Oak Ridge Science Semester

Research at the Frontiers of Knowledge

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) multiprogram laboratory focusing on national and global energy and environmental issues. The Laboratory is managed for DOE by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation. ORNL's mission is to conduct basic and applied research and development in order to advance the nation's energy resources, environmental quality and scientific knowledge and to contribute to the educational foundation and national economic competitiveness.

The GLCA / ACM Oak Ridge Science Semester enables students to join ongoing investigations at ORNL and to use the sophisticated resources available at the Laboratory, including supercomputers and state-of-the-art electron microscopes, lasers and analytical instruments such as a Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometer and a scanning tunneling microscope.

The applications of accepted students are sent to one or more research groups whose interests are similar to those of the student. Students devote most of their time to research, with a scientist from the ORNL staff serving as a mentor.

In addition, students are required to participate in an interdisciplinary seminar and choose an advanced academic course from among a variety of options.

The academic program is enriched in informal ways by guest speakers, department colloquial and the special interests and expertise of the ORNL staff.