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Security & Privacy Notice

Thank you for visiting the Oak Ridge National Laboratory websites and reviewing our Security & Privacy notice. This notice applies to all websites in the ornl.gov domain and related information systems (the “ORNL Sites”) maintained by UT-Battelle, LLC (together, “ORNL” “we” or “us”). We reserve the right to change this Privacy and Security Notice at any time, and the current version will be posted at www.ornl.gov.

Security

This website is part of a federal computer system used to accomplish federal functions—the ORNL Sites are maintained through an account of work sponsored by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) as part of the United States Government. The Department of Energy directly or through ORNL monitors the ORNL Sites for among other things security purposes to ensure it remains available to all users and to protect information in the system. By accessing the ORNL Sites, you are expressly consenting to these monitoring activities and the privacy practices described in this Security & Privacy Notice.

Unauthorized attempts to defeat or circumvent security features, to use the system for other than intended purposes, to deny service to authorized users, to access, obtain, alter, damage, or destroy information, or otherwise to interfere with the system or its operation is prohibited. Evidence of such acts may be disclosed to law enforcement authorities and may result in criminal prosecution under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-474) and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-294), (18 U.S.C. 1030), or other applicable criminal laws.

Collection of Information

We may collect information from you when you visit or interact with the ORNL Sites, when you interact with our employees or contractors, or as is otherwise disclosed or apparent when you provide information to us.

Automatic Collection of Information. When you browse, read pages in, or download information from the ORNL Sites, we collect and store certain technical information, including information obtained from cookies, which are a small text file that is placed on your computer or browser when you access the ORNL Sites. This information includes:

  • The Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer from which you access the Internet (e.g., 123.456.789.012), whether yours individually or provided as a proxy by your Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • The date and time you access our site
  • The pages you visit (recorded by the text and graphics files that compose that page)
  • The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the ORNL Sites
  • Any other information your browser is configured to send to webhosts.

We use summary statistics to help us make our site more useful to visitors, (e.g. assessing what information is of most and least interest to visitors) and for other technical purposes (e.g. site administration and analytics, determining the site's technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas).

You have the ability to manage some of the information collected automatically through your individual browser settings, which may allow you to control the information we collect through cookies and other technology. For more information about cookies and how you can manage them, please visit: https://allaboutcookies.org/. For information on how you can manage the security and information collection settings on your browser, please visit: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/publications/securing-your-web-browser#how_to_secure.

Personal Information You Provide Voluntarily. We may collect personal information (e.g. email address, name, phone number) that you voluntarily choose to provide to us for such purposes as:

  • Registering for access to ORNL Sites;
  • Registering for ORNL facility use (e.g. visits, events, camps, or conferences);
  • Volunteer, internship, or employment applications;
  • Requesting information about ORNL;
  • Requesting and obtaining ORNL reports; and
  • Joining an ORNL mailing or email list.

In such cases, we generally limit the collection of personal information to only the minimum information required to accomplish the stated purpose of the collection. Please do not provide personal information that is not requested by ORNL.

Use & Disclosure of Information

The information you provide will be accessed and used by authorized staff members for the purpose(s) for which it was collected. Your information may be used for technical support of the ORNL Sites and to enhance, evaluate, or otherwise review a website or service. We may also use your information to contact you in response to a request for information or to provide information to you about ORNL activities, events, jobs, or opportunities.

Personal information that you provide to ORNL may be disclosed to authorized third-parties (e.g. subcontracted service providers, vendors) that provide services for or on behalf of ORNL (e.g. providing infrastructure to ORNL Sites, providing site analytics for ORNL Sites, promoting ORNL activities, events, jobs, or opportunities). Your information will only be disclosed as permitted by applicable law. ORNL does not sell or trade your personal information. We may disclose personal information to the U.S. Government in response to legal actions, court orders, authorized law enforcement investigations, and as otherwise required by law or as requested by DOE.

Visitors from Outside the United States—Cross-Border Transfer

The ORNL Sites are hosted in the United States. If you are visiting the ORNL Sites from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored and processed in the United States or other countries in accordance with this Privacy and Security Notice. The data protection and other applicable laws of the United States or other countries may differ from the data protection or consumer protection laws in your country. Your information may be available to government authorities under lawful orders and law applicable in the United States. By using the ORNL Sites and/or providing personal information to us, you consent to the transfer of your information to the ORNL Sites and use of your information as described in this Privacy and Security Notice.

Links to and Use of External Sites

The ORNL Sites may link to websites created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations and individuals. When you follow a link to an external site, you are subject to the external site's privacy and security policies. We do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained on an external site. We also do not endorse the site's sponsor, any views they express, or any products or services they offer.

ORNL may also maintain a presence on third-party websites such as social media sites or video hosting websites. Your activity on those sites is governed by the third-party website's security and privacy policies.

Disclaimer of Liability

Neither the U.S. Government, UT-Battelle nor any agency, affiliate or subcontractor thereof, or any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed. Moreover, U.S. Government, UT-Battelle nor any agency, affiliate or subcontractor do not represent or warrant that the use of any information, apparatus, product, or process would not infringe privately owned rights.

Disclaimer of Endorsement

Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government, UT-Battelle nor any agency, affiliate, subcontractor or their employees. The views and opinions of document authors do not necessarily state or reflect those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.

Copyright Status

Documents provided from the web server were sponsored at least partially by the U.S. Government under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. Accordingly, the U.S. Government retains an irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free license to publish, reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly these documents, or to allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. Unless otherwise noted, we will not assert its rights in the documents against you, although we request the following credit line be used when documents or figures are used elsewhere: “Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.”

Effective Date: 4/3/2023