Independent Savannah River National Lab praised by SRS leaders
Dec. 8—ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Establishing the Savannah River National Laboratory as a standalone scientific enclave, cleaved from a larger contractor at the Savannah River Site, was the right move, according to the current lab director and the site manager.
Providing the lab its own architecture — a discrete contract, its own management team and more — will pay dividends, the two men, Dr. Vahid Majidi and Michael Budney, suggested Wednesday at the National Cleanup Workshop.
"I'm really excited about the future," Budney said. He later lauded Battelle Savannah River Alliance, the team that took over SRNL in June.
Battelle Savannah River Alliance includes Clemson, South Carolina and S.C. State universities. It is spearheaded — as the name betrays — by Battelle, a company that has years of experience leading national labs.
The Department of Energy awarded the $3.8 billion lab management contract to BSRA in December 2020, approximately one year after the idea was teased.
At the time, the department said the move toward independence would enhance the Savannah River National Lab's research-and-development capabilities and would boost its interplay with academia and the future workforce.
"This" management contract "will position SRNL to maximize its potential as a national laboratory to benefit the department, the American scientific discovery and innovation ecosystem, the local communities near the lab and the American taxpayer at large," then-Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar said late last year.
Majidi and Budney echoed those sentiments Wednesday.
