Oak Ridge general counsel Nicole Porter - the conference's keynote speaker - said opportunities are increasing for women entering science and engineering.
"Bringing these students to see all these posters that have been done by females here and to see the retirees and to see the lab management supportive of this kind of activity signals to girls out there that this is a great time to go into science or engineering," Porter said. "There's never been a better time."
Porter mentioned more than 13,000 women worked in science and technical jobs in Oak Ridge during the World War II Manhattan Project.
"They functioned as technicians and performed research," Porter said. "The women during the Manhattan Project were really indispensable. Women have always played an important role. These distinguished retirees prove it. We've got women in the national academies elected while they were employed here at ORNL. They continue to pave the way."
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.