October 20, 1999
UT-BATTELLE WINS OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY CONTRACT
The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that the University of Tennessee-Battelle team has been selected to operate Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The five-year management and operations contract is valued at approximately $2.5 billion. ORNL employs approximately 4,500 staff.
Additional members of the team include Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and several of its lead institutions (Duke, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia and Virginia Tech). Key subcontractors include Duke Engineering and Services and BWX Technologies (Babcock & Wilcox).
"We are proud and excited to be selected for the important national responsibility of operating Oak Ridge National Laboratory-an outstanding science and technology institution with great people," according to a joint statement released by UT President Wade Gilley and Battelle President and CEO Doug Olesen. "We are excited by the science and technology, economic development, and community opportunities at Oak Ridge. UT-Battelle wishes to thank the many citizens of Tennessee who supported our team."
Gilley and Olesen mentioned three major priorities for operating the Laboratory:
UT has been a citizen of the East Tennessee region for 205 years. Over the centuries, it has broadened its operations to include campuses at Memphis, Martin, and Chattanooga and three institutes-agriculture, space, and public service/continuing education. UT has 42,000 students, 15,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni, and an annual operating budget exceeding $1 billion. The university is a Carnegie 1 research institution, with centers of excellence in waste management, materials processing, and the Science Alliance, a collaboration of UT faculty and ORNL staff involved in scientific research. UT's liaison with Oak Ridge began almost as soon as ground was broken on the Oak Ridge Reservation. As early as 1943, there were cooperative efforts between the two, and the first UT graduate classes were offered in Oak Ridge in 1945.
UT has made a priority of expanding collaborative research activities with ORNL during the 1990s. Joint research between UT and ORNL now totals over $20 million.
The non-profit Battelle employs about 7,500 scientists, engineers, and supporting specialists worldwide, assisting more than 2,000 industrial and government clients. Battelle has developed numerous breakthroughs including the Xerox machine, compact disc, and medical technologies. A key part of Battelle's $1 billion-a-year business is the management of laboratories-including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory (in a partnership with the State University of New York at Stony Brook), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (in a partnership with Midwest Research Institute and Bechtel). Battelle also operates its own private laboratories in locations such as Columbus, Ohio and Geneva, Switzerland.
For more information contact Media Relations Manager Katy Delaney at (614) 424-5544, or e-mail delaneyk@battelle.org.
The UT-Battelle team will begin immediately to prepare for the transition to its management and operations responsibilities. UT-Battelle will officially assume its operational responsibilities on April 1, 2000.
Battelle Home For news release information please call Katy Delaney (614) 424-5544 or email delaneyk@battelle.org, other inquiries call (614) 424-6424 © Battelle Memorial Institute 1999. All rights reserved. |