Robert Wagner is the Associate Laboratory Director of the Energy Science and Technology Directorate (ESTD) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In this role, he leads more than 550 researchers and operations staff focused on developing and deploying advanced technology solutions in manufacturing, buildings, transportation, and electrical grid infrastructure.
He and his team steward four Department of Energy national user facilities including the Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC), Carbon Fiber Technology Facility (CFTF), Manufacturing Demonstration Facility (MDF), and the National Transportation Research Center (NTRC). The directorate also stewards the Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center (GRID-C). These facilities enable strong collaborations that drive fundamental scientific research toward practical solutions to the nation’s energy challenging ensuring a more resilient, secure, and affordable energy future.
A first-generation college graduate, Robert came to ORNL as an undergraduate student in 1992 and advanced through multiple levels of leadership at the laboratory while building a distinguished career as globally recognized transportation and combustion researcher. He earned BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Missouri University of Science & Technology. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and was awarded the SAE International Medal of Honor and the ASME George Westinghouse Gold Medal. Robert also graduated from the DOE Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program and will serve as the chair of the Oppenheimer Leadership Network in 2025.
He is a former Director of the NTRC and was a leader and founding member of the DOE initiative on the Co-Optimization of Fuels and Engines. The initiative brought together the expertise of nine national laboratories, more than 20 universities, and the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office and Bioenergy Technologies Office.
Robert has served on the editorial boards of four international journals and on executive committees for ASME and SAE. He organized more than 30 significant technical conferences, symposiums, and panels and authored more than 100 technical publications. He provided more than 60 invited presentations in 10 countries. He also founded the ORNL Smoky Mountains Mobility Conference. This unique forum connects international thought leaders from diverse disciplines across industry, universities, national laboratories, and the government to drive the conversation for a more efficient, safe, and secure mobility future.