Anthony Locicero, Associate editor02.19.21
Joan Bienvenue was selected as the first executive director of the Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee, established last year to align the expertise and infrastructure of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the university in support of world-leading research and talent development.
As director, Bienvenue will also serve as a vice provost at UT.
She begins her new position on March 8.
“Joan is a scientific leader with a track record of leveraging university programs and sponsored research to address national priorities,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said. “She is perfectly suited to lead partnerships between ORNL and UT that will create long-term national impact, accelerate critical research and prepare our next generation of scientists and engineers.”
Bienvenue comes to the Oak Ridge Institute from the University of Virginia, where she has been senior executive director of the Applied Research Institute – which she launched – since June 2013.
As ORI director, she will develop a strategy for establishing leading-edge interdisciplinary graduate research in emerging fields, build world-leading programs that leverage UT and ORNL’s capabilities, and lead recruitment of faculty, staff and students.
“Our outstanding faculty, researchers and graduate students are at the heart of the Oak Ridge Institute, and they will no doubt thrive under Dr. Bienvenue’s leadership,” said UT Knoxville Chancellor Donde Plowman. “Provost John Zomchick, Vice Chancellor Deborah Crawford and I look forward to supporting her in this partnership as the world’s leading scientists at both our institutions work together to solve big problems and produce tomorrow’s scientists and engineers.”
“The opportunity to lead this partnership between a national research university and the country’s leading science and energy laboratory holds transformative potential,” Bienvenue said. “The institute is a truly visionary initiative that positions UT, ORNL and the state of Tennessee at the forefront of developing the research and talent required to lead the industries of the future. I can’t wait to get started.”
In addition to her role at UVA, Bienvenue served almost five years as program manager and chief scientist of biometrics/health and life sciences for Lockheed Martin, with responsibility for program management, business development, research commercialization and technical leadership.
She is a member of the Board of Army Research and Development of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
