Tennessee Valley Corridor summit participants focus on AI, quantum initiatives

Leaders from government, industry and research institutions, including the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, gathered at the Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) National Summit, held May 28-29 in Chattanooga, to discuss how advances in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and energy can strengthen the region's competitive advantage and create new economic opportunities.

TVC influence spans more than a dozen congressional districts in Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and John Rose, each representing Tennessee districts, delivered remarks that highlighted how the TVC drives regional competitiveness and initiatives that enable a strong talent pipeline that will fill the openings today and respond to the demands of the jobs of tomorrow. Additionally, they discussed how the rising demand for energy as companies and families move to the region in search of opportunity will continue to fuel economic development.

Several speakers pointed to the region's institutions as key contributors to that growth, with ORNL highlighted as a longstanding driver of technological innovation and industry partnerships.

ORNL's research drives industry innovation

ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer spoke on the lab's long history of developing not only the fundamental science that has accelerated the growth of cutting-edge industries like fusion power, AI and quantum technologies, but also had direct impact on the private sector and the success of the nation.

Noting that the first ORNL institute dedicated to artificial intelligence was formed in 1979 - the Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project - Streiffer confirmed that ORNL's decades of leadership in high-performance and advanced computing has positioned the U.S. and private industry to lead the world in innovative technologies.

"In the lead-up to the launch of Titan in 2012, a small company and ORNL started to work together," said Streiffer. "That company made chips that went into gaming consoles. They had a vision that they could adapt these chips for HPC and they could be incorporated into the supercomputer that we were beginning to build."

That company, Nvidia, was the first ever company to hit a record $5.5 trillion in value. "That's a direct result of the work that happened here in Tennessee," said Streiffer.

Nvidia is just one example of how laboratory research partnerships can generate lasting economic impact. ORNL continues that collaborative model through initiatives such as the Genesis Mission.

The Genesis Mission is a national initiative led by the DOE and the national laboratory complex to build the world's most powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery science, strengthen national security and drive energy innovation. It does so by enabling AI-driven, exascale-powered advances that enhance America's energy innovation, global competitiveness and security.

Innovation is central to not only our economic security, said Streiffer, but also our national security. "Considering the scaling of AI and the impact that it has on our existing energy systems, we must come up with better solutions, including quantum, that will allow us to succeed in this space."

"Tennessee's competitive advantage comes from the diversity of assets already in place across the state," said Shaun Gleason, ORNL Partnerships director. "Innovation moves faster when institutions work together. Together, we can de-risk some of the technologies currently under development, accelerate commercialization and ensure that the benefits of innovation are shared broadly across our communities."

As TQI expands Tennessee's quantum infrastructure and increases access to quantum resources, leaders said the initiative could accelerate industry adoption of emerging technologies across sectors ranging from logistics, transportation, energy and advanced manufacturing.

By connecting industry with academia and research institutions, TQI aims to accelerate research and workforce development, as well position Tennessee as a destination for quantum innovation. The effort complements broader statewide initiatives, including the recently announced K-Quantum Accelerator, which will aid in hiring new UTK faculty members with expertise spanning quantum hardware and software and help spur investments in a new 100,000-square-foot quantum foundry in Knoxville.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. - Brynn Downing