Michelle Buchanan, an accomplished scientific leader and researcher, has been appointed deputy for science and technology at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory by new Lab Director Thomas Zacharia, a press release said. Her appointment is effective October 1.

“Dr. Buchanan’s research accomplishments, programmatic expertise, and reputation for achievement support ORNL’s role as a premier research institution that provides scientific expertise and breakthroughs that are critical to national priorities in energy, industry, and national security,” said Zacharia, who served in the deputy’s position until becoming lab director on July 1.

Buchanan has been associate laboratory director for physical sciences since 2004, with responsibilities including the lab’s Chemical Sciences, Physics, and Materials Science and Technology divisions, as well as its Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science user facility. The lab will conduct an international search for her replacement, the press release said.

As deputy for science and technology, Buchanan’s responsibilities will cover the range of ORNL research—computing and computational sciences, neutron science, nuclear science and engineering, the physical sciences, energy and environmental science, and national security—as well as the lab’s leadership role in U.S. ITER, the Exascale Computing Project, and ORNL research centers and institutes, the press release said. [Read more…]