OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WATE) — A new director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest multi-purpose national laboratory, was announced on Thursday.
UT-Battelle, the private nonprofit company that manages and operates the federal site in, has appointed Stephen K. Streiffer as the next director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He will assume the role in October.
“Our national laboratories provide scientists with access to some of the most powerful research facilities in the world, and Stephen has been a key leader in the development of these capabilities,” said Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, director of DOE’s Office of Science. “At Oak Ridge, Stephen’s experience will help to ensure continued impact that benefits the nation and world.”
He currently serves as the interim director of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California. SLAC is administered by Stanford University, which Streiffer joined last year as the vice president responsible for the oversight of the lab. He previously spent 24 years at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois.
Streiffer earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor’s in materials science from Rice University. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the Materials Research Society and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
“I look forward to getting to work at Oak Ridge,” Streiffer said. “Through my roles with Office of Science programs and user facilities, I’ve collaborated with ORNL and its extremely talented staff for many years. It’s a great honor to be selected as lab director and to join the team, and I’m committed to continuing the transformative role Oak Ridge has played in our nation’s scientific enterprise for almost 80 years.”
UT-Battelle has overseen Oak Ridge National Laboratory since 2000 when it was formed as a 50-50 limited liability partnership between the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute.
Randy Boyd, president of the University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd, who also serves as vice chair of the UT-Battelle Board of Governors, praised Streiffer’s appointment: “UT is proud to partner with Battelle to manage what we believe is the best science laboratory in the country, if not the world. One of our most important responsibilities is to select and hire the best leadership possible to lead the thousands of brilliant people that make the lab so successful. We believe we have done that in hiring Stephen Streiffer. He has the experience, the energy and the vision to lead the lab to even greater heights.”
“I congratulate Dr. Stephen K. Streiffer on his appointment to be the next Director of the Oak Ridge National Lab. ORNL is the top national lab in America that, for 80 years, has contributed a major role in promoting scientific discovery and research. The United States is the world leader in advancing new sciences and technologies because of the groundbreaking work done every day at ORNL. I am confident that Dr. Streiffer will be an excellent Lab Director and build on the amazing achievements that the dedicated men and women at ORNL have accomplished,” said U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann.
