Solving Big Problems

Managed by UT-Battelle for the US Department of Energy

Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
On the cover

Background image:

In this fuel combustion simulation created on an ORNL 

supercomputer, colored spheres represent tracer particles that 

allow characterization of the turbulent mixing of ethylene and air 

in an engine.

Top to bottom:

Galen Shipman discusses climate simulations at a visualization wall.

Daniela Anjos prepares a sample for spectroscopic investigation.

Allison Hugh displays research findings at a visualization wall.

Sheng Dai tests electrolytes for advanced battery research.

Project Manager—Lynn Kszos

Writers—Deborah Counce, Kathy Graham, Gregory Scott Jones, 

Dawn Levy, Bonnie Nestor, Ron Walli, Leo Williams

Designer—Brett Hopwood

Photographers—Hassina Bilheux, Curtis Boles, Charles Brooks, 

Larry Hamill, Genevieve Martin, Jay Nave, Jason Richards 

Stock images—iStockphotoTM

Editors—Priscilla Henson, David Keim

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by

UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US Department of

Energy under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725.

www.ornl.gov

Contents

Introduction 

 3 Scientific advancement through multidisciplinary collaboration

Our Missions

 4 Discovery and Innovation: Delivering forefront science and 

technical breakthroughs

 6 Clean Energy: Developing energy solutions for a sustainable future

 8 Global Security: Safeguarding the nation through science and 

technology

Our Leadership Areas

10 Advanced Materials: Creating the stuff from which tomorrow will 

be made

12 Computational Sciences: Accelerating research and innovation

14 Neutron Sciences: Revealing the mysteries of materials

16 Nuclear Science and Engineering: Powering the future and 

ensuring safety and health

Technology Transfer

18 Establishing partnerships, spurring economic development

Graduate Research and Education

19 Training tomorrow’s scientific leaders

Distinctive Scientific Facilities

20 Attracting researchers from around the globe

Core Capabilities

22 Integrating expertise across the scientific spectrum
3

A

s the largest multiprogram science and energy laboratory of the US Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is engaged in a wide range of activities that support DOE’s mission: ensuring America’s security and prosperity by 

addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. To execute these activities, ORNL integrates and applies a remarkable set of core capabilities that comprises talented 

staff and distinctive scientific facilities and equipment. 

On the pages that follow, you will see how ORNL is focusing these resources on the delivery of scientific discoveries and 

technical breakthroughs that will accelerate the development and deployment of solutions in clean energy and global 

security, and in doing so create economic opportunity for the nation. The programs outlined here reflect an orientation to 

both scientific disciplines and national missions—a unique combination that characterizes ORNL and enables us to deliver 

national-scale solutions to problems of critical importance. 

The strong partnership between DOE and UT-Battelle, LLC, which manages 

ORNL for the department, has created a national resource that draws outstanding researchers in a wide range of disciplines to world-class facilities 

where they attack fundamental scientific challenges, couple discoveries 

with applied research, and work with industry to translate results into commercial applications. The work of the laboratory is being performed safely 

and efficiently in a modern campus setting. Throughout the region ORNL 

is justifiably regarded as a high-value asset for innovation, education, and 

economic development. 

Our challenge now is to sustain our leadership and build on our success. 

Thank you for your interest in how ORNL is helping to address some of the 

grand challenges facing our nation and the world.

Johnny Moore Thomas Zacharia

Manager, Director, 

DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory and

Site Office President and CEO, UT-Battelle, LLC 

 

Scientific advancement through multidisciplinary collaboration

Introduction June 2013
Delivering forefront science and technical breakthroughs

Mission: Discovery and Innovation

A history of mission-driven R&D

Oak Ridge National Laboratory was established in 1943 to 

carry out a critical assignment for the Manhattan Project: 

demonstrating the production and separation of plutonium 

to fuel an atomic weapon. An experimental nuclear reactor 

and pilot-scale chemical processing plant were constructed 

in the hills of East Tennessee and staffed by scientists, engineers, and technicians who worked in secrecy to complete 

this urgent task. 

Once its wartime mission was successfully accomplished, 

ORNL took on a new assignment: the development of 

nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The facilities and 

expertise assembled for the Manhattan Project expanded 

to support a nuclear research and development portfolio 

that extended from basic science to applied technology. 

As national needs evolved, ORNL developed and applied 

new capabilities for understanding and solving a wide 

variety of energy-related problems. Today the lab conducts 

a broad range of R&D, primarily for the US Department of 

Energy, but also for other federal agencies and both public 

and private sponsors.

4

National resources for “Big Science”

DOE’s 17 national laboratories occupy a unique niche in the 

nation’s R&D enterprise, providing the resources needed 

to perform what former ORNL director Alvin Weinberg 

famously called “Big Science”—large-scale, long-term R&D 

efforts that are outside the scope of industry or universities. 

National labs are distinguished by their ability to assemble 

large teams of experts from a variety of scientific and technical disciplines to tackle compelling national problems. They 

also design, build, and operate powerful scientific facilities 

that are available to the international research community. 

They work in partnership with universities and industry to 

train the future science and engineering workforce and 

transfer the results of their R&D to the marketplace. 

DOE national labs have consistently responded to national 

priorities with scientific and technological achievements 

that have improved the nation’s security, quality of life, and 

economic competitiveness.
A focus on delivering solutions to 

complex challenges 

Science and technology can help us overcome many 

of the complex and interlocking challenges that we 

face as a nation in the 21st century. These challenges 

include ensuring our national security in a changing 

world, increasing the availability of clean and affordable 

energy, adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate 

change, improving human health, and enhancing US 

competitiveness by encouraging innovation. 

DOE has a central role in addressing these challenges. To 

accomplish its mission of ensuring America’s security and 

prosperity, it relies on its national laboratories, including 

ORNL, for transformative science and technology solutions 

to energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges. 

ORNL is DOE’s largest multiprogram science and energy 

laboratory, with scientific and technical capabilities 

spanning the continuum from basic to applied research. 

These resources enable the lab to tackle an exceptionally 

5

wide range of R&D assignments, from fundamental nuclear 

physics to applied R&D on advanced energy systems. 

In addition, ORNL has a well-deserved reputation for 

combining insights from fundamental science with an 

in-depth technical understanding of applied systems to 

deliver practical solutions to real-world problems.

ORNL aggressively pursues opportunities to put these 

solutions to work, often collaborating with industry to 

accelerate their deployment by the private sector. Products 

as diverse as radiation detectors, thin-film batteries, highefficiency heat pumps, and high-performance steel alloys 

have emerged from the lab’s R&D.

Transfer of these and other innovations to the private sector 

has created new industries in the United States, resulted in 

substantial cost savings for companies and consumers, and 

provided good jobs for Americans. As global competition 

ramps up, ORNL will continue to attack the fundamental 

research challenges posed by DOE’s missions and to carry 

out the translational research required to accelerate the 

delivery of solutions to the marketplace.
Plant geneticist Wellington Muchero examines phenotypic traits of Populus transgenic lines 

grown in a greenhouse at ORNL.

I

t heats and cools our homes, charges our smartphones, 

fuels our vehicles, and powers our factories. Energy is an 

essential part of our lives, and the need for more is escalating along with populations, economic development, and 

standards of living around the globe. Yet challenges exist.

Today fossil fuels supply more than 80 percent of the 

world’s energy. Rising demand is leading to higher prices 

for these finite resources and ultimately consumer goods. It 

is also increasingly clear that the carbon emissions released 

by burning fossil fuels take an unacceptable toll on the 

environment.

To solve these pressing global challenges, ORNL carries out 

focused R&D to understand and reduce the impacts of our 

energy choices and to find more cost-effective and envi6

Developing energy solutions for a sustainable future

Mission: Clean Energy

ronmentally friendly ways to produce and use energy. The 

lab’s clean energy R&D brings together experts in biological 

and environmental sciences, advanced materials, neutron 

sciences, nuclear science and engineering, and highperformance computing.

For example, ORNL researchers are developing new materials, advanced control systems, and innovative processes 

and techniques to improve the efficiency of energy technologies. Laboratory advances in lightweighting materials, 

such as high-strength steel alloys and low-cost carbon 

fiber, are helping automakers meet higher vehicle fuelefficiency standards. ORNL also works with industry to 

develop high-efficiency home appliances and combine 

them with advanced building materials and construction 

techniques to build houses that produce as much energy 

as they consume. A new Manufacturing Demonstration 

Facility is assisting US industry in developing cuttingedge solutions that use less energy, reduce waste, and 

strengthen the nation’s manufacturing base. 

Accelerating biofuels

The BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), established by 

DOE in 2007, plays a key role in ORNL clean energy 

research by accelerating progress toward a viable 

biofuels market. BESC’s goal is to enable revolutionary 

breakthroughs that allow the use of lignocellulosic 

biomass—mainly wood and grass—to produce 

transportation fuels. 
Researcher Steven Campbell demonstrates an electric 

vehicle being wirelessly charged using ORNL technology.

ORNL researcher Victoria Sloan participates in a vegetation harvest and active-layer soil 

sampling exercise in Barrow, Alaska. Data will be used to improve the predictive capacity of 

Earth system models.

Transportation unplugged

ORNL is dropping the cord in electric 

vehicle charging in favor of wireless 

power transfer that is safer and more 

convenient. Whether stationary or on 

the go, the technology’s magnetized 

coil system wirelessly transfers 

electricity to a vehicle’s onboard 

battery pack while it’s positioned over 

an embedded charging sensor.

The lab’s R&D on low-carbon energy 

technologies spans nuclear fission, nuclear 

fusion, and renewable sources including 

solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and 

biomass. Our scientists and engineers conduct research to support the US nuclear 

power industry, which supplies about 

20 percent of the nation’s electricity; 

develop advanced concepts that will enhance the safety 

and reliability of the next generation of nuclear power 

plants; and work with international partners to harness the 

power of the stars by generating fusion energy on earth. 

ORNL researchers are also working to expand the nation’s 

renewable energy options. Expertise in biology, chemistry, 

7

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Clean Energy

Advanced computer science • Applied materials science and engineering • Applied nuclear science and technology • Biological systems science • Chemical and 

molecular science • Chemical engineering • Climate change science • Computational science • Condensed matter physics and materials science • Large-scale 

user facilities/advanced instrumentation • Plasma and fusion energy sciences • Systems engineering and integration • Visualization and data 

physical and computational sciences, and engineering is 

applied to developing new bioenergy crops and transforming them into biofuels and bio-based products that can 

reduce our nation’s dependence on imported petroleum. 

Fundamental studies of batteries are coupled with R&D 

on manufacturing and processing to produce durable 

and affordable energy storage systems that can provide 

US industry with a competitive advantage in the global 

marketplace. 

ORNL has explored the impacts of energy production, 

distribution, and use for decades, but this work has taken 

on new importance with growing evidence of climate 

change linked to fossil fuel consumption. Multidisciplinary 

research at the lab’s Climate Change Science Institute 

is strengthening our understanding of climate change 

through observation and experiment, developing 

high-resolution climate models, and providing input 

to policy decisions that address societal and ecological 

consequences.
Simulation and cybersecurity

Sophisticated modeling and simulation tools are helping 

ORNL pinpoint potential vulnerabilities and stay ahead 

of attempts to launch a cyber attack. By combining 

simulated attacks on real-world network components 

with large-scale modeling and simulation, researchers 

can evaluate cybersecurity threats quickly and costeffectively. Failing to meet the cybersecurity threat headon could have dire consequences for the nation’s military, 

banking institutions, businesses, energy producers and 

distributors, and others who depend on integrated 

computer networks.

A

s threats to our national and global security become 

more complex, varied, and unpredictable, ORNL’s 

scientific and technical resources are being applied to 

deliver solutions to the most pressing security challenges, 

from weapons of mass destruction to cyber warfare. The 

remarkable diversity of these resources provides the lab 

with the tools needed to solve difficult problems in nuclear 

nonproliferation, homeland security, national defense, and 

intelligence. 

Work to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons and 

weapons-grade materials builds on ORNL’s seven decades 

of experience with nuclear science and technology. Lab 

researchers also develop tools and techniques for finding illicit 

nuclear devices such as “dirty bombs,” locating stolen nuclear 

weapons, and verifying international agreements to dismantle 

nuclear warheads. 

8

Safeguarding the nation through science and technology

Mission: Global Security

Researchers at ORNL work with federal, state, and local 

agencies to develop and deploy technologies to improve the 

ability to detect, prevent, respond to, and recover from acts 

of terrorism as well as natural disasters. In addition to nuclear 

detection technologies, the lab is providing new ways to 

identify small quantities of explosives, hazardous chemicals, 

and biological materials. ORNL also develops systems for 

threat assessment, risk awareness, and emergency planning 

and response, as well as new capabilities for first responders. 

The lab meets the needs of the military by addressing specific 

scientific and technical challenges facing the US Department 

of Defense, in terms of both current and future war-fighting 

needs and efforts to transform military services. These 

challenges call for the application of capabilities across ORNL’s 

research directorates. The lab’s contributions to military 

programs span logistics and transportation management, 
Nuclear forensics

Tools, techniques, and expertise in nuclear fuel cycle 

research gained over seven decades are helping 

ORNL scientists control and track nuclear bomb-grade 

materials to be sure they don’t fall into the wrong 

hands. Among the leading-edge technologies used by 

researchers are high-resolution techniques that allow 

analysis of radiation detector data in stunning detail. 

Researchers are also developing aerosol sampling 

systems to collect airborne particulates and instantly 

send an alert if radiation is detected.

Andrew Harter of ORNL’s Nuclear Security and Isotope Technology Division and partners use 

a field sampling trailer outfitted with real-time meteorology and data telemetry stations 

that allow the tracking of radiological materials in the environment.

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Global Security

Advanced computer science, visualization, and data • Applied materials science and engineering • Applied mathematics • Applied nuclear science and technology 

Biological systems science • Chemical and molecular science • Computational science • Nuclear physics • Systems engineering and integration 9

defense against chemical and biological weapons, sensor 

miniaturization and communication, robotics, and special 

materials such as carbon fiber and titanium. 

ORNL’s exceptional resources for computing and 

computational sciences are increasingly being used to 

meet the needs of the military and the US Department of 

Homeland Security. The lab’s capabilities and expertise in 

advanced design, simulation, and modeling are applied to 

challenges from the design of advanced aircraft to the analysis 

of large volumes of data. An area of particular interest is 

cybersecurity: providing the tools needed to protect critical 

digital infrastructure against persistent and sophisticated 

threats with the potential to shut down the power grid or 

disrupt the economy.
ORNL’s expertise in microscopy allows researchers to visualize individual atoms 100,000 times 

smaller than a human hair. In this color-enhanced image, atoms of boron (red) and nitrogen 

(green) are shown in a single layer of boron nitride, along with the contaminants carbon 

(yellow) and oxygen (blue), a level of detail that allows scientists to tailor new materials for 

electronics and other energy applications. This image was made using ORNL improvements 

to aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy.

T

o create advanced energy systems, it’s essential that 

scientists discover and exploit the unique properties of 

materials. ORNL has one of the nation’s most comprehensive materials research programs, which positions the 

lab to contribute to American initiatives in clean energy, 

national security, and industry.

For instance, lightweight materials are fundamental to the 

future of transportation and other energy-related fields. 

By creating new polymer composites with novel properties, ORNL is ushering in a new era of lighter vehicles that 

consume less fuel yet are far safer than today’s cars, trucks, 

airplanes, and ships. And by exploiting materials that 

exhibit unique magnetic and electric properties, ORNL is 

helping the country move toward a new age of electronics in which devices such as cellular phones and tablets 

Creating the stuff from which tomorrow will be made

The future of manufacturing

DOE’s first Manufacturing Demonstration Facility was 

established at ORNL to help industry adopt new technologies that reduce life-cycle energy use and greenhouse 

gas emissions, lower production costs, and create new 

products. The lab’s expertise helps manufacturers reduce 

risks and validate their investments in innovations that 

will create the products—and high-paying jobs—of the 

future in lightweight metals, stronger materials, threedimensional printing, and more.

Leadership in Advanced Materials

10

could exceed current data storage by a factor of thousands, 

making all the data on an iPhone fit in a device the size of 

your pupil. Other lab initiatives include understanding and 

manipulating materials at the nanoscale—about the size 

of a water molecule—and developing materials that could 

increase the efficiency and reliability of systems for power 

generation, storage, distribution, and use, such as batteries. 

ORNL’s materials leadership is supported by user facilities 

including the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, 

Shared Research Equipment Collaborative Research Center, 

Spallation Neutron Source, and Oak Ridge Leadership 

Computing Facility.

Together ORNL’s resources compose the nation’s most 

comprehensive center for materials research and interfacial chemistry (processes that occur at boundaries 

between, for instance, gas and liquid or gas and solid). By 

coupling basic and applied research, ORNL will lead the 

way to unprecedented performance in energy systems 

based on understanding and controlling structure and 

function at the atomic and molecular levels.
A false-color image of molybdenum pillars sticking out of a silicon carbide matrix. Each pillar is a 

nearly perfect single crystal about 1/40th the width of a human hair.

Easo George and Hongbin Bei with the ORNL high-temperature optical floating 

zone furnace used to produce monocrystalline molybdenum alloy micropillars.

Achieving ultimate strength

Through a process known as directional solidification, ORNL researchers have grown materials in nearly perfect “pillars” a 

fraction of the width of a human hair. When tested, these materials had strength near their achievable limits, which is far 

higher than the roughly 10 percent of achievable strength found in similar materials made by traditional methods. This 

discovery points to a new direction for high-performance materials designed to function in extreme high-temperature 

and high-stress environments. By doing so it offers the possibility of significantly increasing the operating temperature—and 

therefore the efficiency—of such products as turbines and 

tremendously decreasing the amount of material required to 

construct strong buildings, bridges, and automobiles.

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Advanced Materials

Advanced computer science, visualization, and data • Applied materials science and engineering • Chemical and molecular science • Chemical engineering

Computational science • Condensed matter physics and materials science • Large-scale user facilities/advanced instrumentation 11

ORNL researchers Hansan Liu, Gilbert Brown, and Parans 

Paranthaman display an array of lithium ion rechargeable 

CR2032 coin cells made with mesoporous titanium oxidebased anodes. These materials can increase a battery’s 

power and safety, while dramatically reducing charging 

time, making them well suited for hybrid electric vehicles 

and other high-power applications.
Modeling and simulation along with data exploration 

have joined experiment and theory as the third 

and fourth pillars of science, allowing researchers 

who make the most of supercomputers to quickly draw 

conclusions from complex and copious data. ORNL’s 

world-class computing experts are committed to offering 

researchers the most productive supercomputing 

ecosystems on the planet so they can produce groundbreaking research in data-intensive science and engineering 

fields such as healthcare, medicine, economics, disaster 

recovery, and national security. For more than a decade 

ORNL has managed diverse data from experiments, 

simulation output, human activities, sensors, and more. 

Large-scale computing underpins scientific disciplines 

including materials science, chemistry, plasma physics, 

astrophysics, biology, climate research, nuclear fission, 

and applied mathematics. ORNL deploys and operates 

leadership-class supercomputers including the DOE Office 

of Science’s Titan, the National Science Foundation’s Kraken, 

and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 

Gaea. Industrial, academic, and government researchers 

worldwide use ORNL supercomputers and support systems 

for data generation, analysis, visualization, and storage to 

illuminate phenomena that are often impossible to study 

in a laboratory, such as climate impacts of energy use, fusion 

in a reactor not yet built, and galaxy formation. 

Simulations allow virtual testing of prototypes before their 

actual construction, enabling compression of product design 

cycles and lower costs for vehicle engines, airplane wings, 

and power plants. In fields from disaster relief to the electric 

grid, simulations provide insight to inform action. They speed 

solutions that help improve electrochemical energy storage 

Accelerating research and innovation

Leadership in Computational Sciences

Supercomputer simulations guided the design of SmartTruck UnderTray components, which 

improve fuel mileage by 7 to 12 percent. Image courtesy of SmartTruck Systems.

12

Fuel efficiency

SmartTruck Systems engineers used the 

Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility 

(OLCF) and a National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration (NASA) application code to 

study airflow around long-haul trucks and 

to design trailer add-ons that dramatically 

decreased drag, saving an estimated $5,000 

annually in fuel costs per vehicle.
World-leading computing

Titan—#1 for speed and #3 for energy efficiency on 

global rankings of supercomputers—combines traditional central processing units with high-performance 

graphics processing units. With a peak performance 

of 27 petaflops, it increases realism in simulations and 

enables virtual experiments, such as global-scale seismology, that were previously impossible due to the vast 

scale and time demands of the simulations.

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Computational Sciences

Advanced computer science, visualization, and data • Large-scale user facilities/advanced instrumentation • Systems engineering and integration 13

James Hack, director of the National Center for Computational Sciences and head of the 

Climate Change Science Institute at ORNL, views climate simulations. Leadership-class 

supercomputers run simulations of changes in atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice that 

help build knowledge of the Earth system.

in batteries, the ability of solar cells to produce electricity, 

the efficiency of the nuclear fuel cycle, and the commercial 

viability of cellulosic biofuels. 

Simulations helped create an innovative supercapacitor, 

forced rewriting of textbooks by revealing how pulsars get 

their spins, and elucidated the molecular mechanism of 

Parkinson’s disease. 

Using supercomputing resources at ORNL, researchers 

have helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the 

US Department of Defense assess terrorist threats. ORNL is 

also collaborating with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS) to prototype a Knowledge Discovery 

Infrastructure that would give a broad range of stakeholders 

easier and more complete access to a CMS data center.
Eugene Mamontov loads samples for the BASIS spectrometer to explore the behavior of 

ionic liquids—liquid salts with enormous potential for a wide range of uses in areas such as 

energy storage, pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and industrial processes.

ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source, Center for 

Nanophase Materials Sciences, and Joint Institute 

for Neutron Sciences

S

cientific investigation with neutrons gives researchers unprecedented capabilities for understanding the 

structure and properties of materials important in biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. ORNL provides 

two of the most powerful neutron science facilities in the 

world—the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux 

Isotope Reactor. SNS produces the world’s most intense 

pulsed neutron beams, and HFIR produces one of the 

brightest steady-state neutron streams on Earth. Through 

materials research, scientists are discovering remarkable 

ways to address our energy needs, such as superconducting power cables that eliminate power-transmission losses 

and prevent outages, liquid transportation fuels produced 

from biomass, and magnetic refrigerators that use half the 

energy of conventional appliances.

To bring such technologies into common use, researchers 

need to be able to view materials from the atom-to-atom 

scale to a full systems view. Developing these advanced 

Electrical production

ORNL scientists are using neutrons 

to figure out how to improve 

the ability of certain materials to 

generate electricity from heat 

produced by industrial motors 

or automobile exhaust and use it 

to power small electrical devices. 

It’s research that can’t be done 

without the subatomic view of 

materials made possible by ORNL’s 

large research facilities.

Revealing the mysteries of materials

Leadership in Neutron Sciences

14
Valeria Lauter of ORNL’s Neutron Sciences Directorate mounts a sample in an electromagnet 

for an experiment using polarized neutrons at the Liquids Reflectometer at ORNL’s Spallation 

Neutron Source. The reflectometer is dedicated to studies of magnetic nanostructures.

Understanding and fighting disease

The Sindbis virus is the prototype for insect-borne 

viruses that cause devastating diseases worldwide. 

Neutron scattering revealed how exposure to acidic 

conditions causes structural changes in the Sindbis core 

that help the virus attach itself to and transfer infectious 

RNA into human cells. The research also detailed subtle 

structural differences between virus particles from 

insect and mammalian hosts. The findings add to the 

understanding of how viruses infect human cells, a key 

to controlling the spread of insect-borne diseases.

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Neutron Sciences

Accelerator science • Advanced computer science, visualization, and data • Applied materials science and engineering • Applied nuclear science and 

technology • Chemical and molecular science • Condensed matter physics and materials science • Large-scale user facilities/advanced instrumentation 15

Negative thermal expansion

Materials with negative thermal expansion (NTE) 

contract when they’re heated instead of expanding as 

most materials do, making them potentially useful in 

applications such as nanoelectronics, telescope mirrors, 

and dental fillings. Scientists bombarded a sample of 

scandium fluoride, a known NTE material, with neutrons at ORNL to discover how vibrations in its crystal 

structure cause NTE behavior. The understanding 

gained will help scientists design materials with desirable responses to temperature.

materials requires manipulating the properties of alloys 

at the atomic level, and neutron scattering is a key tool in 

this quest. 

Neutrons show where atoms are and what they are doing 

at scales smaller than the best electron microscopes. They 

let researchers see in real time how the atomic lineup in a 

material shifts with changes in temperature, pressure, and 

magnetic or electronic fields. They trace the electron motions that give materials properties such as magnetism or 

the ability to conduct electricity—all essential information 

in the quest for energy savings.

Satisfying the world’s growing hunger for energy requires 

finding ways to use power more frugally and developing methods for sustainably producing additional energy. 

Neutron scattering aids the creation of new materials 

engineered for both purposes.
O

ak Ridge helped usher in the Nuclear Age, and ORNL’s 

scientists are leaders in using nuclear technologies and 

systems to improve human health; explore safer, more 

environmentally friendly power; and better understand the 

very makeup of matter.

The lab is a world leader in the production of isotopes for 

medical purposes and research. In fact, its isotopes have 

contributed to the discovery of seven new elements. 

ORNL is managing US contributions to the international 

effort to generate fusion power at ITER, an experimental 

facility being built in Cadarache, France. The project will 

prove the scientific feasibility of fusion energy, a longsought technology that emits no greenhouse gases, 

presents no risk of meltdown, produces no long-lived highlevel radioactive waste, and offers no potential for nuclear 

proliferation. 

The laboratory provides leadership in the full spectrum of 

research, development, and deployment of reactor and 

nuclear fuel cycle technologies, from fuel development to 

the transport, storage, and disposal of used nuclear fuel. 

The labs fuel cycle expertise also supports national security 

through nuclear forensics, nuclear material detection, and 

fuel-cycle signature analysis. With other government, industrial, and academic partners, ORNL researchers are using 

simulations and modeling to determine safe, efficient ways 

to improve energy production from nuclear reactors.

ITER is being built to demonstrate the feasibility 

of industrial-scale fusion energy.

Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

Powering the future and ensuring safety and health

Leadership in Nuclear Science and Engineering

16

ORNL’s leadership in nuclear science and technology is 

essential for ensuring a safe, effective nuclear infrastructure 

today, while paving the way for tomorrow’s nuclear breakthroughs.
Isotopes for medicine, industry, and research 

ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, constructed in the 

1960s to produce transuranic isotopes, is still the western 

world’s sole supplier of californium-252, an isotope 

instrumental in the exploration of new energy resources, 

medical therapy, and the detection of pollutants in the 

environment and explosives in luggage. 

Improving reactor performance

New nuclear power plant technologies are expensive 

to test, and new plants cost billions to construct. 

ORNL is helping address these challenges as host 

of a DOE-sponsored partnership of government, 

academia, and industry called the Consortium for 

Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). 

CASL is using the lab’s supercomputers and advanced 

modeling and simulation techniques (pictured at left) 

to figure out how to safely extend the life of reactors 

and implement new technology that’s safer, more 

efficient, and more reliable.

ORNL Capabilities Vital to Nuclear Science & Technology

Accelerator science • Advanced computer science, visualization, and data • Applied materials science and engineering • Applied nuclear science and technology

Chemical and molecular science • Chemical engineering • Computational science • Condensed matter physics and materials science • Large-scale user facilities/

advanced instrumentation • Nuclear physics • Plasma and fusion energy sciences • Systems engineering and integration 17
The LandScan High Resolution Global Population DataSet, developed at ORNL, refines 

the best available census data using geographic information system and remote sensing 

technologies and has emerged as an international community standard for sustainable 

development, environmental protection, disaster response, and humanitarian relief. 

Manufacturing stronger, lighter material

The Oak Ridge Carbon Fiber Composites Consortium 

includes more than 40 companies seeking to develop 

new, low-cost materials and processes that will greatly 

accelerate the commercial use of carbon fiber and 

composites in applications including transportation, 

aerospace, wind and alternative energy, oil and 

offshore drilling, and construction. The lab’s Carbon 

Fiber Technology Facility can produce up to 25 tons of 

material annually as researchers and industry partners 

seek to efficiently produce the strong, lightweight 

material at a commercial scale.

18

Technology Transfer

Establishing partnerships, spurring economic development

O

RNL promotes an entrepreneurial culture that puts 

science to work through licensing of its intellectual 

property and application of its expertise to the 

challenges facing private industry. 

The lab has more than 140 active licenses with organizations ranging from startups to large corporations to 

academic institutions. The innovation of ORNL researchers 

results in more than 200 inventions and an average of 50 

patents each year. ORNL has won more R&D Awards, given 

by R&D Magazine for the top 100 inventions each year, than 

any other organization.

Businesses come to ORNL for assistance solving difficult 

technical problems or finding better ways to do their work. 

The resulting scientific partnerships allow lab innovations 

to reach the private sector, promoting commercialization 

and job growth.

Partnerships with private companies, universities, nonprofit 

agencies, and other nonfederal entities are made possible 

through a variety of mechanisms, including cooperative 

research and development agreements, work-for-others 

contracts, user agreements, and nondisclosure agreements. 

By promoting the creation and expansion of technologybased companies and better-paying jobs, ORNL is a 

significant economic-development resource, improving 

the quality of life in the region, state, and nation.
Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and 

Graduate Education

The Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research 

and Graduate Education (CIRE) offers exceptional doctoral fellowships. Extensive interdisciplinary research 

and coursework focus on science and engineering 

challenges related to the production, distribution, and 

consumption of energy. Students also gain skills and 

experience in public policy and entrepreneurship, 

joining research teams at ORNL and the University of 

Tennessee in problem-oriented research.

ORNL researchers talk to graduate students during the CIRE speed networking event, a roundrobin-style interaction that allows students to meet as many research staff members as 

possible in a brief timespan and includes poster presentations by Bredesen Center students.

Graduate Research and Education

19

UT-Battelle’s Core Partners

Training tomorrow’s scientific leaders

O

RNL links university students and faculty across 

the United States with multidisciplinary research 

opportunities and unique facilities, bringing 

outstanding future scientists, engineers, and teachers 

together with today’s finest researchers. More than 1,000 

students conduct research at ORNL each summer. 

The University Partnerships Program provides graduate 

internships and fellowships, postdoctoral appointments, 

joint faculty positions, and collaborative research. Students 

also get one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial experience through 

opportunities such as development of business plans for 

technology deployment. ORNL’s vision is to transform the 

graduate educational experience by engaging students 

in large-scale, problem-oriented programs that enable 

scientific discoveries and innovative solutions to energyrelated challenges.
20

Attracting researchers from around the globe

The Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility offers some of 

the world’s most powerful supercomputers. From astrophysics to 

combustion to fusion and dozens more areas across the scientific 

spectrum, the center’s simulations make transformational breakthroughs possible at lower cost and in less time.

Distinctive Scientific Facilities

The accelerator-based Spallation Neutron Source provides 

the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world, revealing 

details about extraordinarily small samples of physical and 

biological material. 

The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences integrates 

nanoscale science with theory, modeling, and simulation for a 

better understanding of subatomic systems and architectures 

with the potential to revolutionize technology.

The 85-megawatt High Flux Isotope Reactor has one of the 

highest steady-state neutron fluxes in the world, allowing 

scientists to study the molecular and magnetic behaviors of 

materials. It also is a key facility for isotope production, neutron 

irradiation, and neutron activation analysis.
21

The National Transportation Research Center helps industry, 

academia, and other agencies advance technologies that 

improve fuel economy, reduce emissions, and address issues such 

as traffic congestion, evacuation planning, and highway safety.

The Building Technologies Research and Integration Center

offers a wealth of experimental and computational tools and 

expertise on building envelopes; equipment and fluids for 

heating, cooling, and appliances; and system and whole-building 

performance to support development and performance 

characterization of technologies that maximize the cost-effective 

energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings.

The Shared Research Equipment User Facility is an electron 

beam microcharacterization facility that provides a suite of 

advanced instruments for micrometer- to angstrom-scale 

characterization of materials.

www.ornl.gov/adm/user_facilities/
Accelerator Science and Technology

ORNL’s expertise includes the physics and supporting 

technology for production, acceleration, accumulation, 

and use of high-intensity, high-power beams of atomic 

particles.

Advanced Computer Science, Visualization, 

and Data

ORNL’s computational capability includes experts in 

system software, component technologies, architectureaware algorithms, fault-tolerant distributed computing, 

virtualization, computational steering, networking, data 

analytics, and cybersecurity.

Applied Materials Science and Engineering

ORNL researchers apply knowledge of materials 

characterization, synthesis, processing, and design to 

applications such as advanced manufacturing and creation 

of lightweight materials, advanced steels and coatings, 

nuclear fuels and structural materials, batteries, solar 

photovoltaics, and materials for extreme environments.

Applied Nuclear Science and Technology

ORNL advances reactor and fuel-cycle technology; 

addresses challenges in nuclear nonproliferation, national 

security, and environmental management; and supports 

isotope production and R&D. Scientists also use modeling 

22

and simulation to advance understanding of the fuel cycle 

and improve the efficiency and use of nuclear systems and 

associated experimental facilities.

Biological Systems Science

ORNL scientists in plant molecular biology and 

microbiology develop and apply advanced capabilities 

to solve problems in bioenergy, climate change, carbon 

sequestration, and the health effects of low-dose radiation. 

As the lead institution for DOE’s BioEnergy Science Center, 

ORNL is pioneering systems biology science, leading 

to economical and sustainable production of biomass 

material and its conversion to biofuels and other products.

Chemical and Molecular Science

ORNL’s capabilities encompass design, synthesis, and 

characterization of the structure and reactivity of organic, 

inorganic, biological, polymeric, and hybrid materials. 

A particular strength at ORNL is understanding and 

controlling the chemistry at interfaces between phases of 

materials (e.g., liquid and solid).

Chemical Engineering

ORNL applies knowledge supplied by fundamental 

chemical research to efforts including nuclear fuel 

reprocessing and isotope production and separation as 

well as energy efficiency, renewable energy, fossil energy, 

waste management and environmental remediation, and 

national security.

Integrating expertise across the scientific spectrum

Core Capabilities
23

Climate Change Science

ORNL addresses the implications of climate change at 

scales from local to global and leads fundamental studies 

of climate change impacts on the terrestrial carbon and 

other biogeochemical cycles as well as their connections to 

other natural and human systems.

Computational Science

ORNL is the world’s most capable complex for computational science as a result of its staff, infrastructure, and 

high-performance computing systems. A distinctive feature 

of this core capability is the ability to build multidisciplinary 

teams to execute breakthrough science through scalable 

algorithms and codes on massively parallel hardware.

Condensed Matter Physics and

Materials Science

ORNL’s research focuses on understanding multiscale 

physical and chemical phenomena that underpin the 

discovery of advanced materials, with the goal of enabling 

new technologies for energy production, storage, and use.

Environmental Subsurface Science

ORNL capabilities in environmental subsurface science are 

advancing the fundamental understanding of contaminant 

transport and transformation in natural environments and 

enabling solutions to subsurface contamination by uranium 

and nitrate and surface contamination by mercury.

Large-Scale User Facilities/Advanced 

Instrumentation

ORNL has a distinguished record in the design, 

procurement, construction, and operation of major 

facilities for DOE and in the development of advanced 

instrumentation for acquisition, management, analysis, 

and visualization of experimental data. These facilities have 

innovative instrumentation and research programs that 

serve to motivate and attract users.

Nuclear Physics

ORNL’s nuclear physics capability includes theoretical, 

experimental, and simulations expertise. Research by 

ORNL nuclear physicists expands our understanding of the 

structure and origin of nuclei and advances physics beyond 

the Standard Model. 

Plasma and Fusion Energy Sciences

ORNL leads US contributions to the international effort 

to harness fusion energy and conducts research in fusion 

plasma physics, materials, and fusion technology. 

Systems Engineering and Integration

ORNL has a reputation for creating large, complex, one-ofa-kind systems that must be field-deployable, maintainable, 

and reliable. Repeated success with high-risk, nationally 

important projects has created a unique ability to deliver 

such systems. 
ORNL-0999 (8-2017)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and technical 

breakthroughs that will accelerate the development and deployment of solutions in clean 

energy and global security, and in doing so create economic opportunity for the nation.

ORNL 2012-G01126A/abh