Research and Innovation from Area Colleges & Universities Will be Put to Work Helping Metro Government Solve Challenges
NASHVILLE (July 30, 2026) – Today, the Nashville Innovation Alliance is proud to announce the first round of award winners from its Civic Tech Jam, part of its Nashville Tech Studio initiative. The awardees were recognized at today’s Nashville Innovation Alliance Annual Forum: Celebrate Progress, Build What’s Next.
Launched last year, the Tech Studio leverages the expertise of Nashville’s universities to pilot and deploy tech-based solutions that address some of Metro Nashville’s largest and most complex challenges.
The Tech Studio initially launched with Vanderbilt University in 2025 to connect university researchers with Metro departments to help solve a host of complex challenges. In the first year, it awarded its first grant, Proactive Data-Driven Emergency Response Services, which connected a Vanderbilt research team with Metro Information Technology Services and the Nashville Fire Department. This year, the Tech Studio expanded to include many other colleges and universities and received additional funding from Vanderbilt University and Launch Tennessee. Launch Tennessee provided funding through their Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium (TTAC) Partnership Program, a statewide university technology transfer and commercialization support network. In addition, courtesy of AWS/Amazon, awardees will receive $10,000 toward computing credits.
At the Civic Tech Jam event last October, Metro department leaders presented tech challenges to researchers from several area universities. The researchers then proposed potential solutions, competing for grants of up to $40,000 in funding to execute those ideas. Following the event, the Tech Studio matched researchers with Metro departments to collaborate on short-term, high-impact projects. Proposals were reviewed by an evaluation committee of academic, tech and innovation experts to determine the awardees.
This round of award winners and their respective pilot projects are as follows:
- AI Assisted Survivor Narrative, Vajira Manathunga, Middle Tennessee State University
Family Safety Center staff supports thousands of survivors of interpersonal violence converting oral accounts into written narratives, which can strain capacity. Manathunga’s solution will streamline both voice-to-text conversion and analysis of documents to highlight critical safety indicators more efficiently. This will enable Metro to more rapidly and efficiently support a larger number of survivors.
- Lower Broadway Dashboard Improvements, Jacob Arthur, Lipscomb University
Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) needs additional information to provide real-time and predictive data of Lower Broadway between 1st and 5th avenues to ensure pedestrian safety during high traffic. Arthur’s project will enhance NDOT’s current platform by transforming existing LiDAR and traffic data into deeper analytical insights. This will enable NDOT to move more quickly to deploy resources to improve pedestrian safety downtown – an essential element of keeping the downtown economy thriving.
- Pinpointing Intersection Bottlenecks, Naw Safrin Sattar, Meharry Medical
WeGo Public Transit is seeking to independently measure the effectiveness of Transit Signal Priority, and other traffic signal control strategies on bus travel times and reliability. Sattar’s team will integrate existing vehicle-location data with controller-signal-timing data and other sources to effectively isolate and measure changes in intersection-related bus delays. This will help WeGo improve service to its customers and adapt to real-time traffic information.
- Real-Time Multilingual Technical Code Interpretation System, Lijian Ma, Tennessee State University
Metro Codes serves a diverse customer base, and non-English-speaking customers represent approximately 40% of their interactions at the zoning help desk. Ma’s system will provide real-time interpretation for inquiries related to the technical aspects of building codes and zoning ordinances. This is a great example of where technology advances can be deployed to help government better serve an increasingly diverse public.
- LiDAR data-driven Digital Twins for Real-time Traffic Congestion Control, Aniruddha Gokhale, Vanderbilt University
NDOT understands that traffic congestion is a growing challenge, with increasing travel time delays. Gokhale’s team will deploy and analyze LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to make significant progress in addressing traffic congestion problems, giving insights into localized traffic assets such as individual vehicles or pedestrians.
“Using insightful research to help solve Metro problems is good for Nashvillians,” said Mayor Freddie O’Connell. “We have such deep talent in Nashville thanks to our colleges and universities, and these innovators have stepped up to say, ‘I can solve that problem.’ The Tech Studio is a perfect example of how innovation and collaboration can improve quality of life.”
The Tech Studio allows Nashville to test new ideas, remedy unexpected challenges, and build trust with communities before implementing solutions citywide. Acting as a matchmaker, the Innovation Alliance connects city leaders with Nashville innovators to develop, test and scale tech-based solutions to improve city services.
“People may not realize it, but some of the world’s biggest challenges are being solved right here in Nashville,” said Sally Parker, Interim Director of the Nashville Innovation Alliance. “The large number of colleges and universities in our backyard, combined with our growing tech innovation ecosystem, is producing incredible research and breakthroughs that will change the future for many. We want to ensure those innovations benefit all of Nashville, and partnerships with local government play an important role in that work.”
In addition to funding from Vanderbilt University and Launch Tennessee, the Civic Tech Jam has attracted support from partners helping advance individual pilot projects and provide resources across the cohort.
“Cities across the U.S. are looking for smarter ways to serve residents, and Nashville is leading by example. AWS is proud to support the Tech Studio, which shows how cloud and AI can help local governments modernize, from improving pedestrian safety to breaking down language barriers, all while unlocking the potential of the state’s research institution,” said Valerie Singer, General Manager of Global Education at AWS.
Mortenson, a national construction company with deep roots in Nashville, is honored to support the AI-Assisted Survivor Narrative pilot, helping the Family Safety Center more efficiently turn survivors’ oral accounts into written narratives and identify critical safety indicators.
“Mortenson is proud to support a project that pairs emerging technology with a clear public safety need,” said Will Traylor, General Manager at Mortenson. “Dr. Manathunga’s work has the potential to help the Family Safety Center serve survivors more efficiently while contributing to a safer Nashville.”
As the Tech Studio continues to grow, it plans to fund additional research, collaborations and pilot projects to address citywide problems.
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About the Nashville Innovation Alliance
Established by Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, the Nashville Innovation Alliance brings together public, private, civic and education institutions to enhance the region’s innovation ecosystem.
Dedicated to making Nashville one of America’s centers of innovation, the Alliance is developing and implementing a city-wide strategy to advance the innovation ecosystem and incubating new initiatives that benefit all Nashvillians. Together, the Alliance aims to build a resilient and dynamic economy that creates the next generation of homegrown talent and businesses, attracting investment in our communities to support all of Nashville.