Protecting U.S. citizens through discovery and innovation

The National Security Sciences Directorate leads scientific and technological breakthroughs to confront some of the nation’s most difficult security challenges. We develop applications needed for the security of our nation today and target our vision on how these challenges may manifest themselves in a decade or more.

Our research and development focuses on cybersecurity and cyber physical resiliency, data analytics, geospatial science and technology, nuclear nonproliferation, and high-performance computing for sensitive national security missions. We also enhance ORNL contributions to national security challenges by working closely with leading researchers at the lab in areas such as nuclear and chemical sciences and engineering, applied materials, advanced manufacturing, biosecurity, transportation, and computing.