Inside America’s Biggest Energy and Science Lab with Oak Ridge National Laboratory

17 snips

Sep 2, 2025

Susan Hubbard, Deputy Director for Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, leads groundbreaking innovations in energy and technology. In this discussion, she highlights the evolution of national labs from the Manhattan Project to contemporary initiatives, including advancements in nuclear and fusion energy. Hubbard explains the significance of isotopes in various fields, the role of AI and quantum computing in future energy management, and the importance of public-private partnerships to tackle today’s challenges in sustainability and security.

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INSIGHT

Hydrogeophysics Connects Multiple Disciplines

Hydrogeophysics fuses hydrology, geophysics, geochemistry, and biology to track fluid and nutrient movement in the shallow subsurface.
Susan Hubbard framed it as a toolkit for water resources, remediation, agriculture, and ecosystem management.

INSIGHT

Permafrost Thaw Changes More Than Carbon

Permafrost thaw alters fluid flow, carbon release, and infrastructure stability in the Arctic.
Hubbard stressed the urgency of predictive understanding to manage cascading environmental and societal effects.

ANECDOTE

From Geophysicist To Lab Leader

Hubbard described her shift from earth scientist to lab leader via integrative environmental research at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley.
She credited team-based, cross-disciplinary work for preparing her to oversee Oak Ridge's broad portfolio.

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Dr. Susan Hubbard is Deputy Director for Science and Technology at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the largest of the U.S. Department of Energy’s multi-program science and energy labs. With more than 7,000 scientists and engineers, Oak Ridge is advancing innovation across nuclear energy, grid resilience, AI, quantum computing, isotopes, and advanced manufacturing. In this episode, Susan shares how the national labs’ mission has evolved since the Manhattan Project, how companies and startups engage with Oak Ridge through user facilities and partnerships, and what role the labs will play in shaping the future of energy and technology amid today’s geopolitical and industrial shifts.

Episode recorded Aug 18, 2025 (Published Sept 2, 2025)

In this episode, we cover:

[03:03] Dr. Hubbard’s early career and hydrogeophysics
[05:31] Permafrost thaw in the Arctic
[07:11] Earth system complexity
[09:00] Transition from geophysicist to ORNL leadership
[12:17] ORNL’s user facilities, including Frontier supercomputer
[13:56] Isotopes for medicine, security, and Mars exploration
[15:45] Neutron scattering and world-leading materials research
[17:25] Large-scale 3D additive manufacturing for energy
[19:25] How DOE priorities shape research directions
[22:04] Public-private partnerships in nuclear and fusion
[26:54] ORNL’s role in ITER and advanced fusion materials
[30:51] Local enthusiasm for nuclear in Tennessee
[31:54] Building the future grid: reliability, cybersecurity, AI
[33:17] High-performance computing simulations of energy systems
[37:23] Quantum computing, AI, and labs of the future
[43:41] How startups engage with ORNL (CRADA, Innovation Crossroads)
[48:02] U.S. R&D evolution: Manhattan Project to today

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant