The mission of the Oak Ridge Center for Advanced Studies (ORCAS) is to explore major societal issues with substantial science and technology content. Operating at the interface of the natural sciences, social sciences, and policy research, ORCAS defines new directions in science and provides opportunities for the integration of diverse perspectives from the public, government, research, and industry sectors, and the creation of enduring partnerships among them. ORCAS use collaborative teams and Resident Scholars from its member universities to realize these goals. ORCAS was founded by Battelle Memorial Institute, Duke University, Florida State University, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State University, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, The University of Tennessee, The University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Vanderbilt University. ORCAS began operation in January of 2005.