Geophysicist Takes Helm of National Energy Technology Lab
This month, the Department of Energy named Marianne Walck as director of the National Energy Technology Lab, which focuses on fossil energy R&D. Walck previously was chief research officer at Idaho National Lab and she holds a doctorate in geophysics from Caltech.
Brad Crabtree, the head of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, stated that Walck’s expertise will help the lab with “building out geologic carbon dioxide storage capacity, developing domestic critical mineral supply chains from unconventional resources, increasing methane mitigation efforts, and scaling up carbon dioxide removal.”
The lab has more than 1,400 employees and an annual budget exceeding $1 billion, with sites in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas, and Alaska.