Sue Clark to leverage lab's nuclear science capabilities
December 15, 2014 
RICHLAND, Wash. - Internationally renowned environmental radiochemist Sue Clark will join the D.O.E.'s Pacific Northwest National Lab where she will provide technical leadership for PNNL's diverse nuclear science and technology programs - including a new initiative in Nuclear Process Science.
Clark is currently a Regents Professor in the Chemistry Department at Washington State University in Pullman, and a scientist at WSU's Nuclear Radiation Center. She begins a joint appointment with PNNL on January 1, 2015. Once fully transitioned to PNNL in June, she will maintain a joint appointment with WSU allowing her to continue preparing the next generation of nuclear scientists.
"Clark's background complements PNNL's internationally acknowledged core capabilities in nuclear science, which underpin the lab's research in energy, the environment and national security," said Jud Virden, associate Lab director for Energy and Environment. "Her unique expertise in nuclear materials and analytics strategically aligns with several challenging programs facing the D.O.E.."
Clark was appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, serving from 2011 through October 2014. She is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences in 2010 and currently serves on its board of directors.
Clark will join PNNL as a Battelle Fellow - the Lab's highest recognition for scientific and technological achievement - a rank shared by only 9 other PNNL scientists who have distinguished themselves as internationally acknowledged leaders in their fields.
Clark will lead PNNL's new Nuclear Process Science Initiative, which will focus on creating a fundamental scientific understanding of the key processes that underlie waste processing and the nuclear forensics challenges that are central to DOE's environmental management and non-proliferation missions.
The initiative will leverage distinctive capabilities associated with its Radiochemical Processing Lab - one of only 2 D.O.E. Office of Science Hazard Category two Non-Reactor Nuclear Facilities capable of multi-disciplinary research and development. Clark will also focus on combining RPL capabilities with other PNNL radiological facilities and with the radiochemistry annex in EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab - a national scientific user facility sponsored by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science.
Tags: Environment, Fundamental Science, National Security, EMSL, Awards and Recognizes, Environmental Remediation, Chemistry, Nuclear Nonproliferation
EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab, is a national scientific user facility sponsored by the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. Located at Pacific Northwest National Lab in Richland, Wash., EMSL offers an open, collaborative environment for scientific discovery to researchers around the world. Its integrated computational and experimental resources enable researchers to realize important scientific insights and create new technologies. Follow EMSL on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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.
