OAK RIDGE, Tenn,óOak Ridge National Laboratory announced today that
Vanderbilt University has joined the laboratory’s "core
universities." ORNL’s core universities–which now number
sevenóassume a scientific leadership role in working with the
laboratory to help shape the research agenda for more than one billion
dollars in science and technology programs.
ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth said Vanderbilt’s membership in the core
universities honors an invitation made four years ago when UT-Battelle
became the laboratory’s managing contractor for the Department of
Energy. UT-Battelle is a partnership between the University of
Tennessee and Battelle, a research and development firm headquartered
in Columbus, Ohio.
"Vanderbilt is an outstanding addition to our core universities" said
ORNL Director Jeff Wadsworth. "The school’s superb capabilities,
particularly in the area of medical research, are ideally suited to
ORNL’s emerging programs in genomics and the biosciences."
Vanderbilt joins Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina
State, the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech as part of ORNL’s
core university arrangement with Oak Ridge Associated
Universities. Along with the University of Tennessee, ORNL
engages with ORAU and the core universities in a variety of ways. Joint
faculty appointments, for example, enable a university faculty member
to conduct research at the laboratory for extended amounts of time,
with costs shared by the two institutions. The core universities
also support the laboratory in the development of major new science
initiatives and provide leadership in expanding university interaction
with ORNL across the broader academic research community.
Wadsworth said he does not anticipate further additions to the core university group "in the foreseeable future."
Vanderbilt Chancellor Gordon Gee said, "We are delighted to be a part
of the most exciting and important science initiative in the country,
and a significant engine for economic activity in Tennessee. This
relationship will add a whole new dimension to our research and
teaching activities. Along with the biosciences, Vanderbilt’s
work in the basic sciences, engineering and technology will benefit
immensely."
Vanderbilt has a long record of partnership with ORNL, most notably in
the physical sciences. Vanderbilt was the driving force with the
University of Tennessee in the establishment in the 1980s of ORNL’s
Joint Institute for Heavy Ion Research. The institute is serving as the
model for three additional joint institutes currently being established
at the laboratory, which is currently midway though a $1.7 billion
construction program that includes a new Center for Computational
Sciences, the Spallation Neutron Source, the Center for Nanophase
Materials Science, a new facility for advanced microscopy and a new
laboratory for ORNL’s renowned mutant mouse colony.
ORNL also has a close working relationship with Oak Ridge Associated
Universities, a consortium of 91 major research institutions.
Vanderbilt University is a private research university of approximately
6,300 undergraduates and 4,800 graduate and professional students.
Founded in 1873, the university comprises 10 schools, a public policy
center, a distinguished medical center and The Freedom Forum First
Amendment Center. Vanderbilt, ranked as one of the nation’s top
universities, offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts and
sciences, engineering, music, education and human development, and a
full range of graduate and professional degrees.
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Billy Stair (865) 574-4160
Michael Schoenfeld (615) 343-1790