NW federal lab that employs 6,000+ Tri-Citians announces new director

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory didn’t need to go too far to snag its next director.

The national lab that oversees $1.6 billion in research and employs more than 6,000 in the Tri-Cities announced Thursday that Deborah Gracio was chosen following a competitive nationwide search.

The 35-year PNNL veteran is an associate lab director who oversees PNNL’s diverse national security research portfolio. She takes over Oct. 1.

“I am honored to lead PNNL as we build on 60 years of scientific achievement,” she said in a statement.

“Our mission has never been more urgent or more inspiring. I’m committed to fostering the collaboration, innovation and clarity needed to help our teams deliver meaningful impact for the Department of Energy and the nation as we look to the future.”

She succeeds Steven Ashby, who was named director in 2015 and announced earlier this year his plans to step down. He’ll take on a new role at Battelle as senior vice president of strategic partnerships to help manage its wider portfolio of laboratories.

Battelle, a nonprofit based in Columbus, Ohio, operates eight national laboratories, including PNNL, for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Gracio has been recognized for pioneering research around computational capabilities. She’s created instrumentation, models and software that, among other achievements, shaped the development of DOE programs focused on using computation for scientific discovery.

“Her leadership in forming new methodologies, algorithms and technologies to address scientific challenges with big data has advanced the use of data sciences across multiple scientific and technical domains,” the announcement reads.

This story is breaking and will be updated.