UTC Chancellor Lori Bruce and Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Mina Sartipi welcomed attendees and provided opening remarks at Chattanooga Connect. Photo by Angela Foster.
The third annual Chattanooga Connect conference, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Research Institute (UTCRI), was held Sept. 14-16. The three-day event brought together transportation, technology, government, research and industry leaders to discuss how to move emerging technologies from promising pilots to broader, real-world deployment.
Conversations spanned connected and automated transportation, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, digital infrastructure, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and other innovations shaping the future of mobility.
Interim Vice Chancellor for Research Mina Sartipi, the founding director of UTC’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress, welcomed attendees and highlighted these technologies’ potential impact on Chattanooga, the state of Tennessee and the country.
“Chattanooga is a very special place, and UTC is an important part of what makes this innovation ecosystem possible,” Sartipi said. “Our faculty and students work side by side with the city, EPB, CARTA and industry partners who are willing to take risks, be early adopters and move innovation from research into the real world. Together, we have created an environment where we can develop, test and deploy new technologies—and build solutions that can scale in Chattanooga and beyond.”
Chancellor Lori Bruce discussed the University’s momentum and how working with community partners can propel everyone forward.
“What excites me is seeing all these pieces come into alignment,” Bruce said. “The research affects the students, the students we’re able to attract allow the faculty to do even better research, and all the different parts work together.
“I do think it mirrors Chattanooga. It mirrors how the different components of the city, the government and industry, are aligned.”
In 2024, the City of Chattanooga received a $2 million Stage 1 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant to plan and prototype connected roadway technologies that improve safety and mobility.
Demonstrations of UTCRI’s autonomous vehicle, V2X and intersection-safety technologies were held Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Waterhouse Pavilion as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation-funded SMART project.
UTC Executive Director of Economic and Workforce Development Jermaine Freeman, left, UT System Assistant Vice President and Chief Economic Development Director Victoria Hirschberg and UT System President Randy Boyd spoke on the panel “From Ideas to Impact in Tennessee: AI, Quantum and Mobility.”
Stan Caldwell, director of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SMART Grants Program, attended and participated in a panel titled “SMART: Moving from Pilot to Deployment.” The event’s keynote speaker was Michael Halem, principal deputy assistant secretary for research and technology at USDOT.
A panel titled “Autonomous Mobility: From Pilot to Public Service” discussed lessons learned, public acceptance, implementation challenges and scaling pilots into public service. The panelists included Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority CEO Charles D. Frazier.
Dr. Rick Mukherjee, director of the UTC Quantum Center, spoke on a panel moderated by EPB CEO Janet Rehberg about quantum technology’s capabilities and its future impact on the transportation industry.
UT System President Randy Boyd and UTC Executive Director of Economic and Workforce Development Jermaine Freeman discussed turning advances in artificial intelligence, quantum technology and mobility into reality through entrepreneurship, research and collaboration.
Boyd said events like Chattanooga Connect offer valuable networking opportunities.
“We want to be a connector,” Boyd said. “Today has been an opportunity to connect people … When you come to these things, it’s an opportunity to listen to some speakers and maybe get new ideas, but probably the most important thing that you do is in the breaks and being able to network and make new connections.”
Freeman spoke about how he sees UTC’s role in local industry.
“We are the chief provider of talent in the area,” Freeman said. “What I try to help all of our workforce partners and our employers understand is that regardless of what your hiring need is or what your talent need is, we can help you. We can source that talent for you.
“Whether it’s help with research, applied research or theoretical research; whether it’s workforce talent because you’re looking to hire new employees; or you need interns, we can help you.”
Sponsors of Chattanooga Connect included EPB, LG, IonQ, the City of Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, CO.LAB, DENSO, and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
Photo gallery by Angela Foster
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, a press conference was held to demonstrate UTCRI’s autonomous vehicle, V2X, and intersection-safety technologies at the Waterhouse Pavilion as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation-funded SMART project.
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