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Who We Are
Our People Are Our Greatest Strength
Our People Are Our Greatest Strength
More than 6,000 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
Mission
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.
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.
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.
Our Stories
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.
"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
Interim Laboratory Director
Facts & Stats
60+
Nationalities represented in the workforce
818
Patents issued since 2005
2,000+
Scientific publications per year