Norby and his ORNL colleagues have been investigating how trees will respond to the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Norby's research identified belowground processes and interactions with other environmental factors as key components of forest response to elevated carbon dioxide concentrations. The result of the research is a better understanding of the carbon cycle and the potential effects of global environmental changes.
Norby received his doctorate in forestry and botany in 1981 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He began his career at ORNL in 1981 as a research associate through the DOE's Postdoctoral Research Training program. Norby is a faculty associate at the University of Tennessee. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., in 1972.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, which also manages the Oak Ridge K-25 Site and the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant.