Director of Ames National Laboratory at Iowa State University will step down from top role

Adam Schwartz, the director of Ames National Laboratory, will step down from his role but will continue as director either until a successor is named or until July 2024.

The U.S. Department of Energy's lab on Iowa State University's campus is government-owned but is university operated. Iowa State's provost office will lead the search to find Schwartz's successor, according to a news release from the lab.

Ames National Laboratory was formally established in 1947 as an outgrowth of critical work in Ames on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic weapons in World War II.

More than 75 years later, the work of the lab's more than 470 employees is focused on creating new materials and technologies to enhance the U.S. economy, national security and global environmental protection, including to secure supply chains of critical materials for wind turbines and electric vehicles, turn electronic and plastic waste back into usable material, and develop next-generation computing and refrigeration technologies.

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Schwartz was named the lab's director in April 2014. He previously was a division leader at the Condensed Matter and Materials Division at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California.

In a statement, Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen said Schwartz's "thoughtful leadership has positioned the laboratory well to continue serving the nation through the development of new materials and energy solutions.”

Once his successor is named, Schwartz will transition into a part-time job "helping to support business development for critical materials research at the lab and with its partners," according to the news release.

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Phillip Sitter covers education for the Ames Tribune, including Iowa State University and PreK-12 schools in Ames and elsewhere in Story County. Phillip can be reached via email at psitter@gannett.com. He is on Twitter @pslifeisabeauty.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Director of DOE Ames National Laboratory at Iowa State will step down