Biosciences Division

News

• Water-Wise Biofuel Crop Study to Alter Plants Metabolic, Photosynthesis Process
• Teacher Lauds 'Amazing Opportunity' to Participate in ORNL Fellowship Program
• Tapping into reservoir of heat-loving bacteria

  BESC scientists explore bacteria to break down cellulose

• LABRADOR soon to sniff out graves around the world

  BSD scientist Dr. Arpad Vass has invented a device that detects the odor of human decomposition.

• Follow ORNL scientists in the Arctic as part of the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment on the NGEE Blog
• ORNL to Partner with Knowledge Foundation for Biosurveillance Symposium in Washington, DC on June 27th, 2012
• Gerald A. Tuskan named Forest Biotechnologist of the Year

• Supercomputer reveals new details behind drug- processing protein model

  ORNL study of the motion of water molecules contributes to a broader understanding of drug processing by P450 enzymes.

• A Bioenergy Ecosystem

  BESC's innovative partnership of national laboratories, a private research foundation, universities and industries is translating R&D into biofuels.

• DOE program reaches thousands of students with 'farming for fuels' program

  More than 34,000 youngsters, teachers and parents around the country have had a chance to learn about bioenergy through hands-on experiments that are part of an outreach effort by the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center.

• Key plant traits yield more sugar for biofuels

  New clues about plant structure are helping researchers from the Department of Energy's BioEnergy Science Center narrow down a large collection of poplar tree candidates and identify winners for future use in biofuel production.

• Neutron analysis yields insight into bacteria for solar energy

  Structural studies of some of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems are lighting the way for new generations of biologically inspired solar cell devices.

Opportunities

Educational Opportunities

The Biosciences Division has developed and maintained a strong commitment to education. We have maintained relationships with many educational institutions and organizations. Many of our student/faculty programs are administered through Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU). This includes programs for undergraduates, graduates, postgraduates, faculty and some pre-college students.

The UT/ORNL Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology takes advantage of the unique opportunity that the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have for interaction and collaboration. Students will be trained in emerging areas of genome science, with emphasis on mammalian genomics, structural biology, proteomics, computational biology and bioinformatics, and bioanalytical technologies.

Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education (CIRE) offers one of the first interdisciplinary PhD programs in energy science and engineering. CIRE brings together extensive and complementary UTK and ORNL resources to increase science, technology, engineering, and mathematics academic and research activities of national significance focused on energy-related science and engineering.

Employment Opportunities

The Biosciences Division has employment opportunities based on funding support that is available in our different Research areas. You can check out our current openings along with other employment opportunities on the ORNL web site.