Our Mission/Vision Statement:
Advancing isotope science and processing for a healthy, secure, and sustainable future
Advancing isotope science and processing for a healthy, secure, and sustainable future
Established in 2020, the Isotope Science and Engineering Directorate is strengthening Oak Ridge National Laboratory's leadership in isotope production and enrichment technology innovation. ISED is guiding the Lab's pursuit of the fundamental science and technology that broadens the application of isotopes for energy, environmental, medical, and national security purposes. These efforts are made possible through the High Flux Isotope Reactor, the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, ORNL's other nuclear facilities, and an assemblage of world-leading scientists and engineers.
Just in the last 10 years, ORNL has made substantial contributions to science. In 2015, the Lab began producing plutonium-238, reestablishing domestic production that had been dormant for nearly three decades and helping power NASA's Mars 2020 mission. We expanded the periodic table through the discovery of tennessine, element 117. We produced ruthenium-96—the first ruthenium enriched in the United States since 1983—to support studies on fundamental nuclear physics.
Each of these milestones demonstrates the Lab's leading-edge isotope production capabilities and sustains a legacy that began less than a year after World War II, when ORNL made its first official shipment of a radioisotope, a small quantity of carbon-14 to a St. Louis cancer hospital.
ISED will further the Lab's standing as the global leader in isotope research, development, and production, meeting the nation's emerging needs for stable and radioactive isotopes. The directorate's vision is to:
Take a 3D tour of the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, where plutonium-238 for NASA and other isotopes for medicine and science are processed every day.
Enrichment Science and Engineering
Isotope Processing and Manufacturing Division
Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities
Radioisotope Science and Technology
Radiochemical Engineering Development Center
Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory
Irradiated Material Examination and Testing Facility
The Enrichment Science and Engineering Division (ESED) serves the nation in two critical areas: advancing enrichment technologies, and exploring stable isotope production and applications. The division leverages an elite staff of scientists and engineers with the world-leading capabilities of Oak Ridge National Laboratory to deliver groundbreaking advancements with a variety of applications, from national security to life-saving medical treatments.
The Isotope Processing and Manufacturing Division (IPMD) was formed in June 2022 to streamline the routine manufacturing of isotopes into efficient, quality-controlled processes. Decades of world-class research and development have made routine manufacturing possible, and ORNL’s unmatched experts and facilities ensure it’s able to meet the nation’s needs for isotopes now and in the future.
ORNL has a unique complex of nuclear facilities to support the increasing demand for producing isotopes and developing nuclear fuels and materials. The Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities Division (NNFD) operates, maintains, and modernizes those facilities, managing infrastructure, staffing, and processes needed to support research and development.
The Radioisotope Science and Technology Division (RSTD) is a global leader in actinide science, research and development of the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers from 89 to 103, actinium through lawrencium. Scientists at ORNL are continually improving radiochemical processing methods, allowing the lab to produce and rapidly deliver radioisotopes for science, medicine, industry, and security.