Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Encyclopedia
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories
, managed by the Department of Energy
's Office of Science
. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington
.
PNNL scientists conduct basic
and applied
research and development
to strengthen U.S. scientific foundations for fundamental research and innovation; prevent and counter acts of terrorism through applied research in information analysis, cyber security, and the nonproliferation
of weapons of mass destruction; increase the U.S. energy capacity and reduce dependence on imported oil; and reduce the effects of human activity on the environment. PNNL has been operated by Battelle Memorial Institute
since 1965.
(EMSL) is a U.S. Department of Energy national scientific user facility. EMSL provides researchers around the world with integrated capabilities in oxide and mineral interface chemistry, high-performance computing and computational chemistry software, mass spectrometry
, high-field magnetic resonance
, and subsurface flow and transport.
The Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) is a joint effort between Washington State University and PNNL, and is located on the WSU-Tri-Cities campus. Within BSEL, researchers are developing technology for converting agricultural byproducts
into chemicals for products like plastics, solvents, fibers, pharmaceuticals, and fuel additives
.
Researchers at PNNL’s Radiochemical Processing Laboratory are developing processes to advance the cleanup of radiological and hazardous wastes; the processing and disposal of nuclear fuels; and the production and delivery of medical isotopes.
The Applied Process Engineering Laboratory (APEL) is a technology business startup user facility, sponsored in part by PNNL. APEL provides engineering- and manufacturing-scale space and chemical, biological, and electronic laboratories and equipment for developing, validating, and commercializing new products.
campus. The three facilities partially replace laboratory and office space PNNL has been using on the south end of the nearby Hanford Site.
The Physical Sciences Facility, a federally funded research complex that was designed by Flad Architects
, is slated to open in 2010 and will house PNNL’s research into materials science
, radiation detection, and ultra-trace analysis.
The privately funded Computational Sciences Facility and Biological Sciences Facility house about 310 staff who support PNNL’s energy, environmental, national security, and fundamental science research missions. These two new facilities opened in 2009. The CSF contains scientific capabilities in information analytics, high-performance computing
, cyber security and bioinformatics
. The BSF focuses on bioenergy
, environmental and soil remediation and includes systems biology
, microbial and cellular biology and analytical interfacial chemistry.
The Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center at PNNL combines software, real-time power grid data and computation into a control room setting. The ideas and technologies developed in the EIOC address better management of the power grid. The EIOC also is available to utilities, vendors, government agencies and universities interested in research, development or training.
The Marine Sciences Laboratory, located at Sequim, Washington, is the DOE’s only marine laboratory. MSL provides analytical and general purpose laboratories, as well as wet or support laboratories supplied with heated and cooled freshwater and seawater. More than 70 engineers and scientists work on coastal restoration and security projects, from reviving salmon habitat to research on how shellfish could detect a bioterrorist attack. MSL also operates a 28 feet (8.5 m) research vessel.
Other PNNL research facilities include the following:
(Presidential Early Career award for Scientists and Engineers) Awards. PNNL staff serve as editors-in-chief for scientific journals, hold office in national and international technical societies, and have been granted Guggenheim fellowships, Humboldt Research Awards, and society medals. Staff have been elected to the rank of fellow in national societies including, but not limited to, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, American Physical Society
, and the Materials Research Society.
won a contract to perform research and development for the Hanford Site
, a nuclear site in southeastern Washington State. The Laboratory was originally named Pacific Northwest Laboratory and served as an independent research entity from Hanford Site operations.
Pacific Northwest’s first mission was research and development related to nuclear energy and non-destructive uses for nuclear materials. Pacific Northwest designed the Fast Flux Test Facility
used to test fuels and materials for the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor for the Atomic Energy Commission’s
commercial nuclear power program.
Scientists and engineers at the Laboratory also worked on nongovernment projects. In the 1960s, researchers pioneered today’s compact disc technology through their advancements in digital data storage using computers to read information using microscopic lenses and a laser light source. In 1969, Pacific Northwest was chosen by NASA
to measure the concentration of both solar and galactic cosmic-ray-produced radionuclides in lunar material collected from the entire Apollo program.
Research at Pacific Northwest expanded in energy, environment, health and national security as the 1970s dawned and the Atomic Energy Commission segmented into Energy Research and Development Administration and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 1977, the U.S. Department of Energy
replaced the Energy Administration and consolidated federal energy programs. During the 1970s, Pacific Northwest developed vitrification, a process to lock hazardous waste inside glass. Researchers developed an acoustic
holography
technique that allows medical personnel to view internal organs without an operation, detect fetal abnormalities, and locate blood clots.
Health-related work continued to be a focus at Pacific Northwest well into the 1980s. Researchers introduced the first portable blood irradiator, which was used in leukemia treatments. The manufacture and delivery of the irradiators and the development of safer, more effective protocols occurred between the Laboratory and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
. It was Pacific Northwest's first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
. In the mid-1980s, Pacific Northwest became one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s multiprogram laboratories
.
In the 1990s, the Laboratory’s scientific reputation began to garner more attention on a global and national scale, beginning with its name. In 1995, the Laboratory officially added "National" to its name, becoming the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Laboratory’s global environmental and nuclear nonproliferation work moved to the forefront during the 1990s. The Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security was established to coordinate nuclear nonproliferation programs, research and policy work within the Laboratory and throughout the region. The Material Identification System and the Ultrasonic Pulse Echo instrument, technologies developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, were provided to customs inspectors in Eastern Europe
and former Soviet Union republics to reduce smuggling and terrorism. Researchers also studied global climate model
s, including cloud formation and radiative properties of clouds. In addition, the Laboratory created energy efficiency centers to promote economic growth while mitigating its harmful effects and participating on the United Nations
panel on climate change assessments.
In 2007, more than 20 PNNL scientists were recognized for their contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in equal parts with former Vice President Al Gore.
Technologies to counter acts of terrorism have progressed at PNNL in this decade with the expansion of radiation portal monitoring technology developed at the Laboratory. This technology is used at ports of entry around the country to scan for and detect the presence of nuclear and radiological materials. In 2004, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security established the National Visualization and Analytics Center (NVAC) to advance visualization research
using computer technology to enable humans to visually synthesize and derive insight from massive amounts of information to help the nation predict and respond to manmade and natural disasters and terrorist incidents.
PNNL scientists are designing catalysts to use solar energy to power reactions that turn water into hydrogen. They are incorporating the concepts of energy matching and proton relays to design inexpensive nickel and cobalt containing molecular complexes that catalyze that reaction. DOE has awarded $22.5 million over five years for PNNL’s new Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, where scientists will study catalysts that covert electrical energy into chemical bonds and back again.
PNNL continues to address threats to the environment by developing solutions to capture and stabilize human-made carbon emissions along with advancements in biomass
research and biobased product
s that address the global need for renewable and sustainable energy sources
. On the fundamental science forefront, PNNL’s focus on genomics, proteomics
, systems biology
, chemical and materials sciences is paving the way for the next decade of scientific advancements.
United States Department of Energy National Laboratories
The United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers are a system of facilities and laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy for the purpose of advancing science and helping promote the economic and defensive national interests of the United...
, managed by the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
's Office of Science
Office of Science
The Office of Science is a component of the United States Department of Energy . The Office of Science is the lead federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for energy and the Nation’s largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences...
. The main campus of the laboratory is in Richland, Washington
Richland, Washington
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,058. April 1, 2011 estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management put the...
.
PNNL scientists conduct basic
Basic Research
Basic Research is an herbal supplement and cosmetics manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that distributes products through a large number of subsidiaries. In addition, their products are sold domestically and internationally through a number of high-end retailers. Dennis Gay is the...
and applied
Applied research
Applied research is a form of systematic inquiry involving the practical application of science. It accesses and uses some part of the research communities' accumulated theories, knowledge, methods, and techniques, for a specific, often state, business, or client driven purpose...
research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
to strengthen U.S. scientific foundations for fundamental research and innovation; prevent and counter acts of terrorism through applied research in information analysis, cyber security, and the nonproliferation
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
of weapons of mass destruction; increase the U.S. energy capacity and reduce dependence on imported oil; and reduce the effects of human activity on the environment. PNNL has been operated by Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the...
since 1965.
Facilities
PNNL houses several scientific user facilities and research facilities.Scientific user facilities
The Environmental Molecular Sciences LaboratoryEnvironmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL, is a national scientific user facility at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. EMSL is a facility that provides integrated...
(EMSL) is a U.S. Department of Energy national scientific user facility. EMSL provides researchers around the world with integrated capabilities in oxide and mineral interface chemistry, high-performance computing and computational chemistry software, mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles.It is used for determining masses of particles, for determining the elemental composition of a sample or molecule, and for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules, such as peptides and...
, high-field magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
, and subsurface flow and transport.
The Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) is a joint effort between Washington State University and PNNL, and is located on the WSU-Tri-Cities campus. Within BSEL, researchers are developing technology for converting agricultural byproducts
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
into chemicals for products like plastics, solvents, fibers, pharmaceuticals, and fuel additives
Gasoline additive
Gasoline additives increase gasoline's octane rating or act as corrosion inhibitors or lubricants, thus allowing the use of higher compression ratios for greater efficiency and power, however some carry heavy environmental risks...
.
Researchers at PNNL’s Radiochemical Processing Laboratory are developing processes to advance the cleanup of radiological and hazardous wastes; the processing and disposal of nuclear fuels; and the production and delivery of medical isotopes.
The Applied Process Engineering Laboratory (APEL) is a technology business startup user facility, sponsored in part by PNNL. APEL provides engineering- and manufacturing-scale space and chemical, biological, and electronic laboratories and equipment for developing, validating, and commercializing new products.
Research facilities
Three new research facilities were recently constructed on PNNL’s Richland, WashingtonRichland, Washington
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 48,058. April 1, 2011 estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management put the...
campus. The three facilities partially replace laboratory and office space PNNL has been using on the south end of the nearby Hanford Site.
The Physical Sciences Facility, a federally funded research complex that was designed by Flad Architects
Flad Architects
Flad Architects is an employee-owned, national architectural firm headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, with additional offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Gainesville, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; San Francisco, California; Stamford, Connecticut; and Tampa, Florida...
, is slated to open in 2010 and will house PNNL’s research into materials science
Materials science
Materials science is an interdisciplinary field applying the properties of matter to various areas of science and engineering. This scientific field investigates the relationship between the structure of materials at atomic or molecular scales and their macroscopic properties. It incorporates...
, radiation detection, and ultra-trace analysis.
The privately funded Computational Sciences Facility and Biological Sciences Facility house about 310 staff who support PNNL’s energy, environmental, national security, and fundamental science research missions. These two new facilities opened in 2009. The CSF contains scientific capabilities in information analytics, high-performance computing
High-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
, cyber security and bioinformatics
Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics is the application of computer science and information technology to the field of biology and medicine. Bioinformatics deals with algorithms, databases and information systems, web technologies, artificial intelligence and soft computing, information and computation theory, software...
. The BSF focuses on bioenergy
Bioenergy
Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Biomass is any organic material which has stored sunlight in the form of chemical energy. As a fuel it may include wood, wood waste, straw, manure, sugarcane, and many other byproducts from a variety of...
, environmental and soil remediation and includes systems biology
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
, microbial and cellular biology and analytical interfacial chemistry.
The Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center at PNNL combines software, real-time power grid data and computation into a control room setting. The ideas and technologies developed in the EIOC address better management of the power grid. The EIOC also is available to utilities, vendors, government agencies and universities interested in research, development or training.
The Marine Sciences Laboratory, located at Sequim, Washington, is the DOE’s only marine laboratory. MSL provides analytical and general purpose laboratories, as well as wet or support laboratories supplied with heated and cooled freshwater and seawater. More than 70 engineers and scientists work on coastal restoration and security projects, from reviving salmon habitat to research on how shellfish could detect a bioterrorist attack. MSL also operates a 28 feet (8.5 m) research vessel.
Other PNNL research facilities include the following:
- Research Aircraft
- Pretreatment Engineering Platform
- Microproducts Breakthrough Institute
- Instrument Performance Testing
- Hanford Meteorological Station
- In Vivo Radioassay and Research Facility
- Non-Destructive Analysis Laboratory
- Radiological Calibration and Irradiation Facility
Notable scientists
PNNL staff have received numerous awards and recognition. These achievements include six E.O. Lawrence Awards, one Coblentz Award, four Discover Magazine Awards, two Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation Homeland Security Awards, and PECASEPECASE
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White House, following recommendations from participating agencies,...
(Presidential Early Career award for Scientists and Engineers) Awards. PNNL staff serve as editors-in-chief for scientific journals, hold office in national and international technical societies, and have been granted Guggenheim fellowships, Humboldt Research Awards, and society medals. Staff have been elected to the rank of fellow in national societies including, but not limited to, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
, and the Materials Research Society.
Facts and figures
PNNL has approximately 4,650 staff members and a business volume of $1.1 billion for FY09, excluding capital funding and Recovery Act funding. PNNL has received 80 R&D 100 Awards for significant innovations, and 69 Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for technology transfer. As of 2009, PNNL has 1,761 domestic and foreign patents and more than 200 active licenses. The main campus is located in Richland, Washington. PNNL operates a marine research facility in Sequim, and has satellite offices in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; Portland, Oregon; College Park, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The Laboratory has been operated by Ohio-based Battelle since 1965.History
In 1965, BattelleBattelle Memorial Institute
Battelle Memorial Institute is a private nonprofit applied science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Battelle is a charitable trust organized as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Ohio and is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the...
won a contract to perform research and development for the Hanford Site
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works or HEW, Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
, a nuclear site in southeastern Washington State. The Laboratory was originally named Pacific Northwest Laboratory and served as an independent research entity from Hanford Site operations.
Pacific Northwest’s first mission was research and development related to nuclear energy and non-destructive uses for nuclear materials. Pacific Northwest designed the Fast Flux Test Facility
Fast Flux Test Facility
The Fast Flux Test Facility is a 400 MW nuclear test reactor owned by the U.S. Department of Energy.It is situated in the 400 Area of the Hanford Site, which is located in the state of Washington.-History:...
used to test fuels and materials for the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor for the Atomic Energy Commission’s
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
commercial nuclear power program.
Scientists and engineers at the Laboratory also worked on nongovernment projects. In the 1960s, researchers pioneered today’s compact disc technology through their advancements in digital data storage using computers to read information using microscopic lenses and a laser light source. In 1969, Pacific Northwest was chosen by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
to measure the concentration of both solar and galactic cosmic-ray-produced radionuclides in lunar material collected from the entire Apollo program.
Research at Pacific Northwest expanded in energy, environment, health and national security as the 1970s dawned and the Atomic Energy Commission segmented into Energy Research and Development Administration and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In 1977, the U.S. Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
replaced the Energy Administration and consolidated federal energy programs. During the 1970s, Pacific Northwest developed vitrification, a process to lock hazardous waste inside glass. Researchers developed an acoustic
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
holography
Holography
Holography is a technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present...
technique that allows medical personnel to view internal organs without an operation, detect fetal abnormalities, and locate blood clots.
Health-related work continued to be a focus at Pacific Northwest well into the 1980s. Researchers introduced the first portable blood irradiator, which was used in leukemia treatments. The manufacture and delivery of the irradiators and the development of safer, more effective protocols occurred between the Laboratory and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
. It was Pacific Northwest's first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
In the United States, a cooperative research and development agreement is an agreement between a government agency and a private company to work together on research and development.-Description:...
. In the mid-1980s, Pacific Northwest became one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s multiprogram laboratories
United States Department of Energy National Laboratories
The United States Department of Energy National Laboratories and Technology Centers are a system of facilities and laboratories overseen by the United States Department of Energy for the purpose of advancing science and helping promote the economic and defensive national interests of the United...
.
In the 1990s, the Laboratory’s scientific reputation began to garner more attention on a global and national scale, beginning with its name. In 1995, the Laboratory officially added "National" to its name, becoming the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Laboratory’s global environmental and nuclear nonproliferation work moved to the forefront during the 1990s. The Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security was established to coordinate nuclear nonproliferation programs, research and policy work within the Laboratory and throughout the region. The Material Identification System and the Ultrasonic Pulse Echo instrument, technologies developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, were provided to customs inspectors in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and former Soviet Union republics to reduce smuggling and terrorism. Researchers also studied global climate model
Global climate model
A General Circulation Model is a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean and based on the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources . These equations are the basis for complex computer programs commonly...
s, including cloud formation and radiative properties of clouds. In addition, the Laboratory created energy efficiency centers to promote economic growth while mitigating its harmful effects and participating on the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
panel on climate change assessments.
In 2007, more than 20 PNNL scientists were recognized for their contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in equal parts with former Vice President Al Gore.
Technologies to counter acts of terrorism have progressed at PNNL in this decade with the expansion of radiation portal monitoring technology developed at the Laboratory. This technology is used at ports of entry around the country to scan for and detect the presence of nuclear and radiological materials. In 2004, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security established the National Visualization and Analytics Center (NVAC) to advance visualization research
Jim Thomas (visualization)
James “Jim” J. Thomas was an internationally recognized computer scientist and is considered by many computer scientists to be a visionary and inspiring research and development leader in the field of visualization . Professionally, he was a Laboratory Fellow at the ’s Pacific Northwest...
using computer technology to enable humans to visually synthesize and derive insight from massive amounts of information to help the nation predict and respond to manmade and natural disasters and terrorist incidents.
PNNL scientists are designing catalysts to use solar energy to power reactions that turn water into hydrogen. They are incorporating the concepts of energy matching and proton relays to design inexpensive nickel and cobalt containing molecular complexes that catalyze that reaction. DOE has awarded $22.5 million over five years for PNNL’s new Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, where scientists will study catalysts that covert electrical energy into chemical bonds and back again.
PNNL continues to address threats to the environment by developing solutions to capture and stabilize human-made carbon emissions along with advancements in biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
research and biobased product
Biobased Product
Biobased product, was defined by the United States Secretary of Agriculture in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 as follows, "The term ‘‘biobased product’’ means a product determined by the Secretary to be a commercial or industrial product that is composed, in whole or in...
s that address the global need for renewable and sustainable energy sources
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
. On the fundamental science forefront, PNNL’s focus on genomics, proteomics
Proteomics
Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins, particularly their structures and functions. Proteins are vital parts of living organisms, as they are the main components of the physiological metabolic pathways of cells. The term "proteomics" was first coined in 1997 to make an analogy with...
, systems biology
Systems biology
Systems biology is a term used to describe a number of trends in bioscience research, and a movement which draws on those trends. Proponents describe systems biology as a biology-based inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on complex interactions in biological systems, claiming that it uses...
, chemical and materials sciences is paving the way for the next decade of scientific advancements.
PNNL directors
- Sherwood Fawcett (1965–1967)
- Fred Albaugh (1967–1971)
- Ron Paul (1971–1973)
- Ed Alpen (1973–1975)
- Tommy Ambrose (1975–1979)
- Doug Olesen (1979–1984)
- William R. Wiley (1984–1994)
- Bill Madia (1994–2000)
- Lura Powell (2000–2003)
- Leonard Peters (2003–2007)
- Mike Kluse (2008–present)
External links
- http://pnnl.jobs PNNL Career Web Site
- PNNL Newsroom
- 2009 Newsmakers
- Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM)
- Battelle
- Capability Replacement Laboratory
- Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
- Marine Sciences Laboratory
- Washington State University Tri-Cities
- U.S. Department of Energy
- EMSL
- Systems Biology at PNNL
- Sensors & Electronics Electronic sensing and measurement R&D and applications