Richland lab for international researchers turns 20

A Richland laboratory used by researchers around the world is celebrating its 20th birthday on Aug. 3-4.

In 1997 the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, or EMSL, opened on the campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

It is a Department of Energy “user facility” that has advanced the research of scientists from 40 countries and all 50 states. Using EMSL resources scientists worldwide have authored more than 6,000 scientific manuscripts.

“Scientists from academic, industry and laboratories across the world join forces to tackle problems that otherwise might go unaddressed, simply because they are too complex and challenging for any one scientist,” said Liyuan Liang, EMSL director.

EMSL covers an area bigger than four football fields containing cutting edge and one-of-a-kind scientific instruments and a computing system to help scientists answer questions about the environment, biology and energy.

Researchers who come to the lab also draw on the expertise of EMSL’s 150 scientists.

The 20-year celebration will include a scientific symposium at EMSL. In addition 150 scientists will attend a meeting on microbiomes Aug 1-3 in Pasco.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Richland lab for international researchers turns 20."