PNNL

Julian Chesnutt is a research line manager at PNNL. He joined PNNL in 2021 after serving 25 years in the U.S. Air Force as an F-16 squadron commander, defense attaché, senior defense official, and program manager for the Defense Clandestine Service.

His research expertise centers on planetary geology and geohazards. He also has research interests in materials science and the Geographic Information System (GIS). His policy expertise is in national defense, specializing in counterproliferation, counterterrorism, intelligence operations, special operations, and airpower applications. 

At PNNL, he manages the Subsurface Science Group, which focuses on developing and applying knowledge of fundamental biogeochemical reactions, energy, and mass transfer processes to the prediction and assessment of natural processes, including the natural attenuation of contaminant plumes and engineered systems. The researchers in this group provide domain expertise in scale biogeochemistry, reactive transport modeling, lab-to-field-scale geohydrology, multiphase flow modeling, computational geochemistry, subsurface technology development and deployment, advanced geophysical monitoring, isotopic analytical capabilities, and high-temperature and high-pressure geochemistry. Chesnutt also serves as the Deputy Space Subsector Manager.

He holds a PhD in geology, a master’s in Engineering, and a graduate certificate in GIS from North Carolina State University, and a BS in space physics from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Chesnutt is also a Federal Aviation Administration-certified airline transport pilot.