The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is welcoming a new associate laboratory director in the next few months, the ORNL announced recently.

Paul Langan has been named associate laboratory director for the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate, ORNL announced Dec. 29. Langan will begin his tenure "in the spring," according to the announcement. Langan succeeds Stan Wullschleger, who is retiring after 33 years at ORNL.

Langan will oversee the directorate's interdisciplinary research in biology, ecology, engineering, data discovery, physical sciences, and computing, the announcement states. Research projects include development of renewable energies, improvement of Earth system models, exploring possible uses of systems and synthetic biology, according to the statement.

“This directorate is positioned to be at the forefront of tackling some of the most important challenges we face over the next decade, thanks to Stan’s leadership and the contributions of many talented staff members,” Langan said in the statement. 

Langan served previously at the ORNL, the agency reports, including in 2011 as a senior scientist and director of the Center for Structural Molecular Biology; was founding director of the Biology and Soft Matter Division in the Neutron Sciences Directorate; and in 2015 was appointed associate lab director for neutron sciences where he served for six years, according to the announcement.

More recently, Langan has served for the past two years as director general of the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, "the premier center for neutron science and technology in Europe," the ORNL reports. 

“With his unique combination of demonstrated impact as a scientist, leadership of multidisciplinary teams, operation of complex facilities and engagement with diverse stakeholders from the public and private sectors," ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in the announcement, "Paul is well positioned to help sustain the lab’s record of accomplishment in biological and environmental science."

“One thing that I’ve enjoyed doing over the years is bringing together technical and scientific staff from different disciplines to solve complex problems,” Langan said. “I look forward to continuing this multidisciplinary approach, so that together we can deliver further research solutions in biological and environmental systems science that will improve our future.”