In the mid 1980s, Dr. William R. Wiley, then director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and his senior leaders proposed a center for molecular science that would bring together theoreticians with experience in computing modeling of molecular processes and researchers from the physical and life sciences. They understood the scientific advances that were happening and would continue to occur in conjunction with the ability to characterize, manipulate, and create molecules.
This new center would provide researchers across the nation with advanced instrumentation for molecular-level chemistry.
Launching a user facility. The facility was dedicated in Wiley’s honor in October 1996 and EMSL opened on October 1, 1997 as DOE’s newest national scientific user facility. It is sponsored by DOE’s Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER).
Scientific leaders included internationally recognized scientists Thom Dunning, Steve Colson, and Jean Futrell. Early-career scientists who started at EMSL include Xiao Liang Sunney Xie, now a Harvard University professor and 2010 DOE E.O. Lawrence Award recipient. Within five years, scientific and instrument innovations at EMSL had produced more than 60 patents and at least a dozen national awards for scientific merit and technology transfer.
Collaboration = impact. In its early years, the EMSL user program focused on single investigator studies – particularly those Dr. Wiley championed that crossed disciplinary boundaries – and quickly engaged scientists representing every state and several foreign countries. EMSL subsequently launched two major “grand challenges” focused on membrane biology and biogeochemistry that drew scientists from multiple institutions to collaborate over several years – essentially pioneering team science in the national user facility complex. These multi-year studies proved to EMSL leadership the added value of moving toward multi-investigator projects with teams focused on a specific challenge.
Those successes led to new opportunities for the scientific community with research campaigns, designed to focus teams on a single challenge, and joint calls with other user facilities.
As EMSL's leadership brought together teams, it also focused its scientific mission to that of the DOE's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. Since then, EMSL has evolved into a user facility represented through four science themes, which focus research attention and capability development on high-priority research topics that align with BER’s mission.
Revitalizing research. In 2009, DOE announced it would invest $60 million in new capabilities for EMSL from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds allowed EMSL to accelerate the existing capability development plan and enhance its user program. That also enabled the upgrading of existing capabilities including several advanced microscopes housed in EMSL’s Quiet Wing. EMSL later opened its Radiochemistry Annex (RadEMSL), designed to accelerate scientific discovery and deepen the understanding of the chemical fate and transport of radionuclides in terrestrial and subsurface ecosystems.
Today EMSL looks to realize Dr. Wiley’s vision of interdisciplinary research that melds theory and experiment. EMSL's team-based approach leverages people, data and tools in new ways for greater impact.
Video: Dr. Wayne Martin (retired, PNNL) and others remember Dr. Wiley and his inspiring vision for a multi-discipline, molecular sciences user facility.