Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Distinguished Staff Fellowship program is a highly competitive, prestigious early-career research opportunity. ORNL awards fellowships named for three renowned scientists who made significant contributions to their scientific field and held leadership positions at the laboratory: Liane B. Russell, Alvin M. Weinberg, and Eugene P. Wigner.
Dr. Liane B. Russell was a groundbreaking geneticist at ORNL (1947–2002), and in 1973 she was the first woman to receive the internationally awarded Roentgen Medal. She achieved international recognition for her contributions to our understanding of basic mammalian genetics. Russell Fellows are typically in the biological sciences, biomolecular chemistry, computational biology, and environmental and ecosystem sciences.
Dr. Alvin M. Weinberg, ORNL’s longest serving director (1955–1973), was a passionate advocate for nuclear energy with a strong interest in science policy. Weinberg Fellows generally align with the applied, experimental, and computational sciences and demonstrate competency in chemistry and chemical engineering, radiochemistry, materials science and engineering, nuclear science and engineering, and manufacturing science and engineering.
Dr. Eugene P. Wigner was a 1963 Nobel Laureate in physics and ORNL’s first director of research and development (1946–1947). Wigner Fellows are typically in the fundamental sciences and demonstrate competency in advanced materials, chemistry, computational science, neutron scattering, nuclear physics, and plasma and fusion energy sciences.