Steven Ashby Stepping Aside as Director of PNNL

Dr. Steven Ashby, director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, announced his intention to step aside and make way for PNNL’s next visionary leader. This month marks Ashby’s tenth year as director, culminating 41 years of service to the important missions of the Department of Energy, among his many notable contributions.

Ashby, who has served as director of PNNL since 2015, oversees PNNL’s $1.6 billion research budget and approximately 6,400 employees of Battelle, which manages PNNL for DOE. He will remain as director until his successor is in place.

“When I began my career with DOE as a graduate student, I never imagined that I would have the honor of leading one of its great national laboratories. It has been the highlight of my career,” said Ashby. “I am proud of all that we have accomplished, and I look forward to watching PNNL continue to thrive and deliver amazing outcomes for our nation.”

Ashby’s leadership of PNNL over the last decade has delivered unprecedented growth in the Laboratory’s research portfolio, new strategic partnerships, a modern campus with new facilities, and increased recognition as a leading scientific institution.

A top priority of Ashby’s as director was to further strengthen the Laboratory’s world-class capabilities in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology, and data science that underpin many important scientific contributions. He also honed and executed a strategy to advance scientific discovery, improve energy resiliency, and enhance national security. Grounded in a firm belief that the biggest challenges cannot be solved alone, Ashby forged several strategic partnerships, including six joint institutes with five leading universities.

During his tenure, Ashby led a $1 billion decadal campus transformation that modernized aging infrastructure and delivered new, world-class research facilities, including the Energy Sciences Center and Grid Storage Launchpad. His commitment to operational excellence is reflected in PNNL’s consistent rating as a top-performing DOE laboratory. And he has proudly represented Battelle and its commitment to philanthropy, volunteerism and STEM education for the betterment of the communities in which staff at PNNL live and work.

Once his successor is on board, Ashby will assume a new leadership position with Battelle as senior vice president of Strategic Partnerships to help manage the portfolio of Battelle-affiliated laboratories.

“As Battelle’s longest-tenured laboratory director, Steve has built a remarkable legacy of scientific discovery that has contributed to the advancement of our nation’s health, safety and prosperity,” Battelle President and CEO Lou Von Thaer said. “We are grateful to Steve for his decade of leadership at PNNL and look forward to further benefitting from his knowledge and expertise as he takes on an expanded role with our national laboratory operations team.”

Battelle will lead a national search for the next laboratory director at PNNL expected to take four to eight months.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | https://www.pnnl.gov/