D. The Ten National Laboratories Reviewed by the Galvin Task Force

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Illinois

ANL is a multi-disciplinary R&D facility capable of conducting both large- and small-scale projects. Its wide ranging scientific and technical expertise often is called on to attack challenges ranging from nuclear non-proliferation to industrial technologies to basic research. The 4,800-member Lab staff aggressively pursues collaborative, technology-transfer partnerships with industry, university, and with other federal labs and agencies. Among ANL's core competencies are:

Argonne's world class user facilities include the:

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), New York

BNL was founded in 1946 by nine Eastern universities which needed a convenient user facility where projects too large for any one of them could be built and operated. The Lab and its 3,500-member staff have been fulfilling that need ever since. BNL conducts basic and applied research on problems ranging from the top quark to superconductivity and from global change to advanced radiation therapy. BNL's major facilities and their competencies are:

Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS): The AGS is a proton and heavy ion synchrotron with a maximum energy of 33 GeV and the highest flux of any accelerator of this energy. Three Nobel prizes, the discovery of CP violation in K decays, the discovery of the muon neutrino, and the discovery of the J/psi particle were awarded for work done at the AGS. A fourth, for the suggestion of parity violation, was made for work carried out at AGS during 1956.

Other facilities include the Positron Emission Tomograph (PET) which uses positron decays to produce images of the brain, and STEM, a scanning transmission electron microscope which is unique in its capabilities. These facilities are used not only by outside users but also by BNL researchers.

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), Idaho

INEL includes more than 890 square miles of remote, accessible terrain, well-suited for development, demonstration and operation of complex processes. The Lab's 7,400-member staff represents the largest concentration of technical professionals in the region. INEL is recognized internationally for integration of engineering, applied science and operations to meet critical needs associated with energy supply, environmental management, national security and advanced technology development and demonstration. INEL's core competencies are:

INEL is marked by an emphasis on applied science and engineering to bridge the gap between basic research and practical application, culture oriented toward providing maximum value to customers, proven ability to leverage environmental capability to regional natural resource industries, and unique infrastructure enabling a full range of design, development, demonstration and operations.

In addition, INEL continues to cost effectively leverage limited programmatic resources through a variety of partnership arrangements to facilitate transfer of technology to the private sector.

Ernest Orando Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBNL), California

LBL's dedication to scientific excellence has garnered a host of awards -- including nine Nobel prizes. Its close connection with the University of California at Berkeley permits the lab and its 2,700-member staff to be especially aggressive in educating future scientists and engineers as well as improving the quality of K-12 science education. LBL core competencies include:

Among LBL national research facilities are:

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), California

LLNL and its 7,900-member staff focus their efforts on global security, global ecology, and bioscience. LLNL offers a demonstrated ability to apply science and technology effectively on a large scale, thanks to a broad culture of diverse disciplines and well-developed links to industry and the university R&D communities. Core competencies and characteristics include:

Among unique facilities at LLNL are the National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC); the world's most powerful laser (Nova); the laser isotope separation demonstration facility (AVLIS); the best instrumented hydrodynamics test facility (FXR); the country's most advanced energetic materials research facility (HEAF); the most precise diamond turning machine (LODTM) which cut metal mirrors for the Keck telescope; the electron beam ion trap (EBIT) capable of studying atomic structure of any element at extremely deep ionization levels; the nation's most productive and diverse center for accelerator mass spectrometry (CAMS); the nation's atmospheric release advisory capability (ARAC) which analyzed Chernobyl in real time; the national center for global climate model comparison; the genome research center; and environmental technology demonstration facilities for dynamic underground stripping, for groundwater cleanup, and for mixed waste treatment.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Colorado

NREL has a compelling mission: "[to lead] the nation toward a sustainable energy future by developing renewable energy technologies, improving energy efficiency, advancing related science and engineering, and facilitating commercialization." Further, NREL is the only DOE Laboratory solely dedicated to developing renewable energy technologies (RETs) and related energy efficiency technologies, which includes helping to build a viable industry. NREL's current technical staff of more than 500 represents the largest concentration of expertise focused on renewable energy technologies in the world. This highly trained staff is further augmented by unique experimental and user facilities.

To help meet its challenging mission, NREL carries out its activities using a process called vertically integrated research and development (R&D) and partnership development by working closely and in parallel with industry, university, and national lab partners, as well as other stakeholders, to evolve and develop technology of commercial interest through all its stages -- from basic research through applied research, engineering, product development, manufacturing support and, finally, in a supporting role, commercialization. These efforts rely heavily on four core competencies:

In addition, as part of this vertically integrated process NREL, guided by a number of review and advisory boards made up of members of industry, academia, users, and institutions:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), New Mexico

LANL is a world class laboratory which attracts and retains a high caliber staff of 7,600. The Lab also continually draws internationally renowned scientists, both foreign and domestic, from universities, industry, and government-funded laboratories. LANL competencies and distinguishing characteristics include:

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