Communications Director Dr. Michelle McGuffin leads the marketing and communication strategy for CTR with over two decades of experience working on both sides of mass media, especially with non-profit organizations. Dr. McGuffin also brings ten years of adult training and in-classroom experience, providing an understanding of the needs of professionals as students. She utilizes this experience to create marketing tools, social media strategies, website content, and event materials. In addition to working as a communication professional, she brings a BA in Marketing, an MA in Strategic Communication, and a Ph.D. in Education Leadership.

• In May of 2023, CTR was chosen as an NSF Regional Innovation Development Engines program. There are 44 NSF Engines across the US, and each has a mandate to catalyze and foster innovation ecosystems. Goals for the NSF Development Engines are to:

  • advance critical technologies like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, advanced wireless, and biotechnology;
  • address pressing national and societal challenges;
  • cultivate partnerships across industry, academia, government, nonprofits, civil society, and communities of practice;
  • promote and stimulate economic growth and job creation; and
  • spur regional innovation and talent.

  CTR’s NSF Development Engine is named TEAM TN. It is a partnership with the National Science Foundation and is an alliance of academics, industry, and technical societies, led by The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. TEAM TN seeks to place Tennessee in the vanguard of transportation electrification and digitization while reducing reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a more equitable transportation system. TEAM TN will create a self-sustaining innovation ecosystem where advanced industries and Tennessee communities thrive and will include a large and diverse array of innovation assets.

  TEAM TN Website