Oak Ridge Associated Universities

Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is a consortium of American universities headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with an office in Washington, D.C., and staff at several other locations across the country.

The organization was first established in 1946 as the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (ORINS) by a consortium of southern universities. This was an effort championed by William G. Pollard, who was its executive director until 1974. Its original purpose was to advance science and technology education and research by providing its member institutions with access to the atomic energy research facilities of the Clinton Engineer Works (now known as Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The name Oak Ridge Associated Universities was adopted in 1966.

In 1950, ORINS opened a hospital where it conducted clinical research for the United States Atomic Energy Commission on the use of radiation and radioactive materials in cancer treatment. The hospital treated patients until the mid-1970s. ORINS also conducted training courses in radioisotopes and established resident training programs in nuclear medicine. In the 1980s, clinical research at ORINS was the subject of investigation by the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.

The Institute for Energy Analysis was organized as a unit of ORAU in January 1974, under the leadership of former Oak Ridge National Laboratory director Alvin Weinberg. This institute's focus was evaluation of alternatives for meeting future energy requirements. From 1976 until it ceased operation with Weinberg's retirement in 1984, the Institute for Energy Analysis was a center for study of diverse issues related to carbon dioxide and global climate.

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