For release: May 9 , 2007

Contacts: 
Steve Karsjen, Public Affairs, 515-294-5643

GOVERNOR PROCLAIMS MAY 17
AMES LABORATORY DAY IN IOWA

Date Recognizes Ames Laboratory’s 60th Anniversary

AMES, Iowa – Gov. Chet Culver has joined in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory by declaring May 17, 2007, to be Ames Laboratory Day in Iowa.  A proclamation recognizing the importance of the date was signed by the governor on April 19, 2007. 

The proclamation touches upon the importance of Ames Laboratory to the state of Iowa, beginning with the development of the “most efficient process to purify uranium for the Manhattan Project” in the 1940s to today’s focus on “fundamental research underpinning energy technologies with interdisciplinary teams in chemical, engineering, materials and mathematical sciences, and physics.”

The proclamation goes on to recognize the Ames Laboratory’s commitment to providing “unparalleled scientific research opportunities for hundreds of scientists, engineers and students” from throughout Iowa, the nation and the world. 

In addition, the proclamation recognizes the continued contribution of the Ames Laboratory to the state of Iowa through the recent signing of the five-year, $150 million  contract for continued operation of the Laboratory by Iowa State University.  ISU has been the sole contractor for the operation of the Ames Laboratory since the Lab’s inception in1947.    

In signing the proclamation, Gov. Culver encouraged all citizens to “recognize the contributions of materials research to scientific discovery and to the economic strength of Iowa and the nation.” 

Ames Laboratory, celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007, is operated for the Department of Energy by Iowa State University.  The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.

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