Dr. Michael J. Pivovaroff is the Deputy Associate Laboratory Director for National Security Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Mike joined ORNL in 2026 to serve in this new role, a key member of the NNSD leadership team.
An experimental physicist, Mike has worked in the DOE national laboratory complex for more than 30 years in a range of scientific and leadership roles. He has designed and deployed x-ray detectors and optics for NASA missions, DOE Office of Science light sources, nuclear non-proliferation sensors, biomedical applications, and high-energy physics experiments. He has also developed instrumentation for the DOW, performed analysis for the national security space enterprise, and partnered with U.S. academia and industry to jointly develop and deliver capabilities for US government sponsors.
Prior to joining ORNL, Mike spent most of his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, contributing to basic research, national security applications, and the leadership of multi-disciplinary organizations. In 2014, he was named the first leader of the LLNL Director’s Initiative for Space, coordinating and expanding the Lab’s space science and security efforts. This work led to the creation of the Space Science and Security Program in 2016, which he led as inaugural program leader. From 2020 to 2022, Mike served as Associate Laboratory Director for Technology Innovation at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He returned to LLNL in 2023 as Associate Deputy Director for Science and Technology, and he most recently served as the LLNL Program Director for Golden Dome for America.
He remains active in the scientific and academic communities through authorship of over 170 publications and participation in review panels for DOE, NASA, and the National Science Foundation. He was named a senior member of SPIE in 2015 for his contributions to reflective x-ray optics. His additional honors include four NASA awards and a fellowship from the Scowcroft Institute at Texas A&M University.
Mike earned a B.A. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, a Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a graduate certificate in national security affairs from Texas A&M University.
