"I've been talking about Oak Ridge and the SNS and all the synergy that exists with so many other things in the state," Bredesen says. "To actually come and see it all was exciting. I love science and some of the biggest science in the world is going on right here."
Bredesen says the laboratory's research and technology is having a positive impact.
"Anytime you bring together all the kinds of capabilities that are here - the computational capabilities, the experimental capabilities, the SNS -- you will also attract capital investment and venture capital," Bredesen says. "There are people who I'm sure are working in this building who will one day go off, have an idea and start a company of their own."
ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy.