UT-BATTELLE PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

UT-Battelle Wins Oak Ridge National Laboratory Contract

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that the University of Tennessee-Battelle team has been selected to operate Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The five-year management and operations contract is valued at approximately $2.5 billion. ORNL employs approximately 4,500 staff.

The UT-Battelle team has established formal partnerships with Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and six of its lead institutions (Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Virginia and Virginia Tech). Subcontractors to UT-Battelle on the corporate management team include Duke Engineering and Services and BWX Technologies. Other key subcontractors include Lockheed Martin Energy Systems (Y-12), Bechtel Jacobs, and SAIC.

UT-Battelle also has signed partnership agreements with area economic development organizations, including the Tennessee Department of Economic & Community Development, the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) and Technology 2020.

"We are proud and excited to be selected for the important national responsibility of operating Oak Ridge National Laboratory--an outstanding science and technology institution with great people and a bright future," according to a joint statement released by UT President Wade Gilley and Battelle President and CEO Doug Olesen. "We are excited by the science and technology, economic development, and community opportunities at Oak Ridge. UT-Battelle wishes to thank the many citizens of Tennessee who supported our team."

Gilley and Olesen also thanked Lockheed Martin for their stewardship of ORNL. "Lockheed Martin should be commended for the significant contributions they have made to the Lab and the Oak Ridge community."

Gilley and Olesen mentioned three major themes in the UT-Battelle proposal.

• Excellence in science and technology
• Excellence in laboratory operations
• Excellence in community service

Governor Don Sundquist, who strongly supported the UT-Battelle team, said "Today's announcement reflects on the high quality of scientific inquiry at UT. We welcome the educational and economic benefits that will come from this decision."

The UT-Battelle team will begin immediately to prepare for the transition to its management and operations responsibilities. UT-Battelle will officially assume operational responsibilities for ORNL on April 1, 2000.

UT has bee a citizen of the East Tennessee region for 205 years. During that time the University has broadened its operations to include campuses at Knoxville, Memphis, Martin, and Chattanooga and three institutes--agriculture, space and public service/continuing education. UT has 42,000 students, 15,000 faculty and staff, 260,000 alumni, and an annual operating budget exceeding $1 billion. UT's Knoxville campus is a Carnegie I research institution, with centers of excellence in waste management, materials processing, and the Science Alliance, a collaboration of UT faculty and ORNL staff involved in scientific research. UT's relationship with Oak Ridge began almost as soon as ground was broken on the Oak Ridge Reservation. As early as 1943, there were cooperative efforts between the two, and the first UT graduate classes were offered in Oak Ridge in 1945. UT has made a priority of expanding collaborative research activities with ORNL during the 1990s. Joint research between UT and ORNL now totals over $20 million.

The non-profit Battelle employs about 7,500 scientists, engineers, and supporting specialists worldwide, assisting more than 2,000 industrial and government clients. Battelle has developed numerous breakthroughs including the Xerox machine, compact disc, and medical technologies. A key part of Battelle's business is the management of laboratories--including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory (in partnership with the State University of New York at Stony Brook), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (in a partnership with Midwest Research Institute and Bechtel). Battelle also operates its own private laboratories in locations such as Columbus, Ohio, and Geneva, Switzerland.

Contact:

Billy Stair 423-220-5101

Tom McClain 614-424-7728