project-era site into one of the world鈥檚 most modern laboratories.
Several major scientific facilities were completed under his leadership, including:
- The $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source, the world鈥檚 most powerful neutron science facility
- A Carbon Fiber Technology Facility to advance the development of low-cost carbon fiber
- The world鈥檚 largest supercomputer center, capable of delivering up to 60 megawatts of power to today鈥檚 world-leading machines.
Smith鈥檚 tenure at ORNL also saw safety performance improve to record levels and he coordinated efforts to improve the safety and reliability of the High Flux Isotope Reactor, the nation鈥檚 premier research reactor.
The University of Tennessee is a statewide system of higher education with campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, Memphis and Pulaski; 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 58,000 students statewide; produces about 13,000 new graduates every year; and represents more than 445,000 alumni around the world.