Welcome to the Pacific Northwest Site Office

The Pacific Northwest Site Office (PNSO) is an organization within the U. S. Department of Energy's Office of Science with responsibility to oversee and manage the contract for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington. 

The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, providing more than 40 percent of total funding for this vital area of national importance. It oversees – and is the principal federal funding agency of – the Nation’s research programs in high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences.

The Office of Science also manages fundamental research programs in basic energy sciences, biological and environmental sciences, computational science, materials and chemical sciences, and it supports unique and vital parts of U.S. research in climate change, geophysics, genomics, life sciences, and science education.

PNNL is one of ten SC National Laboratories and is a multi-program facility that delivers breakthrough science and technology in the areas of Energy and Environment, Fundamental and Computational Science, and National Security.

PNNL is also home to the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), an Office of Science national scientific user facility that provides integrated experimental and computational resources for discovery and technological innovation in the environmental molecular sciences to support the needs of DOE and the nation.

PNNL also performs work for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and a host of other Federal agencies. The PNSO is responsible for program implementation, acquisition management, and laboratory stewardship at PNNL. Through its oversight role, the PNSO is affecting the safe and efficient operation of PNNL while enabling the pursuit of visionary research and development in support of DOE's missions.