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 deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs to realize solutions for complex challenges including the transition to clean energy, mitigation of climate change, improvements to human health, and innovation that strengthens economic competitiveness.

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

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Brenden Ortiz, an ORNL Wigner Distinguished Staff Fellow, is helping design the next generation of quantum materials. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Brenden Ortiz, Wigner Fellow, is living his dream and discovering new materials
Jeff Foster, Distinguished Staff Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is looking for ways to control polymer sequencing for a variety of uses. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Research fellow Jeff Foster investigates ways to create designer molecules
Oak Ridge National Laboratory led a team of scientists to design a molecule that disrupts the infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could be used to develop new treatments for COVID-19 and future virus outbreaks. Credit: Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
ORNL-led team designs molecule to disrupt SARS-CoV-2 infection
A researcher works in a lab in the Radiochemical Engineering and Development Center, or REDC, at ORNL’s main campus. The REDC provides world-class capabilities in isotope production, research and development, source fabrication, and the distribution of various unique isotopes. Here, experts handle some of the most exotic materials in the world. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy
Pellissippi State, ORNL partner for new pathway to chemical radiation career
ORNL engineer Ahmed Elatar explained his profession to students in Jessica Everitt’s 2nd grade class at Hardin Valley Elementary School in Knoxville, Tennessee, during Engineers Week. Credit: Jessica Everitt
It’s back to school for ORNL engineers during Engineers Week
This newly manufactured fixed guide vane of a hydropower turbine system was additively created at the DOE Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S Dept. of Energy
Modernizing a century-old power giant
ORNL chemist and YO-STEM founder Candice Halbert focuses her professional time operating the Liquids Reflectometer at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Chemist’s formula for change helps underserved kids dream big
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed an eco-friendly foam insulation for improved building efficiency. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Eco-friendly foam insulates buildings without warming the globe
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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."

Jeff W Smith
Jeff W Smith
Interim Laboratory Director
Facts & Stats
60+
Nationalities represented in the workforce
818
Patents issued since 2005
2,000+
Scientific publications per year
Learn more about ORNL