Core Universities
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Research and
development (R&D) partnerships with other laboratories and
with universities, industry, other government agencies, and international
research institutions are carried out at ORNL through traditional
collaborative arrangements and increasingly through the development
and application of capabilities that facilitate collaboration among
geographically separated researchers, or "science at a distance." These
partnerships strengthen the nation's science base and are a key
element in the UT-Battelle commitment to excellence in community
service.
Although it is
formally a national laboratory, ORNL has a strong role as an international
laboratory, routinely hosting guest researchers and visitors from
other nations. These kinds of partnerships facilitate access to
facilities in other nations by U.S. scientists and encourage the
globalization of science. In addition, guest scientists are a valuable
component of ORNL's research staff. Their assignments, which range
from two weeks to two years, broaden the Laboratory's base of expertise
and support goals in scientific cooperation and technology transfer.
UT-Battelle has
expanded the use of partnerships as a means for conducting collaborative
R&D, facilitating access to ORNL's distinctive capabilities,
improving the utilization of its scientific facilities, transferring
technology to industry, and supporting the education of the next
generation of scientists and engineers. UT-Battelle, itself a partnership,
comprises several key resources for this expansion: University
of Tennessee, a Carnegie Research Level I institution that
attracts nearly $80 million annually for sponsored research programs;
six "core universities," Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida State University, North Carolina State University, Mississippi
Technology Alliance, University of Virginia, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [Virginia
Tech]; Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge Associated
Universities, a consortium of 86 colleges and universities
that manages the Oak Ridge
Institute for Science and Education for the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) and promotes collaborative partnerships
for the benefit of its member institutions.
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These
resources will be a key to the University Partnerships Initiative.
Plans also include the following actions
- Extend collaborative
relationships with other DOE laboratories and facilities, integrating
the complementary capabilities distributed across the DOE complex
in support of the Department's missions.
- Develop industry
partnerships that bring the Laboratory's resources to bear on
industrial problems and strengthen the economy by bringing new
technologies to the marketplace.
- Build new
educational, training, and research partnerships with other federal
agencies; with educational consortia and museums, both regionally
and nationally; and with private-sector institutions.
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