Technician balances nuclear waste research with ultra-long runs
News Brief
July 24, 2017 
RICHLAND, Wash. - Scientists sometimes undergo marathon lab sessions late at night as they race to explain the world's unsolved mysteries.
Research technician Jesse Lang takes such endurance to new levels when he spends his free time running 100-mile races.
Lang's day job at the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab involves exploring how nuclear waste can be turned into glass for safe, long-term storage.
But his extracurricular habit recently led him to finish 20th in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which was held June 24-25 in California. He completed the grueling trail run in 20 hours, nine minutes and 50 seconds despite the temperature peaking at 100 degrees.
The 2 tasks are related, Lang says.
"Both research and running help me to think I can accomplish or finish things I set my mind to, and that I can clear hurdles through determination."
The Tri-City Herald recently published a feature story that detailed Lang's passion for running.
"You run a lot of miles, and then you run some more miles," Lang told the Herald. "This year, it was the most miles I've ever ran. By May, I was averaging over 100 miles a week."
Lang started running exceptionally long races in 2011, has placed 1st eleven times, and finished in all but 2 of the 38 races he's started, the Herald reported.
Lang joined PNNL in 2009. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Central Washington University and is pursuing a master's degree in environmental science at Washington State University's Tri-Cities campus.
Tags: National Security, Nuclear Nonproliferation
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 4,400 staff and has an yearly budget of nearly $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+, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
