Public research body · Science policy · Oak Ridge, Tennessee · Est. 1943
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, conducting multidisciplinary research and development spanning computing, energy, materials, nuclear science, and national security.
ORNL is a “government-owned, contractor-operated” (GOCO) facility: DOE owns the lab, while UT-Battelle (a 50-50 limited liability company owned by the University of Tennessee and Battelle) manages and operates ORNL under DOE oversight. ORNL’s mission focuses on delivering scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs intended to accelerate clean energy solutions and strengthen U.S. competitiveness and national security, drawing on major user-facing scientific facilities (including neutron scattering and high-performance computing) and DOE Office of Science user capabilities. Strategically, ORNL emphasizes (1) leadership-class and exascale supercomputing infrastructure for open science and applied R&D, (2) neutron sciences and isotope/nuclear R&D for both fundamental science and mission-driven needs, and (3) cross-cutting data, AI, autonomy, and materials/energy systems work aimed at deploying solutions in energy and security domains. Notable ORNL computing platforms are delivered through its Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), including Summit (leadership-class) and Frontier (DOE’s first exascale system).
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ORNL highlights summer STEM programs that provide hands-on research experiences and internship pathways for students and educators.
AI automates the creation of custom materialsORNL researchers report a fully automated atom-scale materials building approach, described as using AI to guide the creation of functional materials atom-by-atom in a long autonomous run.
ORNL earns five DOE Transportation Technologies Office awardsORNL reports that ORNL research teams received multiple awards presented during DOE’s 2026 Annual Merit Review (Transportation Technologies Office), including recognition tied to welding and additive manufacturing tools.
ORNL names Jim Serafin director of facilities and operationsORNL announced James “Jim” E. Serafin Jr. as director of the Facilities and Operations Directorate.
When SAMMY met VENUS: A powerful pairing introduces new method of non-destructive testingORNL reports pairing the SAMMY nuclear analysis code with neutron transmission measurements from its VENUS instrument to support non-destructive assay approaches for nuclear materials.
New material approach could lead to lower-power devicesORNL reports ferroelectric behavior in aluminum nitride produced using a focused helium ion beam, with potential implications for lower-power data storage devices.