Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
reliable, independent, third-party sources. (March 2018) ) |
Established | January 4, 1965 |
---|---|
Budget | US$1.24 billion (FY21)[1] |
Field of research | Energy, national security and the environment. |
Director | Dr. Steven Ashby |
Staff | 5,314 |
Address | 902 Battelle Boulevard |
Location | Richland, Washington (main campus) |
Nickname | PNNL |
Operating agency | Battelle Memorial Institute |
Website | www |
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of the
Originally named the Pacific Northwest Laboratory, PNL was established in 1965 when research and development at the Hanford Site was separated from other Hanford operations. In 1995, the laboratory was renamed the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory also known as PNNL.[2]
Facilities
PNNL houses several scientific user facilities and research facilities.
Scientific user facilities
The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (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.[3][4]
The Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) is a joint effort between Washington State University and PNNL, and is located on the
Researchers at PNNL's Radiochemical Processing Laboratory are developing processes to advance the cleanup of radiological and hazardous wastes; the processing and disposal of
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.[7]
Research facilities
Three research facilities were constructed on PNNL's Richland, Washington campus to partially replace laboratory and office space PNNL had 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, opened in 2010 houses 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,
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.[9]
PNNL-Sequim (2022–present), previously known as the Marine and Coastal Research Laboratory (2021) and the Marine Sciences Laboratory (1966–2021), located at
Other PNNL research facilities include the following:
- Research Aircraft
- Pretreatment Engineering Platform
- Microproducts Breakthrough Institute
- Joint Global Change Research Institute
- Instrument Performance Testing
- Hanford Meteorological Station
- In Vivo Radioassay and Research Facility
- Non-Destructive Analysis Laboratory
- Radiological Calibration and Irradiation Facility
- Proteomics other Mass Spectrometry-based Omics
- Shallow underground laboratory for low-activity radiation measurement
Notable scientists
PNNL staff have received numerous awards and recognition. These achievements include six
Previous PNNL researchers include Benoit Mandelbrot.
Facts and figures
- Over 5,400 staff members (scientists, engineers and business professionals)
- Business volume of $955 million for FY15 (research and development expenditures)
- 107 R&D 100 Awards for significant innovations since 1969[15]
- 81 Federal Laboratory Consortium awards for technology transfer since 1984
- 2,410 U.S. and foreign patents since 1965
- According to Essential Science Indicators[16][page needed] rankings, PNNL ranks among top 1% in publications and citations (FY13) in:
- Biology and biochemistry
- Chemistry
- Clinical medicine
- Engineering
- Environment and ecology
- Geosciences
- Materials science
- Microbiology
- Pharmacology and toxicology
- Physics
- 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.[17][18]
History
PNNL was established in 1965 but traces its origins to World War II, in the establishment of the Hanford Site in 1943. Plutonium production for the Manhattan Project required extensive research and development activities at the Hanford Site. The General Electric Company began operating the site in 1946 and consolidated R&D into the new Hanford Laboratory in 1953. After GE ended its contract in 1963 to avoid conflicts with its growing commercial nuclear business, the Atomic Energy Commission split the Hanford contract among several organizations, awarding the laboratory contract to Ohio-based Battelle Memorial Institute. Battelle took over operations on January 4, 1965, and named it the Pacific Northwest Laboratory.[19]
Initially, PNL's research emphasized nuclear energy and non-destructive uses for nuclear materials, including the design for the
In the 1970s, PNL expanded into energy, environment, health and national security research. The shift occurred as the AEC was replaced by the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) in 1974 and the Department of Energy in 1977. During this period, researchers at PNL developed vitrification, a process to lock hazardous waste inside glass, and an acoustic holography technique allowing medical personnel to view internal organs, detect fetal abnormalities, and locate blood clots without an operation.
In the 1980s, PNL researchers introduced the first portable
In 1995, the laboratory was renamed the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
In 2007, more than 20 PNNL scientists were recognized for their contributions to the
Technologies to
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 convert electrical energy into chemical bonds and back again.[26][27]
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 (2008–2015)
- Steve Ashby (2015–present)
References
- ^ "PNNL About". www.pnnl.gov. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
- ^ a b PNNL News & Media Relations (October 26, 1995). "What's in a name? — PNL goes national". Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
- ^ Newman, AR 1997. "PNNL's Laboratory for the Environment." Analytical Chemistry, 69, 298A-301A.
- ^ "Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory | PNNL". www.pnnl.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
- ^ Schill, SR. 2008. “PNNL, WSU partner in new biomass research lab.” Biomass Magazine
- ^ "Radiochemical Processing Laboratory | PNNL". www.pnnl.gov. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
- ^ About PNNL Facilities
- ^ U.S. Department of Energy. 2007. "Construction Approved for State-of-the-Art Physical Sciences Facility- Existing Facilities Included in Project". Pacific Northwest Site Office, Richland, WA.
- ^ Huang Z, RT Guttromson, J Nieplocha, and RG Pratt. 2007. "Transforming Power Grid Operations". Scientific Computing 24(5):22-27.
- ^ Urbani de la Paz, D. October 14, 2008. "Plant power on the rise at Sequim Bay lab". Peninsula Daily News.
- ^ "U.S. DOE Press Release "Secretary of Energy Announces Eight E.O. Lawrence Award Winners"". Archived from the original on 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
- ^ "Homeland security work wins national award for PNNL scientist". Tri-City Herald.
- ^ "Futrell Named Head of PNNL's Council of Fellows". Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Richland, WA. 2006. Archived from the original on 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- ^ Staff Information Richard Smith.
- ^ "PNNL: News - PNNL wins seven R&D 100 Awards".
- ^ Essential Science Indicators. Archived 2016-12-01 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ PNNL: About – Business Facts.
- ^ "PNNL Fast Facts, Fiscal Year 2015".
- ^ Marceau, Thomas; et al. (2002). Hanford Site Historic District: History of the Plutonium Production Facilities, 1943-1990. Richland, WA: United States Department of Energy.
- MIT. December 1999. Archived from the originalon April 17, 2003.
- ^ Hungate, FP. 1995. "Portable Blood Irradiator." Radiation Protection Dosimetry 60(4): 359-362.
- ^ PNNL: Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security
- ^ Anonymous. 1998. "Instruments Smother Smuggling Attempts." Research & Development 40(2):140.
- ^ About PNNL - Laboratory history
- ^ "Local researchers among thousands who share in prize" Seattle Times, 13 October 2007
- ^ DuBois, MR and DL DuBois. 2008. "The Role of Pendant Bases in Molecular Catalysts for H2 Oxidation and Production." Comptes Rendus Chimie 11(8):805-817.
- ^ Basic Energy Science, Energy Frontier Research Centers. Office of Basic Energy Science, U.S. Department of Energy