SOLVING BIG PROBLEMS

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the world’s premier research institution, empowering leaders and teams to pursue breakthroughs in an environment marked by operational excellence and engagement with the communities where we live and work.

What We Do
Who We Are

Our People Are Our Greatest Strength

More than 5,800 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff representing more than 60 nations form a dynamic culture of innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Our focus on community, collaboration, and the environment shapes who we are and is integral to our success.

Leading The Way

Mission

Scientific Discovery
Clean Energy
National Security
Researcher

As the US Department of Energy’s largest multi-disciplinary laboratory, we apply a remarkable portfolio of scientific and technological expertise and world-class facilities to develop solutions for the complex challenges facing our nation. These challenges include adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change, improving human health, and enhancing US competitiveness by encouraging innovation.

Research

We play a pivotal role in building a clean, efficient, flexible, and secure energy future. Our scientists work with many of America’s best innovators and businesses to research, develop, and deploy cutting-edge technologies and to break down market barriers in sustainable transportation, smart power systems, and energy efficiency for homes, buildings, and manufacturing.

Researchers

ORNL advances the science behind national security. We secure critical assets to keep our national infrastructure running and our people safe. Our work protects nuclear materials to enable their secure, peaceful use for energy production, medical applications, and scientific discovery around the world. We advance human security to strengthen community resilience and save lives in times of disaster and crisis.

Join the Team.
Change the World.

Leveraging the talents of its world-class researchers and exceptional support staff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is helping solve critical scientific and technical challenges and, in so doing, creating economic opportunity for the nation. ORNL provides access to unique facilities, laboratories, and equipment, drawing thousands of visiting researchers each year. A vibrant and welcoming scientific community, ORNL embraces the pursuit of innovative ideas and invests in its people to ensure their success.

Explore Careers at ORNL
ORNL careers
ORNL careers

Our Stories

View All News
Innovation Crossroads Cohort Six includes: Bianca Bailey, Agriwater; Rajan Kumar, Ateois Systems; Alex Stiles, Vitriform3D; Kim Tutin, Captis Aire; Anca Timofte, Holocene Climate; and Pete Willette, facil.ai. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
ORNL welcomes sixth cohort of Innovation Crossroads clean energy entrepreneurs
Thomas Zacharia
ORNL Director Zacharia announces retirement
ORNL identity science researcher Nell Barber works on a facial recognition camera. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Nell Barber: Using psychology to teach machines facial recognition
ORNL mechanical engineer Marm Dixit focuses his research on solid-state batteries and their potential use in electric vehicles. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Marm Dixit: Creative juices fuel solid state battery research
Caption: ORNL researchers demonstrated a system that can detect propane leaks within seconds and notify emergency services immediately, well before flames ignite. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Buildings — Split-second leak detection
Burak Ozpineci, a Corporate Fellow and section head of Vehicle and Mobility Systems Research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is one of six international recipients of the eighth Nagamori Award recognizing his contributions to electrification in transportation. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
ORNL’s Ozpineci selected for Nagamori Award
Melanie Mayes is an ORNL biogeochemist studying soil carbon cycling across varied ecosystems, including in urban environments. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Melanie Mayes: On the trail of climate impacts, from the tropics to cities
ORNL scientists identified four amino acids key to signaling pathways in the PAN protein domain. Mutating any of those four resulted in disruption of the signal that tells cancer cells to multiply and spread in humans. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Scientists discover cancer trigger that could spur targeted drug therapies
View All News

Our Voices

our voices
our voices
our voices
our voices

Partner With Us

Collaborations are critical to modern science and engineering, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory engages in various types of collaboration with a range of organizations.

From private industry, to academia, to state and local governments, various types of organizations tap into ORNL's rare expertise and resources.

Learn More About Partnerships
User Facilities

"One of the privileges we have as a national lab is that we have the ability to move the entire laboratory, each of our institutions, to tackle these big, difficult, and hard problems of transitioning the society to a different mode of energy production, consumption, and distribution."

Thomas Zacharia Portrait
Thomas Zacharia
Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Facts & Stats
60+
Nationalities represented in the workforce
818
Patents issued since 2005
2,000+
Scientific publications per year
Learn more about ORNL