Energy Secretary Moniz visits PNNL
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Ernest Moniz
Courtesy of US Department of Energy
The only certified U.S. radionuclide laboratory for the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was one of a few stops Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz made when he visited PNNL Aug. 16.
The Shallow Underground Laboratory at PNNL contains some of the world's most sensitive radiation detection instruments where measurements are made on samples collected through the CTBT Organization, among other important national security research.
Secretary Moniz also spoke with researchers solving complex challenges related to the nation's power grid, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), biological science and Hanford Site cleanup.
Specific locations he visited:
- Systems Engineering Building, a recently constructed, state-of-the-art facility furnished with a mock utility control center enabled with grid data and equipment that will advance basic and applied research in:
- Electricity markets
- Generation
- Transmission
- Distribution
- End use, including buildings-grid integration.
- Shallow Underground Laboratory to learn about a variety of research projects, including detecting and preventing the proliferation of WMD as well as treaty monitoring. Take a virtual tour of the SUL to learn more.
- EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a national scientific user facility funded and sponsored by DOE's Office of Biological & Environmental Research. At EMSL, Secretary Moniz toured:
- 21T Mass Spectrometer — one of only two mass specs in the world with this magnetic field strength & used for biology research
- Science and engineering in support of the Hanford cleanup mission
- Chemistry and catalysis for clean energy
Meet our Experts
Lab Director
Director Steven Ashby manages the vision and strategic direction of PNNL.
Energy Research
Jud Virden is the Associate Laboratory Director for PNNL's Energy and Environment Directorate.
Carl Imhoff manages the Electricity Infrastructure market sector, and stewards PNNL’s grid modernization research portfolio.
Michael Kinter-Meyer is a nationally recognized researcher focused on improving our nation’s power grid modeling and analysis.
Karen Studarus is a senior power systems engineer also looking at ways to make the power grid more reliable and sustainable.
Henry Huang, senior research engineer, specializes in power grid analytics and controls and leads PNNL's Future Power Grid Initiative.
National Security Research
Tony Peurrung is the Associate Laboratory Director for the National Security Directorate.
Craig Aalseth is a nationally recognized nuclear physicist working in ultra-low radiation detection.
Basic Science Research
Allison Campbell is the Associate Laboratory Director for the Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate.
Lou Terminello is the Associate Laboratory Director for the Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate.
Karl Mueller is an international expert in solid-state NMR techniques applied to complex materials.
Wendy Shaw leads catalysis research involving natural biominerals and the protein scaffold in catalytic reactions.
Vanessa Bailey studies microbial ecology of soils and terrestrial ecosystems to understand the carbon cycling processes of microbial communities.
Environmental Research
Sue Clark is an internationally known environmental radiochemist and leads PNNL’s Nuclear Process Science Initiative.