Yes, construction is happening across the Lab, and yes, it can be inconvenient. But a few years from now, says Lab Director Mike Witherell, we’ll have a different lab than the one we’re used to. We’ll have new buildings and lab spaces, a new cafeteria, and a much more reliable and sustainable site infrastructure. And we’ll be ready for several decades of continued leadership in science.
In this Q&A, Director Witherell shares his thoughts about the Lab’s current directions and its most urgent challenges – and how those challenges will open up new approaches to science. Chief Communications Officer John German conducted the interview.
For more, join Director Witherell during an online State of the Lab Town Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. to noon. He will highlight some of Berkeley Lab’s recent accomplishments and take questions from the online audience.
“We know that to do world-class research, we need outstanding people working in world-class facilities…A few years from now, this construction boom will be over…By that time we’ll be able to see a different lab than the one of a few years ago…We’ll be positioned for several decades of leadership in science.”
– Lab Director Mike Witherell
John German: Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. Let’s start with our research. We continue to see long-term growth in our programs, but we’re also seeing increased coordination across DOE and across the national labs in a few high-priority areas. What are some of the directions you’re seeing in our science mission today?
Mike Witherell: I think at the Lab and across the national lab system, the fact that AI is transforming our science is something that’s new. It’s changing so fast that we’re still getting our hands around it. Around the Lab, our researchers are using AI and machine learning to predict weather patterns and low-likelihood extreme weather events, for example, all the way to detecting faint signals of new fundamental physics from collider data. So these are two very different examples that tell you how AI’s potential spans the whole laboratory.
We’re also part of a discussion with the Office of Science and the Department of Energy on using AI to advance science. Beyond our own research, NERSC has a very important role in this. The NERSC team is developing a full AI ecosystem for DOE researchers across all fields of science. This is part of a Department-wide effort to use AI to accelerate research for basic science, energy technologies, and other technologies that are critical to the nation. So that’s an exciting direction for us: exploring and leading the way in all the ways AI can accelerate and advance scientific and technological discovery.
In another direction, our researchers are thinking about all the new science that’s going to go into the BioEPIC building. This is the bioscience and environmental science parts of our research portfolio that are getting together to understand microbial interactions in soil and with plants and how they shape the environment. This is going to be a unique capability for the Lab with a lot of potential for agriculture, bioenergy, and water resources. So that’s another exciting development.
And then materials, materials, materials. We’re designing new materials more quickly than ever before: for novel batteries, for more efficient hydrogen production, for purifying water, for new microelectronic devices, for quantum devices, and more. If you think about it, every new emerging technology has some need for new materials. This is where the laboratories can work together to deliver solutions for the nation’s most critical needs.
German: What are some of the Lab’s recent major research highlights, and what are some of the biggest opportunities you see for the Lab?
Witherell: Well, what’s fresh in my mind is these wonderful results from the first year of DESI [the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument]. First, this amazingly precise and complicated robotic device they built is working so well, in spite of having to work through all the complications of a wildfire at the site. In their first year of gathering data they completely surpassed all the previous experiments. They’ve been able to map dark energy with unprecedented precision, showing the first hints of a variation of dark energy with cosmic time. Especially for those of us in high-energy physics who are always looking for hints of something new, that’s a very exciting start.
Then, as far as you can imagine from that research, we’re seeing a lot of work from our researchers who analyze energy systems, helping transform the national energy ecosystem by applying life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to help focus R&D efforts, so we’re spending our time on the right problems. Unless we can show that potential clean energy solutions are going to be affordable and sustainable, they don’t help us, and so the people who are doing this work have been in great demand over the last few years. They’re working on hydrogen and direct-air carbon capture and low-carbon fuels and recyclable plastics and geothermal facilities and more. I think that research is really coming to the fore now.
Those are just a few things on my mind. We have highlights from all over the Lab. I’ll be talking more about those at my State of the Lab Town Hall on Tuesday, Sept.10, from 11 a.m. to noon.
German: You and Michael Brandt [Deputy Lab Director for Operations and Chief Operating Officer] recently presented our Lab Plan to our key program sponsors at DOE. What did you learn?
Witherell: Yeah. It’s interesting. This was the eighth time I’ve presented our Lab Plan to the DOE Office of Science, and the main thing I learn every time is how much unbelievable research is being done here. I presented 52 slides to cover the whole Laboratory, each filled with new discoveries and new research opportunities. I spend a lot of time studying before that presentation. It really gives me a chance to catch up on what great research a lot of people at the Lab are doing.
The presentation went well. The Office of Science commended us for developing a compelling vision for the future, leveraging our strengths across many fields of science to support DOE’s priorities. They encouraged us to do even more to coordinate our activities as an integrated Laboratory — in other words, how is the Lab more than the sum of its parts? If anything, they want to see more of that integration.
German: Is that what Carol Burns [Deputy Lab Director for Research and Chief Research Officer] has been working toward with the research areas and divisions: how we can better integrate our strategic capabilities across the Laboratory?
Witherell: Yeah. A lot of the Lab Plan is what we do in our various, separate science domains and areas of the Laboratory. We’re also working on how to think about the Laboratory as an integrated system. Carol’s been collaborating with the ALDs and division directors to formulate a set of five “research themes” that drive the future of our research across the Laboratory. One of the research themes, revolutionizing our science, is particularly characteristic of how our Lab operates. We include in that theme the development of state-of-the-art scientific tools, like the next generation of electron microscopes at the Molecular Foundry. Or the EcoPODs that our researchers are developing to provide controlled micro-environments to study plant-soil interactions.
It also includes ways our researchers all across the Laboratory are developing automated and autonomous laboratories to accelerate experimental discovery. A lot of what we’re doing in science today is finding ways to get there faster. The 5,000 robotic positioners on the DESI survey are a great example of this. It’s unimaginable to me that we can have them all in place, take some spectrometry data from one point in the sky, and then move on to the next 5,000 objects. In another area of science, the A-Lab is automating synthesis and testing of candidate materials to accelerate the development of materials with new characteristics.
The research themes illustrate the advantage we have as a broad national laboratory that’s able to bring together scientists and engineers from different fields together to find new solutions for advancing research. Many of these approaches, like AI or automated labs, are applicable across fields. We’re able to do more impactful research when we can call on all of our expertise collectively.
I encourage everyone to take a look at our Lab Plan highlights page and then navigate to Section 3 of our Lab Plan to learn more about the five research themes.
German: For the third year in a row, DOE’s “grades” to the University of California for managing the Lab were all ‘A-’ or above. What are your takeaways from that, and in what areas do we need to focus on performing well in the coming years?
Witherell: The real breakthrough for us there has been the high operations grades. The research grades have historically been high. So I’d like to take a minute to reflect on what we’ve been able to accomplish by working together as One Lab. By that we mean close collaboration among our research and operations experts to advance the science as rapidly as possible and also as safely as possible. All four of our operations grades have been A- or above for three years in a row. No other Lab has been able to achieve this standard of operations in any one of those years. In fact, if you go back in time it’s hard to find a single year when another lab has done that, let alone three years in a row. And this is DOE applying some fairly objective standards. Keep in mind these are all outstanding laboratories that are dedicating themselves to improving their operations.
It is really phenomenal what we have accomplished, and it’s a reflection of the quality of our people and their dedication to stewardship of the Laboratory. I believe that the people who work here are committed to doing the right thing and taking pride in the work they do.
So what does that mean in practical terms? By taking such good care of our Laboratory and its research and by returning a lot of value to the taxpayer, we earn the trust of our stakeholders in the DOE and in Congress. As a result of this trust, the US Government has been investing in the renewal and modernization of our laboratory.
That said, we can’t sustain this outstanding performance as a Lab without constant attention to improvement. We can’t just coast and keep things static. We’re always looking for ways we can improve the Laboratory, and we will keep finding ways to operate better and safer. We need everyone’s commitment and attention to that excellence every day.
German: FY25 federal budget negotiations are underway. What do you expect with regard to federal support for science, for DOE, and for Berkeley Lab in the coming year?
Witherell: Of course, this process is always complicated, and this year is more complicated than usual. We’re already working with our D.C stakeholders to inform them about what different budget scenarios could mean for research and operations here. They point out that we are in a period of flat budgets, and we understand that well. In fact, we were relieved that the Office of Science was one of the few science agencies that did not get a budget reduction in FY24. Nobody knows what the process will look like in reaching an FY25 federal budget, but it probably won’t come into focus until after the election. So we anticipate a continuing resolution well into the fiscal year, which we are used to since it happens every year now.
But I want to point out some of the positives. The funding coming into the Lab in FY23, the last full budget year, was about $1.5 billion. Compare that to FY17, when our total funding was about $875 million. That increase in budget over that time was about 38% more than inflation. Some of that growth covered increases in the number of people who work here, but our staffing growth has been modest, an average of about 2% per year. The significant increase has been the $300 million or so worth of construction and capital equipment procurement we’re doing every year, which compares to perhaps only $50 million seven years ago.
In some areas, like the ALS operations budget, we’ve seen a significant bump that’s allowing us to increase the ALS staffing to levels needed to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead of us there.
So we’ve been enjoying several years of growth and an influx of funds to support modernization. Nobody expects that to continue indefinitely, but we are taking advantage of it now. We’ll be watching the FY25 federal budget process closely, as we always do.
German: You’ve talked about this period in the Lab’s history as a time in which we’re doing great science while also preparing the Lab for the next era. Many capability upgrades and site modernization projects are well underway. What should we expect?
Witherell: We have these three large flagship projects going on [watch the 2023 video], and two of them are quite visible. The BioEPIC building, with a first of its kind research greenhouse on the roof, is nearly complete. We expect people to start moving in by the end of January.
We also have the Welcome Center with the cafeteria and conference center, where they’re now shoring up the foundations. This building has a long way to go, but I’ve seen the drawings for the finished structure and it’s going to be both practical – with lots of space for us to gather and collaborate – and beautiful, capitalizing on the Lab’s stunning views of the Bay. Those are the two big visible projects that will transform the Laboratory.
The one that’s less apparent is the multi-year project to renew the utilities infrastructure, which is called LAMP [Linear Assets Modernization Project]. As far as the resilience of the Laboratory, that’s as important as anything else we’re doing to modernize our capabilities.
But the largest project we have is actually the ALS-U, which is rebuilding the Advanced Light Source to give it another 30 years at the forefront of science.
Finally, we’re doing several smaller projects all over the site to renew the laboratories and engineering shop spaces in older buildings and fill them with modern equipment.
We know that to do world-class research, we need outstanding people working in world-class facilities. That’s what this is all about. A few years from now, this construction boom will be over, and less of the total budget will be allocated for such rebuilding. By that time we’ll be able to see a different lab than the one of a few years ago. We’ll have new laboratory buildings and renewed lab spaces in older buildings, a new cafeteria, modern conference rooms, and a much more reliable and sustainable infrastructure. We’ll be positioned for several decades of leadership in science. That’s where we’ll be.
I’ve been talking a lot about lab space. We’re in a different situation with office space. We’re working toward consolidating to make the best use of this type of space. For example, the CFO’s office [Office of the Chief Financial Officer] is moving to Building 90 from a facility that the Lab had been renting in Emeryville. And we’re moving the Engineering division offices into Building 50
And finally, we’re working on our first Long Range Development Plan in 20 years. It’s part of a University of California process; all the campuses do this. The LRDP serves as a way to communicate in high-level terms to our surrounding community how we plan to modernize the Lab site well into the future, building new structures on sites that have already been used, for example, while making the Lab more sustainable and taking care of the local environment.
German: You say often that our people, those who do science and those who enable science, are what make the Lab’s mission possible. What are the biggest challenges you see in maintaining a talented workforce, and what are some ways we’re addressing these challenges?
Witherell: I’ve said for the last year, year and a half, that recruiting, development, and retention of talent is a high priority and probably our topmost priority, for both research and operations. Let me be clear: we aren’t having a huge problem with losing people. Our retention numbers compared to labs like ours are really pretty good. But I think that’s because of our attention to it. A big factor in that is making sure that the people who work here have a positive experience. For example, the pulse surveys we conducted during the pandemic years told us that people appreciate that we are striving to sustain a workplace that has a values-based, inclusive culture. That’s more important to people than it was 10 or 20 years ago. It’s also important that everyone who is interested in developing their career can connect with a mentor. We’ve built up our mentorship programs enormously in the last five or so years.
We’ve also started up a Directorate-sponsored working group focused on the employee experience, which includes leaders representing our Learning & Culture Office, the IDEA office, Human Resources, Career Pathways, IT, and Strategic Communications. This group gets together to explore what people are telling us about what they need and then asking what we can change that will improve the employee experience in the most meaningful ways.
The most visible effort from this group so far is overseeing the recent Lab-wide culture survey. Thank you to everybody who took part in that. The survey represents a year of thoughtful effort to plan, execute, and analyze. Through the survey, which had a 58% participation rate across the Laboratory, our people are telling us how they feel about their work environment, their organizations, the Lab’s culture, and much more. We’ll be spending some time looking at those aggregated results, thinking about where we’re doing well and what improvements we can make to do better.
We’re planning to have a virtual town hall this fall, where we’ll discuss feedback from the survey and the next steps.
German: Some people may be wondering where we stand with the Lab’s cultural priorities, especially Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accountability, what we call IDEA. What are your thoughts?
Witherell: Right. On the one hand, we’re rebuilding the Lab physically. On the other hand, we’re trying to build a culture for the Lab that will sustain us in the long run. We’ve come a long way in the five years since Lady Idos started up the IDEA office here in the Directorate. I’m proud that the Laboratory has embraced the principles of IDEA, and that we now have self-sustaining activities at every level of the organization. Our Employee Resource Groups [ERGs] now have more than a thousand members, and we have IDEA committees in all areas across the Lab, signaling a desire among our people to engage at the local level.
It’s true that some of the concepts and terms that we associate with IDEA have become controversial. I can’t predict exactly how this societal struggle for ideas will affect us. What’s not controversial is that taking care of our people is deeply embedded in our culture through our Stewardship Values. Taking care of people means every single one of us feels seen, heard, valued, and respected. It means fairness of opportunity applies to everyone in our community and beyond. It means demographically that we strive to be similar to the communities that we are embedded in. It means each of us has the resources we need to succeed and grow. It means our teams are designed so that people feel safe to do their best work, to speak up, to contribute to our mission. And it means we all feel responsible for making sure those around us are having a positive employee experience. These commitments are central to our culture, and that isn’t changing.
Are we done? No, because society still has a long way to go. Our Lab is a microcosm of society, with the same shortcomings but also an opportunity to do better. We’ll keep trying to build a culture here that is in some ways better for people than the society as a whole. Our culture survey is an important step in taking the pulse of the Laboratory and understanding where we are and how we can continue to improve.
And our new Learning & Culture Office that Aditi Chakravarty is now leading adds a new dimension to our culture. She and her team are helping us to develop as a learning organization. The L&C Office provides a focal point for programs that support individuals’ and teams’ professional development so that people can be as successful as possible here. L&C is also looking at how our organization needs to develop in terms of our capacity to change, to be resilient, and to achieve greater effectiveness.
German: What do you expect to be the Lab’s greatest challenges in the coming years?
Witherell: We always have major challenges, and many of those are closely connected with our greatest opportunities because to gain access to the biggest opportunities you have to do something new. Every one of our major science projects completed in the last few years was a really challenging, difficult problem – because we only do big challenging difficult problems. NERSC-9, ESnet-6, and DESI all come to mind. And each of these opened up whole new approaches to science.
Right now, the biggest challenge we have is the ALS-U [ALS-Upgrade]. It’s an almost $600 million project to rebuild most of the ALS accelerator complex, dramatically reducing the size of the electron beam, plus a seismic strengthening project and renewing much of the equipment that was, frankly, at the end of its life. Looking toward the next phase of the project, we’ve got a complicated period ahead. Already the ALS-U team is installing new components in the accelerator tunnels, and the ALS and ALS-U teams are carefully balancing shutdowns to complete that work with regular operations so we can still offer light to users to do their science. Starting in Summer 2026, we’ll be going into a one-year dark time when the beamlines will be unavailable. During this time the team will remove the old accelerator ring and install the new one. That will be followed by a year or so of bringing the facility into operation and commissioning the beamlines one by one. Although this will be a difficult period with limited research, we’ll need to keep in mind that we’re undertaking this challenge so we can do incredible new science with the enhanced X-ray brightness and coherence the upgrade will offer, and open up a new 30-year window of operating the beamlines.
Our colleagues upgrading the X-ray light sources at SLAC and Argonne have just gone through this cycle of dark time to install and commission brand new accelerator facilities, so we know what the nature of the challenge is. But without doing these upgrades every so often, you have to retire the machine. I’m excited about the great opportunity for science at the end of the tunnel, and I’m proud of the partnership that the ALS and ALS-U teams are demonstrating, working together in the spirit of team science.
German: What are some things you’re looking forward to?
Witherell: The thing that makes this job so great is the chance to work with the smart and dedicated people at this Laboratory. And solving problems to maximize our impact on the nation’s needs: science, clean energy, climate and the environment, technologies that drive the economy. Figuring out how we can do this better, how can we do this faster. We’ve always been good at that.
German: Anything else you’d like to say?
Witherell: Yes. Back in 2005, [former Lab Director] Steve Chu was leading the UC proposal to the DOE to renew UC’s contract to manage this Laboratory for a term that could reach a maximum of 20 years. Well, we’ll reach 20 years next year, in summer 2025. I’m proud of the fact that all of us who work at the Lab over this period have continued the great tradition of delivering science solutions to the world. We’ve also been outstanding stewards of the Laboratory, and today it’s in even better shape to meet the nation’s needs in the future.
Because of the Lab’s excellent performance in accomplishing its mission, the U.S. government has increased its investment here, so that our budget today is twice what it was then, even after correcting for inflation. And as I mentioned earlier, the government keeps investing in us, most recently in the facilities we need to do great research for the next 20 years.
I look forward to working with UC to renew the University’s partnership with DOE so we can continue doing great science here at Berkeley Lab into the future. We’re working with our partners at DOE, through the federal procurement rules, toward that end right now, and it’s a very productive discussion. We can’t foretell the end result of that process now, but we’ll be able to say more about it over the next year.
German: Thank you, Mike.