September 30, 2015 
TEMPE, Arizona - Arizona State University and the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland, Washington will enter into an arrangement to solidify the burgeoning collaboration between the 2 institutions on research plans related to energy security, climate science and sustainability, and other aspects of global security.
The signing of the official memorandum of understanding took place at ASU on Sept. 29 on ASU's Tempe campus.
ASU and PNNL have collaborated successfully in the past on plans including power grid resilience, climate change and environmental sustainability. The arrangement paves the way for both ASU and PNNL to leverage their capabilities to achieve mutual objectives which include attracting new backing in global security and complex systems science and developing immersive learning opportunities for students.
"ASU has already proven to be a great partner as both PNNL and the University strive to further solutions to global security and sustainability through better understanding of complex adaptive systems," said Doug Ray, director of strategic partnerships at PNNL. "We are impressed with ASU's commitment to innovation and are looking forward to creating opportunities to engage collaboratively on important research projects."
Not only will the arrangement foster innovative research between PNNL and ASU, but it will also open a pipeline for eventual joint appointments, and extend national Lab resources to students.
"PNNL and ASU share common goals for advancing research in key areas that will have an impact on our local and global communities" says Sethuraman "Panch" Panchanathan, senior vice president of research, entrepreneurship and economic development at ASU's Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development. "We are delighted to build upon our existing collaborations that will further our efforts to create sustainable solutions to energy security, climate change, resiliency and more."
Nadya Bliss, director of ASU's Global Security Initiative (GSI) agrees that the mutual interests of each organization will greatly benefit the collaborative research efforts of the newly signed agreement. "Given our existing ongoing efforts both in global security and sustainability as well as complimentary strength and expertise to address national and global wicked problems, it made sense to expand and formalize the collaboration between our 2 organizations," said Bliss. "On a personal note, I have had the pleasure of working closely with PNNL's Joint Global Change Research Institute and have been thoroughly impressed by both the ongoing research at JGCRI and effectiveness of our 2 organizations working together."
In announcing the agreement, both Ray and Panchanathan said PNNL and ASU are committed to discovery and innovation to address the complex problems facing the world today.
Arizona State University is a New American University, promoting excellence in its research and among its students, faculty and staff, increasing access to its educational resources and working with communities to positively impact social and economic development.
Tags: Energy, Environment, Fundamental Science, National Security, Renewable Energy, Climate Science, Climate Security
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,300 staff and has an yearly budget of in excess of $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
