ORAU’s mission to advance workforce, health and science has been consistent from the beginning.
Photos of ORAU’s charter of incorporation. Click to read the first page.
Eighty years ago, on Oct. 15, 1946, Dr. William Pollard, ORAU’s founder and first executive director, brought together a group of universities with a shared purpose: to advance scientific knowledge in service to the nation. That purpose became the foundation of the Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies (ORINS), today known as ORAU.
In its charter of incorporation, ORAU outlined three specific intentions that would guide the organization’s work:
- To advise and assist the Manhattan District and its successors in arranging education, research and development programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory relating to nuclear science and atomic energy
• To stimulate and assist in the development of research programs and improved methods of education and training in nuclear science and technology-related fields in universities and colleges in the Southeast
• To foster and encourage advancement of knowledge concerning nuclear science and technology and related fields
All “for the advancement of learning and scientific knowledge.”
Those words reflected the urgency and opportunity of the post-World War II era. Scientific discovery, particularly in nuclear science, was rapidly reshaping the world. ORAU was created to help connect universities, researchers and federal partners in ways that would expand knowledge, strengthen education and prepare a highly skilled workforce for the future. From its earliest years, that work also extended into health and radiation safety, including pioneering medical programs and radiation dose studies that helped protect workers and communities while advancing scientific understanding.
Max Lombardi uses rectilinear scanner in the ORINS’ Special Training Division
Eighty years later, the scope of its work in workforce, health and science has expanded dramatically, and even still, the heart of ORAU’s mission remains remarkably consistent. Read our book Charting the Course: Essays on ORAU’s Founders and Early Leaders and view our historical photo gallery.
Today, ORAU continues to partner with government agencies, academia and industry to advance scientific research, strengthen workforce development, support health and radiation safety initiatives, and create pathways for learning. While our work now spans fields ranging from rural health research and occupational safety to super intelligence, nuclear energy and radiation emergency preparedness, the underlying purpose is unchanged: bringing people, knowledge and institutions together to solve complex challenges through science and education.
The charter’s emphasis on education and training continues through ORAU’s support of students, educators, researchers and early-career professionals. Through internships, fellowships, workforce development programs and research participation opportunities, ORAU, along with our partners, helps prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers, health professionals and technical experts.
ORAU’s Justin Spence (center) leads gamma spectroscopy course teaching participants to identify radionuclides.
Its call to “foster and encourage advancement of knowledge” remains central to ORAU’s work today. The organization has evolved alongside the nation’s scientific priorities while staying grounded in its founding purpose: strengthening collaboration among government, academia and the scientific community in service to discovery and the public good.
As ORAU marks its 80th anniversary, the charter signed in 1946 serves not only as a historical document, but also as a reminder that advancing learning and scientific knowledge is enduring work. It is work that remains as important now as it was at the beginning.