Oak Ridge Associated Universities facts for kids

Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a group of American universities. Its main office is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. ORAU also has offices in Arvada, Colorado and Cincinnati, Ohio. Staff work in other places across the country too.

History of ORAU

Eleanor Roosevelt (center) and William G. Pollard watch a nurse show a Geiger counter (a radiation detector) in 1955. This was at the Oak Ridge cancer research hospital.

ORAU started in 1946. It was first called the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS). It began with 14 universities as members. Its first goal was to help science and technology education. It also aimed to boost research. It did this by letting university students and teachers use the atomic energy research places at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This helped people from universities all over the South.

ORINS also helped ORNL researchers work with university teachers. It arranged for University of Tennessee teachers to give master's and doctoral classes. These classes were in chemistry, math, and physics in Oak Ridge. They used ORNL's tools and supplies. A teacher from the University of Tennessee, William G. Pollard, helped create the group. He was the first leader until 1974. The name Oak Ridge Associated Universities was chosen in 1966.

In 1950, ORINS opened a hospital. Here, they did clinical research (medical studies with people). They studied how to use radiation and radioactive materials to treat cancer. The hospital helped patients until the mid-1970s. ORINS also taught courses about radioisotopes (radioactive atoms). They also set up training for doctors in nuclear medicine (using radioactive materials for diagnosis and treatment). Later, the research done at the hospital was looked into by a special committee.

ORAU also started the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) in 1976. This group gives emergency medical help and advice. They help anywhere in the world if there are problems with radiation.

What ORAU Does Now

ORAU still works to improve science research and education. ORAU runs the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). They do this for the United States Department of Energy. ORISE helps with important science, research, and health projects. They help by training people in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields. They also review scientific work. And they check for radiation exposure and pollution in the environment.

Studying Health physics (how radiation affects health) and epidemiology (how diseases spread) are big parts of ORAU's work. They do things like checking for radiation. They also figure out how much radiation people might have been exposed to. And they offer health checks for workers who might have been near radioactive material or other harmful substances. Since 1948, ORAU has also taught about radiation safety and health physics. This is done through their Professional Training Programs.

Members of ORAU

ORAU has two types of members: "sponsoring institutions" and "associate members." Sponsoring institutions are non-profit universities. They must be approved and give doctoral degrees in fields that match ORAU's work. They should also be top schools in the U.S. for research spending. Or, they must have given doctoral degrees in many STEM fields for at least five years.

Associate members do not have to be non-profit. But they must be approved. They also need to offer graduate degrees in at least two science, engineering, or math fields. An existing member or ORAU program must recommend them. They also need to get a good amount of research money from the government.

As of April 2023, ORAU has over 150 sponsoring institutions. It also has 26 associate members. Many of these (31 in April 2023) are also part of ORAU's Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) Research Council. This council helps connect schools that serve groups who have faced challenges in the past. It helps them work with bigger labs and research universities. This also helps more people from minority groups get involved in science research.

Sponsoring institutions

Associate members

See also

• Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
• Atoms for Peace
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education