Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences (CSGB) program

Building a fundamental science basis for critical US needs in energy research

The Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences (CSGB) program at ORNL pursues world-leading discovery science to understand and control reactivity and transport in complex chemical environments as driven by thermal fluctuations, chemical potential gradients, and external stimuli. 

This effort builds on unique ORNL capabilities in spectroscopy, imaging, neutron scattering, synthesis, modeling, and data science. The program takes full advantage of user facilities at ORNL, including the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, the Spallation Neutron Source, the High Flux Isotope Reactor, and the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, as well as resources at other user facilities across the country.

The CSGB program is organized around four synergistic research themes:

• Tailoring reactivity through local environments
• Predicting chemical pathways away from equilibrium
• Controlling coupled reactivity and transport
• Driving chemistry with external stimuli

Researchers are also pursuing two crosscutting efforts that tap into multiple research themes. Interfacial specific physical chemistry and spectroscopy looks to develop and probe chemistry at, and away from, equilibrium across time and length scales. Advanced simulations seek to capture the complexity of dynamic reaction environments away from equilibrium.