An overview of the missions and important achievements of the US national laboratories.

Document Type : Review article

Author

College of Sciences, Shiraz University

Abstract

The difficulty of scattered studies, facilities and specializations at the level of universities and industrial centers to meet serious needs or to overcome great challenges has been the beginning of the emergence of the national laboratories. Although national laboratories have been established around the world, especially in developed countries, the United States of America has established 17 national laboratories throughout the country for about 75 years, which have played an important role in the scientific and technological developments of that country. The purpose of this article is to review the role of 17 US National Laboratories in the development of science and technology, their missions and their important achievements. The US Seventeen National Laboratories is home to leading scientists, elite engineers, skilled technical staff, and the location of advanced and expensive equipment and facilities that are beyond the capacity of American universities. Scientists at the American National Laboratories have not only been honored to receive more than 80 Nobel Prizes, but in some cases their achievements have changed the fate of some wars and brought a new way of life and interaction to human society. In addition to addressing important missions in science and technology, US National Laboratories support academic and industrial projects, train the next generation of leading scientists and engineers, and assist the government and various agencies in emergencies, assist in the transfer of technology to industrial sectors and active markets, commit to the advancement of basic science and its integration with the fields of technology, and provide strategic resources and solutions to meet national and international challenges. However, the point that should not be overlooked is that the creation and operation of such a large infrastructure requires the overcoming of major obstacles, challenges and constraints.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Argonne National Laboratory (n.d.). Our history: Argonne National Laboratory. Available at: https://www.anl.gov/our-history
Bin-Nun, A. Y., Chan, G., Anadon, L. D., Narayanamurti, V., and Maxted, S. J. (2017). The Department of Energy National Laboratories Organizational design and management strategies to improve federal energy innovation and technology transfer to the private sector. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University. Available at:
https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/files/publication/enrp-stpp-lab-report-final-1.pdf
Brookhaven National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.bnl.gov/
Cohen, L. R., and Noll, R. G. (1993). “The future of the national laboratories”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 93(23), pp.12678-12685.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (n.d). https://www.fnal.gov/
Goldwhite, H. (1986). “The Manhattan Project”. Journal of Fluorine Chemistry, 33(1-4), pp. 109-132.
Guridia, J. A, Pertuze, J. A., and Fotenhauer, S. M. P. (2020). “Natural Laboratories as Policy Instruments for Technological Learning And Institutional Capacity Building: The Case Of Chile's Astronomy Cluster”. Research Policy, 49(2), pp. 103899.
Hallonsten O. (2020). “Research infrastructures in Europe: the hype and the field”. European Review, 28(4), pp. 617-635. https://nationallabs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/National-Labs-all-r.pdf
Idaho National Laboratory (n.d). https://inl.gov/
Iranian Light Source Facility (n.d). http://ilsf.ipm.ac.ir/
Kusnezov, D. (2014) “The Department of Energy’s National Laboratory Complex”. Presented to: Commission to Review the Effectiveness of National Energy Laboratories. Retrieved at: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/08/f18/July%2018%20Kusnezov%20FINAL.pdf
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.lbl.gov/
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.llnl.gov/
Los Alamos National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.lanl.gov/
National Energy Technology Laboratory (n.d). https://netl.doe.gov/
National Laboratory Directors’ Council (2021). Fundamental science: critical to meeting U.S. energy and climate mitigation goals. Available at: https://nationallabs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/NLDC_Transition_Fundamental_Science.pdf
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (n.d). https://www.nrel.gov/
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.ornl.gov
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (n.d). https://www.pnnl.gov
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (n.d). https://www.pppl.gov
Sandia National Laboratories (n.d). https://www.sandia.gov
Savannah River National Laboratory (n.d). https://srnl.doe.gov
Scarrà, D., and Piccaluga, A. (2020). “The Impact of Technology Transfer and Knowledge Spillover from Big Science: A Literature Review”. Technovation, 116, pp. 102165.
Seidel, R. W. (1993). “Science Policy and the Role of the National Laboratories”. Los Alamos Science, 21.
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (n.d). https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/about/slac-overview
The National Laberatories (n.d.). America’s National Laboratory System: A Powerhouse of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Available at: https://nationallabs.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/National-Labs-all-r.pdf
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (n.d). https://www.nti.org
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Center (n.d). https://www.jlab.org
S. Department of Energy (2020). The State of the DOE National Laboratories. pp: 1-34.

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 01 September 2021
  • Revise Date: 01 January 2022
  • Accept Date: 11 January 2022

Share

How to cite

Statistics