PNNL

Located in the heart of Seattle’s South Lake Union district, Northeastern University - Seattle (NU) is a neighbor and valuable university partner for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and its Northwest Regional Technology Center mission and outreach. Featuring several education programs focused on urban resilience and security, NU provides PNNL staff with incredible opportunities to be students or joint appointments.

“Joint appointments help us elevate our scientific impact and productivity, as well as that of our partners,” said Ann Lesperance, PNNL advisor and Northeastern University Seattle Director of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities.

In her joint appointment, Lesperance briefs staff and the community about the Security and Resilience Studies and the Urban Informatics master’s programs and other opportunities, such as internships. Currently, three PNNL staff have been accepted into the inaugural Master of Science in Security and Resilience Studies program offered by NU, including Jessica Hibler, whose story was featured on the Northeastern website.

“This program has provided exciting opportunities for our staff to dive deeper into their personal interests while enhancing their credentials and capabilities as national security professionals. Topics like urban informatics, security, and resilience are at the forefront of the national conversation,” Lesperance said. She recently discussed the future of emergency management and technology in a video from NU.

Through joint appointments, NU employees also bring their expertise to PNNL. Professor Auroop Ganguly with the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at NU was approved as an inbound joint appointee with PNNL. Ganguly is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, where his research focuses on water and climate science, data and network science, and infrastructure resilience.

PNNL’s Samrat Chatterjee also works as an affiliate professor with the NU Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. His appointment was recently renewed for the 2020-2021 school year. Additional joint appointments can be found at universities around the world.

“Joint appointments not only allow unique collaboration between PNNL and leading universities, they also serve as a pipeline to universities for staff who want to get advanced degrees—while also serving a pipeline to students who want to pursue a career at a leading research institution like PNNL,” Lesperance said.