Biological Sciences Division
Staff Awards & Honors
February 2006
Fredrickson Named GTL Chief Scientist
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Laboratory Fellow Jim Fredrickson was appointed Chief Scientist of the U.S. Department of Energy's Genomics: Genomes to Life (GTL) program. This is a new position created by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) at DOE in September 2005. As Chief Scientist, Dr. Fredrickson provides scientific leadership and guidance in coordination with the GTL Program Manager and other BER staff. His responsibilities include representing the GTL program's science at scientific meetings, with contributions to the scientific literature, and in interactions with national associations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the American Society for Microbiology.
Some of Fredrickson's activities and accomplishments in this new role include the following:
- Co-organizer of the DOE Biomass to Biofuels Workshop hosted by BER and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy December 6-9 in Rockville, Maryland. At the workshop, he gave a talk on "GTL Crosscutting Science Applied to Biomass." He is currently contributing to the final workshop report.
- Participant in the National Academies Committee review of the GTL program in September. He presented the program's progress and potential and challenges it faces. He was instrumental in helping BER prepare key material that addressed specific questions by the committee.
- Planning of and participation in the Joint Genomics: GTL Contractor-Grantee Workshop IV and Metabolic Engineering Working Group Interagency Conference on Metabolic Engineering 2006 February 12-15 in Bethesda, Maryland.
Fredrickson works closely with the DOE Program Manager and GTL scientists and is helping define GTL performance metrics, milestones, and expected outcomes. He also assists in preparing updated versions of the GTL Science Plan/Roadmap, which define the scientific direction and goals of the program.
