Stephen Streiffer Appointed as New Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director

Stephen Streiffer is set to join Oak Ridge National Laboratory as its new director in October. 

UT-Battelle, which operates ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, appointed Streiffer, who currently serves as interim director at DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

He took on the role as Stanford University’s vice president for SLAC in 2022 and then was selected as the laboratory’s interim director in February 2023, ORNL said.

Prior to joining Standford, Streiffer spent over 24 years at Argonne National Laboratory, where he held various research and leadership positions, including deputy laboratory director for science and technology, interim associate director for photon sciences, and deputy associate laboratory director for physical sciences and engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He was also part of the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory, serving as co-director from March 2020 through May 2022. DOE established NVBL to address COVID-19 pandemic challenges related to testing, treatment, epidemiological modeling and supply chain. 

Streiffer holds a bachelor’s degree in materials science from Rice University and a doctorate degree in materials science and engineering from Stanford University.