PNNL Director Kluse to Retire Next Spring
WC Monitor
7/18/2014
Mike Kluse, the director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has announced plans to retire March 31, 2015, after leading the lab since being named interim director in January 2007 and permanent director in May 2008. Battelle will begin a national search for a new director immediately, according to PNNL. “Mike has had a tremendous impact on the success and growth of the laboratory, and we are grateful for the strong leadership and vision that he provided to both PNNL and Battelle,” said Jeff Wadsworth, Battelle president.
PNNL has had the top annual grades or tied for the top annual grades among DOE Office of Science Laboratories under Kluse’s leadership the last seven years, according to PNNL. That’s one of the accomplishments he is most proud of, Kluse said. He also oversaw most of the construction of seven new buildings on PNNL’s Richland campus, as well as work to renovate four older buildings it used at Hanford. The $300-million project was the largest construction project in PNNL’s 49-year history and was needed to replace laboratory and office space being used at Hanford that needed to be vacated to make way for cleanup. “It really transformed the complexion of the campus,” he said. PNNL’s budget grew from $750 million to more than $1 billion annually in the years Kluse led the lab, and PNNL expanded its research in grid modernization, nuclear nonproliferation, catalysis and other areas.
Kluse Says Biggest Challenge Has Been Budget Issues
Dealing with uncertainties in the federal budget has been his biggest challenge, Kluse said. PNNL has done all it can to ensure stable funding for science and engineering, including making sure it has the facilities and equipment for its staff to be successful, he said. “It comes down to the performance of the lab,” he said. Continued top evaluations have helped ensure that the lab’s federal and other research clients continue to seek out PNNL despite a difficult federal funding environment. He also has worked to maintain relationships with DOE leadership and stakeholders to help stabilize funding, he said. “Mike is a statesman who will be missed in the entirety of the DOE complex,” said Roger Snyder, the DOE Pacific Northwest Site Office manager. PNNL has had a good year and Kluse chose “a good note to go out on,” Snyder said.
Ground was broken in April for a new Systems Engineering Laboratory, the first step in a 10-year campus strategy Kluse was instrumental in developing. “It is positioning PNNL for the future,” Snyder said. Kluse will spend his remaining eight months at PNNL making sure the project stays on track for completion just after his retirement and developing plans to expand space for wet chemistry. He also will be advocating for stable and growing funding for projects in PNNL’s diverse portfolio, which ranges from environment to national security to fundamental science research. “Throughout my career, I’ve been privileged to collaborate with and lead incredibly hard working and talented people with a desire to make an impact on the challenges facing our nation,” Kluse said. “I have no doubt that PNNL will continue to solve national challenges through its discovery and innovation well into the future as they have now for nearly 50 years.”
