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Tennessee Tech's MInDS Center: pioneering AI education and workforce readiness
A new center created at Tennessee Tech University in 2023 was a meeting of the minds – both real and artificial.
The Machine Intelligence and Data Science (MInDS) Center is envisioned by co-directors William Eberle and Doug Talbert as a hub on campus and beyond to foster knowledge and workforce development in artificial intelligence through education, research and service.
The groundbreaking initiative’s mission is to work both within and outside the university to drive innovation and empower faculty and students to thrive in the world of AI, say the directors, who are both computer science professors at the university.
“AI is going to revolutionize the workplace the same way the Internet did about 30 years ago,” said Talbert. Eberle added, “Every major is being exposed to AI in one way or another already.”
One key motivation behind the creation of the MInDS Center, modeled in part after Tech’s successful Cybersecurity Education, Research and Outreach Center (CEROC), was the need for a coordinated effort in AI education and research across campus academic departments.
Eberle noted that while departments had been implementing AI technology independently, the center would serve as a unifying force to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration.
“We can be a lot more effective if we coordinate our efforts,” Talbert agreed.
That’s not limited to campus. In fact, the MInDS Center has showcased its commitment to collaboration with two recent events: attending the Florida Artificial Intelligence Research Society (FLAIRS) conference in Miami in May 2024 and co-hosting a hybrid in-person and online AI Across Tennessee Symposium that July.
FLAIRS is the second oldest conference in the U.S. dedicated to AI research, and Tech’s MInDS Center representation was strong at the most recent. Eleven students and faculty from the university attended, and a National Science Foundation grant helped the center send nine other students from across the country.
“FLAIRS has been hosting an annual conference for nearly 40 years, and it’s a great event for introducing students to AI research,” Eberle said.
The recent AI Across Tennessee Symposium further underscored the importance of collaboration in AI research and education.
That event brought together nearly 70 representatives from 10 public universities, all focused on advancing AI research and application. It highlighted the need for a secure statewide data repository and explored potential opportunities for collaborative projects.
As the MInDS Center looks to the future, events like the conference and symposium will position it as a key player in the broader AI academic community.
As it grows, the directors say they aim for the MInDS Center to serve as an inspiration for other institutions. In that spirit of partnership, it can help other institutions integrate AI education seamlessly into their curricula and together explore greater opportunities for research, infrastructure, outreach and more.
With guidance from an advisory board that includes alumni and industry leaders, the MInDS Center is well-positioned to ensure that Tech students are workforce-ready – and Eberle and Talbert are confident that readiness, combined with the center’s collaborative research, will contribute to the state’s economic development.
But how did the MInDS Center get its name? In a nod to the power of AI, Eberle said, “We used ChatGPT to give us ideas for center names, and MInDS came out of that session. So, AI created the name for its own center.”
Taking care of business: Tech teams up with industry leader to meet workforce needs
by Jonathan Frank
What happens when a nationally ranked College of Business teams up with a top transportation and supply-chain leader? Just ask the students enrolled in Tennessee Tech’s new operations, logistics and supply chain management minor.
Tech partnered with Averitt, the Cookeville-based freight transportation titan with international reach to more than 100 countries, to begin offering the courses in fall 2023.
Leaders at Averitt provide input and support to ensure coursework reflects real-world industry dynamics and equips students to meet workforce needs.
Likewise, Tech College of Business faculty make sure classes meet the high academic standards that have consistently earned the college a spot at the top of the ratings lists and a coveted accreditation from the AACSB.
“We’ve been able to actually build coursework around what local employers who hire supply chain graduates are looking for,” explained Mick Williams, lecturer in the College of Business. “These same companies have let our students do everything from taking quick tours, to working with them on their capstone projects. Averitt was the first company I reached out to, and they were great to let me come out and show me exactly what they were looking for.”
A 30-year business and industry veteran, Williams had previously led supply chain and information technology departments for a multinational pharmaceutical company, among other top roles. When the opportunity called to teach students from his own wealth of expertise, Williams jumped at the chance.
“I was to the point in my career where I had accomplished what I set out to do and, the last several years, I’ve been more focused on mentoring. That’s where my passion is right now,” said Williams. “To be able to do that at a university setting as my full-time job – I got really excited about that.”
Williams notes that demand for workers in the operations, logistics and supply chain fields is expected to snowball over the coming years. Estimates show that, in Tennessee alone, there could be nearly 20,000 new jobs in this sector created over the next five years, carrying average salaries of more than $80,000.Tech students, according to Williams, are uniquely equipped to seize these looming career opportunities.
“The students here have great attitudes, a lot of energy, and are ready to make their mark on the world,” he said. “There are those in my generation who look at the latest generation and say, ‘they don’t work like we did.’ I don’t see that. I see so many positives here.”
Gary Sasser, chairman and CEO of Averitt, lauded the new program’s focus on aligning curriculum with emerging workforce needs.
“Tennessee Tech is not just our neighbor and partner, it is also the training ground for our workforce of tomorrow,” he said in a fall 2023 statement. “We see an important opportunity to help cultivate a generation of logistics and supply chain leaders with the talent and skills to impact our region far into the future.”
Averitt’s work with Tech’s College of Business is one among many ways that the locally based transportation giant has invested in Tech students. Among other ventures, Averitt is the namesake for the home of the Golden Eagles baseball team: the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Most recently, the company made a generous gift to the university’s new west-side football stadium, which is expected to deliver in 2026.
Out of this world: Tech trustee Barry Wilmore part of historic space flight
by Jonathan Frank
Tennessee Tech has long challenged students to reach for the stars, but alumnus and trustee Barry “Butch” Wilmore has taken that exhortation quite literally.
The two-time graduate of Tech’s College of Engineering and decorated NASA astronaut blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 5, 2024, bound for the International Space Station as part of the historic maiden manned voyage of the Boeing Starliner.
The trip marked Wilmore’s third interstellar mission, having accumulated 178 days in space before the Starliner’s blastoff.
While docked at the International Space Station, Wilmore showed off his Tech pride by hosting a question-and-answer session with the children of Tech faculty and staff.
Wearing Tech’s signature purple and gold colors and proudly displaying a Tennessee flag and Tech athletics decal, Wilmore kicked off the event by joking that he had declared it “Tennessee Tech Day” at the space station.
He went on to answer a broad range of questions ranging from “Where does space begin?” to “What does space food taste like?” and “How do you sleep in space?”
During the chat, Wilmore encouraged students who wish to pursue future careers with NASA to “study, study, study.”
“If you’re interested in space and want to work for NASA, then STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – is the route you have to take,” Wilmore explained in response to a student’s question. “Study hard. Math and sciences, it will get you to that place if that’s what you desire to do.”
Wilmore had previewed the event days earlier in a pre-flight conversation with reporters, calling Tech “the finest university in the nation.”
As the Starliner’s mission stretched beyond its original eight-day timeframe while Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams helped test and troubleshoot the new spacecraft, the duo found other ways to stay connected to Tennessee, too.
In late July, Wilmore served as a guest announcer from space for the Grand Ole Opry. He also continued to correspond with Tech President Phil Oldham throughout the mission, even placing an unexpected phone call from space at one point to check on the latest campus happenings.
“I didn’t recognize the number, and I didn’t pick up,” recalled Oldham with a laugh. Thankfully, Wilmore left a voicemail and the two were able to speak by phone a short time later.
Last fall, Wilmore even placed a surprise call to Tech’s Sept. 26 Board of Trustees meeting, teasing his colleagues by saying, “I can’t believe you all are having this meeting without me!” He went on to express gratitude for the Tech community’s outpouring of support during his extended stay in space.
For Wilmore, the mission – even with its unexpected changes and delayed return to Earth – is another challenge that he meets with a tenacity and resilience forged from his early years as a Tech walk-on football player to his time as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and captain.
It was those very qualities that earned Wilmore an induction into Tech’s Sports Hall of Fame and the university’s 2010 Outstanding Alumni Award, among other honors.
“He inspires our students to understand and realize the greatness they have within them,” said Joseph Slater, dean of Tech’s College of Engineering.
Oldham offers an even simpler summation: “Barry is Buzz Lightyear in real life,” he concluded.
Tech goes nuclear: College of Engineering’s new degree program prepares students for the nuclear renaissance
The largest college on Tennessee Tech University’s campus just got bigger.
Tech’s College of Engineering officially launched a new degree program in nuclear engineering in 2024, becoming only the second institution in the state to offer the sought-after field of study.
The new program is deeply rooted in emerging workforce needs and student interest. In 2021, the Center for Energy Workforce Development projected a need for 15,000 nuclear industry employees by 2026 – a figure compounded by the fact that the average age of nuclear reactor engineers in the workforce is just over 50 years old.
Student surveys conducted prior to the program’s launch found that 65 percent of respondents in Tech’s College of Engineering would have been very or extremely likely to have considered enrolling in the major had it been available when they were starting their college career.
The new program comes roughly one year after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order setting aside $50 million to establish a nuclear development and manufacturing ecosystem in the state.
“No other state in the country comes close to Tennessee’s legacy, resources, and potential to be a leader in nuclear energy. And there is no long-term national strategy that doesn’t include nuclear energy,” Governor Lee said at the time.
Tech is moving quickly to scale up its program and expects to enroll nearly 50 nuclear engineering majors by the fifth year, which would increase the number of nuclear engineering graduates in the state by 25 to 30 percent. As the university works toward that goal, it has received key support from policymakers including U.S. Representatives John Rose and Chuck Fleischmann.
“Nuclear power is vital in the transition to clean energy,” said Joseph C. Slater, dean of Tech’s College of Engineering. “The nuclear engineering degree program is a tremendous opportunity for students to join the next generation of engineers leading the nation into a sustainable energy future."
To lead the new effort, Slater tapped Jeffrey King to be the university’s founding director of nuclear engineering. King holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies and most recently served at the Colorado School of Mines, where he helped build out the university’s nuclear science and engineering program.
“Tennessee Tech presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build a modern nuclear engineering program from the ground up around the needs of the future, especially with outstanding support from congressional, state and industry leader s to advance Tennessee as a national leader in nuclear energy,” King said in a summer 2024 message announcing his new role.
Slater, King and the College of Engineering faculty are focusing on a program curriculum that includes principles of nuclear energy production, reactor systems design, spent fuel reprocessing, nuclear safety and nuclear cybersecurity.
The university is also partnering with nuclear industry firms to provide students in the program with hands-on experience, career opportunities, research collaboration, scholarships and other supports.
One such partnership is with United Cleanup Oak Ridge, or “UCOR,” the Department of Energy’s lead environmental cleanup contractor at the 32,000-acre Oak Ridge Reservation in East Tennessee. The company is already delivering internship, mentoring, educational and career opportunities to Tech’s engineering students and alumni while offering a front-row seat to the scientific research and discovery happening every day at one of the country’s most consequential laboratory sites.
The launch of the nuclear engineering degree program is just the latest sign of the College of Engineering’s continued vibrancy on Tech’s campus.
In late 2024, the college held a grand opening for its state-of-the-art, 100,000-square-foot Ashraf Islam Engineering Building, while a new Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering (ACME) Building is currently in the design phase.
As for the nuclear engineering students, they have good reason to look forward to earning their Tech degree: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median pay for nuclear engineers in 2023 was more than $125,000 per year.