Who We Are

Who We Are

ORNL is home to 7,500+ scientists, engineers, technicians, and support staff representing more than 70 nations. We are driven by our shared purpose to meet the world’s biggest challenges with intelligence, creativity, and teamwork.

Our Voices

Our Values

At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we fulfill our missions by aligning our behaviors, priorities, and interactions with five core values: Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service. These values guide how we treat one another, work together, and measure success — not only as individuals, but as groups and as an institution.

Learn About Our Values
Intern Maushmi Maran poses with her mentor, Amanda Steinhebel, in a laboratory in Building 3500.
Luiz Leal and Jesse Brown stand in a conference room at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with research data displayed on two monitors behind them.

Community

We care about our community. Our lab supports STEM education programs, grant programs, and employee and corporate giving. Our employees are deeply connected throughout East Tennessee through volunteer service to local nonprofits, schools and other organizations.

Engage With Us
A group of children interact with a hands-on science exhibit. Two girls in the foreground examine a large 3D-printed object displayed beneath a robotic arm, while educational panels in the background explain what microbes are and their role in the environment.
Close up of pink dogwood flowers
Downtown Knoxville's Gay Street at dusk, featuring the illuminated vertical Tennessee Theatre marquee on the left. Cyclists and vehicles travel along the street, which is lined with historic buildings, storefronts, flags, and streetlights. Modern office towers rise in the background beneath a blue evening sky.
A panoramic view of a packed Neyland football stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee at sunset, with fans dressed in orange and white forming a checkerboard pattern across the stands.
A scenic mountain landscape of Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. d a line of trees and rolling mountains in the distance.

Live and Play

Located in the rolling foothills of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, East Tennessee offers something for everyone: hundreds of miles of greenway and biking trails; abundant access to lakes, rivers, and streams for fishing, rowing, and boating; quaint and quiet small towns; the state’s flagship university, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and the City of Knoxville, a vibrant and eclectic mid-sized city with an unparalleled arts and culture scene.

Explore The Area