The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has welcomed Budhendra “Budhu” Bhaduri as its first Chief Data Officer. In this newly created position, he will oversee ORNL’s enterprise data strategy to support research, operational efficiency, energy innovation, national security, and laboratory-wide initiatives.

Bhaduri will report to the Deputy for Science and Technology in the Laboratory Director’s Office and collaborate with the Chief Information Officer and Associate Laboratory Directors. He will chair the ORNL Data Governance Council and coordinate with leaders of facilities, programs, and AI-focused projects, including those contributing to the DOE’s Genesis Mission, which aims to build a powerful scientific platform to accelerate discovery, strengthen national security, and advance energy innovation.

He brings extensive experience at ORNL, where he joined in 1998 as a research scientist. Most recently, Bhaduri served as Director of Science, Programs, and Partnerships for the National Security Sciences Directorate. From 2018 to 2024, he led the Geospatial Science and Human Security Division, and from 2014 to 2019, he founded and directed the Urban Dynamics Institute, which advanced data-driven studies of urban systems and fostered collaborations with universities, industry, and philanthropic organizations.

Recognized as one of the Top 50 Data Changemakers in the Energy Sector by CDO Magazine and the Data Society in 2025, Bhaduri is also an ORNL Corporate Research Fellow. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Association of Geographers and holds professorial appointments at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He earned a doctorate from Purdue University, a master’s from Kent State University, and a master’s and bachelor’s from the University of Calcutta, India.