What if the next generation of automotive components, food packaging and construction materials began on Tennessee farmland? Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) are working to make that vision a reality at the UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) Center for Renewable Carbon (CRC), developing plant-based technologies that could create new markets for farmers, strengthen rural manufacturing and reduce reliance on (read more)
UTRF News
UT Research Foundation Promotes James Parrett to Vice President of Memphis Office
The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) Board voted in May to promote James Parrett, J.D., M.S., PharmD, to vice president of UTRF’s Memphis Office, effective July 1, 2026. Parrett first joined UTRF in 2021 as a technology manager and was promoted to staff attorney in 2022. As vice president, Parrett will oversee technology transfer and commercialization activities for UTRF’s Memphis Office, supporting innovators at the UT Health Sciences, UT Martin and UT Southern campuses. Additionally, Parrett will continue to serve a dual role, (read more)
UT Research Foundation’s Accelerate Fund Invests in PreTeL
Funding will support the development of a wearable labor monitoring system designed to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Research Foundation’s (UTRF) Accelerate Fund has invested in PreTeL, Inc., a Tennessee based medical device startup developing wearable sensors that help physicians distinguish true labor from false labor, monitor labor progression, and guide the safe dosing (read more)