Oak Ridge National Laboratory user facilities

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the home of 10 highly sophisticated experimental science facilities that are officially designated as user facilities.'' These research laboratories are designed to serve not only our staff scientists but also researchers from universities, industries, and other government laboratories. They simultaneously advance national research and development and fulfill US Department of Energy (DOE) missions by minimizing unnecessary duplication, promoting beneficial scientific interactions, and making the most effective use of costly and, in many cases, unique equipment. The diverse and sophisticated research conducted by our staff scientists, coupled with the availability of unique resource equipment, is attracting a growing number of guest researchers. The majority of our guest scientists are from academia; however, more and more researchers from private industries are using our state-of-the-art facilities. A key impetus to increased collaborations has been the relaxation of patent regulations; institutions now may keep title to patented inventions achieved during an assignment at an ORNL user facility and may pursue proprietary research if it is being conducted on a full-cost-recovery basis. Office of Guest and User Interactions (OGUI) fosters cooperative interactions between ORNL scientists and guests, supports a user-friendly environment at ORNL, and facilitates access to the usermore » facilities. In addition, OGUI conducts the administration of contract negotiations between the Laboratory and the facility users.« less