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UK Joins Automotive Research Alliance

The University of Kentucky has joined six other southeastern universities, the National Transportation Research Center Inc., the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority to launch the Automotive Research Alliance (ARA).
The ARA will provide research resources to automotive manufacturers and suppliers, including technology and manufacturing solutions as well as academic and training programs.
UK "will be building on extensive automotive-related research activities that are already in place," said Larry Holloway, director of the UK Center for Manufacturing.

UK’s involvement will be coordinated by the Center for Manufacturing, but will build on capabilities across the university. Holloway cited programs like those at the UK Center for Aluminum Technology, the UK Institute of Research for Technology Development, the Painting Technology Consortium and several other ongoing research enterprises beneficial to the automotive industry.

"The recognition of UK as a center of excellence within the ARA really acknowledges the extensive activities and capabilities that we have. It represents a commitment by the university to further expand our work with the automotive industry," he said.
UK’s involvement in the alliance, announced May 16 in Nashville, "really moves us to the next level where we are partnering with a variety of other institutions and can better serve the automotive industry," Holloway said. "This will bring a broader awareness of UK to manufacturers across the region," he added.

The other participating universities are Auburn, Clemson, Mississippi State, Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Alabama at Birmingham and Tennessee. All of the schools are leading research institutes and all are located in states with major automotive manufacturing and supply facilities.

The National Transportation Research Center Inc. (NTRCI) will serve as the umbrella organization for the ARA. NTRCI acting president Ben Ritchey said, "We want to position the alliance as a preferred source of industry-specific expertise, research, intellectual property and academic programs for the U.S. automotive industry.

NTRCI, a not-for-profit research corporation affiliated with the National Transportation Research Center in East Tennessee, will function as that clearinghouse, Ritchey said.

The benefits ARA will provide to the automotive industry include:
A single point of contact for information on automotive research and technology resources in the region

• A connection between industry, researchers and funding organizations interested in automotive-related issues.
• Solutions to complex and diverse problems facing the industry.
• A forum for the exchange of technical information and ideas.
• Industry partnerships with national laboratories and universities.
• Expedited research and technology requests through pre-negotiated arrangements.
• Experience in dealing with non-disclosure agreements and intellectual property rights issues.

“The partnership between seven Southeastern universities, ORNL, TVA and NTRCI represents a truly unique opportunity for the region to compete for automotive R&D work by collaborating across state boundaries, said Dana C. Christensen, associate director for energy and engineering sciences at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Fred D. Tompkins, president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation and associate vice president for research at UT, said the university will open a center of excellence focused on automotive supply chain issues.

To learn more visit http://www.autoresearchalliance.com or email Ben Ritchey, Acting President of NTRCI.

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