PNNL

James (Jim) De Yoreo, a Battelle Fellow at PNNL and an Affiliate Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Washington (UW), was selected to serve on the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (BESAC) for 2024-2025. This appointment was made by Geri Richmond, the Under Secretary for Science and Innovation at the DOE.

The Basic Energy Sciences (BES) program focuses on research for discovery, design, and understanding of new materials and processes in order to better understand and benefit our world. The 35 members of the BESAC are all experts in their respective fields and are all involved in energy-related scientific research at national laboratories, universities, and industries throughout the country. The committee reports to the director of the DOE Office of Science.

As a member of this committee, De Yoreo will play an important role in advising the BES program on its broad range of energy technologies and guiding it toward its goals. De Yoreo's discoveries have altered our understanding of materials synthesis. His research focuses on understanding and manipulating interactions, assembly, and crystallization in nanoparticle, biomolecule, and mineral systems.

“I feel privileged to have the opportunity to serve on BESAC because BES programs have enabled me to pursue the research questions that have most interested me and to do so through team-based research, which is what first attracted me to the national labs nearly 25 years ago,” said De Yoreo. “I truly feel that I owe BES programs and program managers a debt of gratitude for the success I have had in my career, and I am glad to be able to give back.”

De Yoreo received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Colby College then earned his master's and doctorate in physics at Cornell University. Along with his Battelle fellowship, he has also been named a fellow of the DOE Office of Science Distinguished Scientist Fellows, the Materials Research Society, and the American Physical Society.  He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2022 and received the prestigious David Turnbull Award from the Materials Research Society in 2016.

De Yoreo is the deputy director of the Center for the Science of Synthesis Across Scales, a multi-institution Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) based at UW and a founding co-director of the Northwest Institute for Materials Physics, Chemistry, and Technology (NW IMPACT), a joint research collaboration of PNNL and UW.

“Jim is an internationally recognized and innovative leader in fundamental materials science. We are fortunate to have his insight and influence on our team, and he will do an excellent job advising the nation’s largest contributor to discovery research in the physical sciences,” said Louis Terminello, PNNL Associate Lab Director.

More information related to the Committee can be found at https://science.osti.gov/bes/besac.