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Inqui r y I s sue
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| 2016
Inqui r y I s sue
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| 2016
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imitri N.Argyriou has been named Chief Research
Officer at Ames Laboratory. His appointment
follows an extensive international search and became
effective January 2017.
In announcing the selection of Argyriou, Ames Laboratory
Director Adam Schwartz said, “This is a critical position
for Ames Laboratory. Dimitri’s proven leadership and
experience at leading laboratories around the world provides
an excellent opportunity to advance our scientific mission.
We welcome Dimitri and look forward to having him on the
Ames Laboratory team.”
The Chief Research Officer (CRO) is responsible for
initiating, developing and supervising Ames Laboratory’s
scientific divisions, institutes and programs. The CRO
formulates and evaluates new initiatives that fall within
Ames Laboratory’s mission—to create materials, inspire
minds to solve problems, and address global challenges—
often emphasizing cross-disciplinary collaborations with
other DOE national laboratories, academia, and industry.
Argyriou is a condensed matter physicist and comes to
the Ames Laboratory from the European Spallation Source
(ESS), a $2 billion next-generation neutron spallation
source under construction by a partnership of 16 European
countries in Lund, Sweden. Argyriou served as its Director
of Science and Head of Operations Planning, contributing
to the establishment of the ESS organization and securing
its funding by leading the effort to define its scientific project
scope and delivery by its partners.
An established world-class researcher in electronic
and magnetic materials, Argyriou is a fellow of the
American Physical Society cited for his work on colossal
magnetoresistance manganites, and is a recipient of the
Friedrich-Wilhelm-Preis for his work on multiferroics.
As the new leader of research efforts at Ames Laboratory,
Argyriou plans to use his experience in management and
leadership in science, research, and “big-science” projects to
help provide vision for establishing new scientific programs
at Ames Laboratory.
“I am humbled and equally excited to join the Ames
Laboratory and work with some of the best minds in the area
of materials,” Argyriou said. “Ames Laboratory is needed now
more than ever to solve some of society’s tricky problems,
and I see a bright future ahead for its research. I am very
happy to be part of the Ames team.”
Argyriou received his Ph.D. and B.S. degrees in Physics
from the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia and
his habilitation from Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische
Hochschule, Aachen in 2009. He has co-authored over
160 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and given
numerous invited talks at international conference. He
is a main editor at IUCrJ, the International Union of
Crystallography. He serves in various scientific advisory roles,
including at ISIS, a pulsed spallation neutron and muon
source, operated by the Science and Technologics Research
Council, UK; and at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research
Complex, Japan.
Argyriou has had key collaborations on projects with
scientists around the world and has been the recipient
of numerous competitive funding proposals throughout
his career.
Argyriou replaces former CRO Duane Johnson, who
stepped down to pursue research opportunities at Ames
Laboratory and Iowa State University.
Dimitri N. Argyriou
Meet theNewCR0
D
Newly dedicated,expanding capabilities
B Y K E R R Y G I B S O N
mes Laboratory’s Sensitive Instrument
facility, which opened in February and was formally
dedicated in 2016, bustles with a steady flow of
scientists using its array of high-powered electron
microscopes to take an unprecedented, close-up look at all
types of materials.
Built with funding from the DOE’s Office of Science, the
nearly $10 million state-of-the-art facility was designed to
shield the sensitive microscopes from outside interference.
Two-foot thick concrete floors, including sections mounted
on shock absorbing springs and isolated mechanical systems
reduce vibration while ¼-inch-thick aluminumwraps some of
the instrument bays to prevent electromagnetic interference.
A
SENSITIVE INSTRUMENT FACILITY
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz cuts the ribbon officially
opening the Sensitive Instrument Facility on May 6, 2016, with
assistance fromAmes Laboratory Director Adam Schwartz (left)
and Iowa State University President Steven Leath.