RICHLAND, Wash. - In a year marked by growing integration across its research programs, the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has selected two senior leaders with strong technical backgrounds to fill roles focused on advancing capabilities, driving research, and shaping strategies for basic science and national security across PNNL.
Effective May 17, 2026, Douglas Mans will serve as associate laboratory director for PNNL's science mission areas, which span the physical, computational, Earth and biological sciences. Daniel Stephens will serve as associate laboratory director for PNNL's National Security Directorate.
Mans and Stephens join newly appointed Associate Laboratory Director Angela Becker-Dippmann, completing PNNL's senior research leadership team. Together, they will help shape PNNL's research portfolio and drive strategic planning.
The selections follow national searches and reflect PNNL's advances in integrating research across its fundamental science and applied research mission areas.
"Douglas and Daniel bring extensive experience leading complex, multidisciplinary research organizations. They have strong records of advancing research and building strategies that create new, partnership‑driven opportunities," said PNNL Laboratory Director Deb Gracio. "Their leadership will help ensure we remain aligned with national priorities, accelerating scientific discovery and advancing mission-ready solutions."
Douglas Mans
Mans brings 20 years of research and leadership experience in Earth systems science, biological sciences, chemistry, and computational science, making him ideally suited to lead PNNL's science organization focused on fundamental research.
He joined PNNL in 2019 as the director of EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE national scientific user facility. In this role, he led a national resource that provides scientists worldwide with advanced instruments and expertise to study biological and environmental systems.
Mans spearheaded the formation, support, and ultimate approval for EMSL's Microbial Molecular Phenotyping Capability, a planned $122 million expansion designed to accelerate the study of microbes and their functions through high-throughput, automated phenotyping.
In 2025, he was named interim associate laboratory director for PNNL's Earth and Biological Systems Directorate, where he managed and sustained strong partnerships with the DOE Office of Science's Biological and Environmental Research program.
Before joining PNNL, Mans spent more than a decade in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on high-throughput experimentation and chemical process development with roles at GlaxoSmithKline and Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
"Douglas has a strong background in scientific leadership, capability development, and line management that makes him well prepared to lead our science and deliver mission impact," said Gracio.
Daniel Stephens
Stephens will lead PNNL's National Security Directorate, overseeing strategy and operations focused on reducing threats posed by weapons of mass destruction. He brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, including leadership in radiation detection, nuclear sciences and program management.
His experience includes leading major national security initiatives, such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Radiation Portal Monitor Project. In that role, Stephens oversaw the effectiveness of the nation's network of radiation sensors at U.S. borders, seaports, international rail crossings and mail facilities. As principal investigator and program manager, he led regular engagements with staff across U.S. leadership in the National Security Council, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Congress.
He later managed a PNNL portfolio that included projects in nuclear nonproliferation, arms control and verification, international security and nonproliferation, emergency operations, counterterrorism and counterproliferation. Most recently, Stephens led PNNL's nuclear nonproliferation and security sector, managing a $350 million portfolio of programs supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration.
"Daniel is known for his sponsor engagement and people‑centered leadership," said Gracio. "He has built strong partnerships, translating complex technical capabilities into national-level strategy while securing major investments in critical Laboratory capabilities and driving program growth."
