PNNL

Sue B. Clark was named the Deputy Director for Science and Technology at Savannah River National Laboratory in early 2021. She previously served as the Chief Science and Technology Officer and a Battelle Fellow in the Energy and Environment Directorate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. At Washington State University, she is a Regents Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and holds a joint appointment, where she leads a research effort focused on the chemistry and chemical engineering of processing nuclear materials. 

She was the founding Director of the Interfacial Dynamics in Radioactive Environments and Materials (IDREAM) Energy Frontier Research Center, led by PNNL for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) in the Office of Science. IDREAM researchers conduct fundamental science to support innovations in retrieving and processing high-level radioactive waste. She led IDREAM from 2016 to March 2021, when transitioned to the IDREAM Science Advisory Board.

Dr. Clark is an internationally renowned environmental radiochemist who has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers focused on actinides in the environment, chemistry of high-level radioactive waste systems, and radioanalytical chemistry. At WSU, she developed the radiochemistry program in the Chemistry Department. She joined PNNL in January 2015 to lead multiple nuclear science initiatives. Since becoming CSTO in September 2017, she also is responsible for stewarding institutional investments in energy and environment research and development.

Her current research areas include chemistry of radioactive waste systems, environmental chemistry, actinide separations, and radioanalytical chemistry. Her research support includes grants and contracts from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and National Nuclear Security Administration.

She joined PNNL as a joint appointee in January 2015. She began her academic career at WSU in the Chemistry Department in 1996 as an Assistant Professor, and served as Department Chair (Aug. 2005 - Dec. 2007). She also served as Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the WSU Tri-Cities campus from Jan. 2008 - Aug. 2008, and Interim Dean of the College of Sciences (WSU system-wide) from July - Dec. 2010. Previously, she held an appointment to the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, appointed by President Barack Obama (2011-2014).

Professor Clark is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS). She was honored by ACS with the 2020 Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry and is the 2012 recipient of ACS's Garvan-Olin Medal. She is also an elected member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences and serves on its board of directors. She served as an elected member of the Governing Board for the U.S. Council for Chemical Research from 2009 to 2011. She also served on the National Academy's Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board from 2004 to 2009, and was a member of many of the study committees established by the Board. She served on the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee for the U.S. DOE (2003 - 2011), and has served as a consultant to Battelle Memorial Institute and the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

She holds a BS degree in Chemistry from Lander College (Greenwood, SC) and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Chemistry from Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL). Prior to joining Washington State University, she was an Assistant Research Ecologist at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (1992-1996), and Senior Scientist at Westinghouse Savannah River Company's Savannah River Technology Center (1989-1992).

• Chemical engineering of processing nuclear materials
• Actinide separations
• Radioanalytical chemistry

• Bachelor's Degree, Chemistry, Lander College
• Master's Degree, Inorganic/Radiochemistry, The Florida State University
• Doctorate, Inorganic/Radiochemistry, The Florida State University

• U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, which advises Congress and the DOE Secretary on the technical issues associated with the management of the nation’s high-level radioactive waste and DOE-owned spent nuclear fuel (Appointed by President Obama, served 2011-2014)
• U.S. Council for Chemical Research, board member (2009-2011)
• National Research Council's Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (2005-2009)
• National Research Council's Board of Radioactive Waste Management (2004-2005); also served on associated study committees
• DOE Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (2003-2011)
• Fellow, American Chemical Society (2010)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Elected member and board member, Washington State Academy of Sciences; chair-elect, Membership Committee

• American Chemical Society, Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry (2020)
• American Chemical Society, Garvan-Olin Medal for her research activities and advocacy for advancing women chemists (2012)
• Fink Distinguished Lecturer, Georgia Institute of Technology's Department of Chemistry (2008)
• Westinghouse Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, WSU (2002-2008)

2020

• Cui W., X. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, M.H. Engelhard, H. Zhang, Y. Wang, and S.M. Heald, et al. 2020. "Effect of Cr(III) adsorption on the dissolution of boehmite nanoparticles in caustic solution." Environmental Science & Technology 54, no. 10:6375-6384. PNNL-SA-150322. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b07881
• Dembowski M., M. Snyder, C.H. Delegard, J.G. Reynolds, T.R. Graham, H. Wang, and I.I. Leavy, et al. 2020. "Ion-ion interactions enhance aluminum solubility in alkaline suspensions of nano-gibbsite (a-Al(OH)3) with sodium nitrite/nitrate." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 22, no. 8:4368-4378. PNNL-SA-142835. doi:10.1039/C9CP05856G
• Dembowski M., M.P. Prange, M. Pouvreau, T.R. Graham, M.E. Bowden, A.T. N'Diaye, and G.K. Schenter, et al. 2020. "Inference of Principal Species in Caustic Aluminate Solutions Through Solid-State Spectroscopic Characterization." Dalton Transactions 49, no. 18:5869-5880. PNNL-SA-150681. doi:10.1039/d0dt00229a
• Graham T.R., M. Dembowski, J.Z. Hu, N.R. Jaegers, X. Zhang, S.B. Clark, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2020. "Intermediate Species in the Crystallization of Sodium Aluminate Hydroxy Hydrates." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124, no. 23:12337-12345. PNNL-SA-150266. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c00205
• Graham T.R., R.M. Gorniak, M. Dembowski, X. Zhang, S.B. Clark, C.I. Pearce, and A.E. Clark, et al. 2020. "Solid-State Recrystallization Pathways of Sodium Aluminate Hydroxy Hydrates." Inorganic Chemistry 59, no. 10:6857-6865. PNNL-SA-150728. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c00258
• Krzysko A., E. Nakouzi, X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, K.M. Rosso, G.K. Schenter, and J. Ilavsky, et al. 2020. "Correlating inter-particle forces and particle shape to shear-induced aggregation/fragmentation and rheology for dilute anisotropic particle suspensions: a complementary study via capillary rheometry and in situ small and ultra-small angle X-ray scattering." Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 576. PNNL-SA-148317. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.016
• Sassi M., Z. Wang, E.D. Walter, X. Zhang, H. Zhang, X.S. Li, and A. Tuladhar, et al. 2020. "Surface Hydration and Hydroxyl Configurations of Gibbsite and Boehmite Nanoplates." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124, no. 9:5275-5285. PNNL-SA-149815. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c00659
• Wang S., X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, H. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, Z. Wang, and S.B. Clark, et al. 2020. "Two-Step Route to Size and Shape Controlled Gibbsite Nanoplates and the Crystal Growth Mechanism." CrystEngComm 22, no. 15:2555-2565. PNNL-SA-150680. doi:10.1039/D0CE00114G
• Wang Z., E.D. Walter, M. Sassi, X. Zhang, H. Zhang, S. Li, and Y. Chen, et al. 2020. "The role of surface hydroxyls on the radiolysis of gibbsite and boehmite nanoplatelets." Journal of Hazardous Materials 398. PNNL-SA-150311. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122853

2019

• Asmussen S.E., A.M. Lines, D.R. Bottenus, F.D. Heller, S.A. Bryan, C.H. Delegard, and C.A. Louie, et al. 2019. "In Situ Monitoring and Kinetic Analysis of the Extraction of Nitric Acid by Tributyl Phosphate in n-Dodecane using Raman Spectroscopy." Solvent Extraction and Ion Exchange 37, no. 2:157-172. PNNL-SA-128863. doi:10.1080/07366299.2019.1630071
• Cui W., X. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, Y. Chen, S. Zhang, W. Liu, and M.H. Engelhard, et al. 2019. "Cr(III) adsorption by cluster formation on boehmite nanoplates in highly alkaline solution." Environmental Science & Technology 53, no. 18:11043-11055. PNNL-SA-143650. doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b02693
• Graham T.R., J.Z. Hu, X. Zhang, M. Dembowski, N.R. Jaegers, C. Wan, and M.E. Bowden, et al. 2019. "Unraveling Gibbsite Transformation Pathways into LiAl-LDH in Concentrated Lithium Hydroxide." Inorganic Chemistry 58, no. 18:12385-12394. PNNL-SA-138626. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b02000
• Semrouni D., H. Wang, S.B. Clark, C.I. Pearce, K. Page, G.K. Schenter, and D.J. Wesolowski, et al. 2019. "Resolving Local Configurational Contributions to X-ray and Neutron Radial Distribution Functions Within Solutions of Concentrated Electrolytes - A Case Study of Concentrated NaOH." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 21, no. 13:6828-6838. PNNL-SA-139609. doi:10.1039/c8cp06802j
• Zhang X., W. Cui, J.Z. Hu, H. Wang, M.P. Prange, C. Wan, and N.R. Jaegers, et al. 2019. "Transformation of Gibbsite to Boehmite in Caustic Aqueous Solution at Hydrothermal Conditions." Crystal Growth & Design 19, no. 10:5557-5567. PNNL-SA-146423. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.9b00468

2018

• Graham T.R., K. Han, M. Dembowski, A. Krzysko, X. Zhang, J.Z. Hu, and S.B. Clark, et al. 2018. "27Al Pulsed Field Gradient, Diffusion-NMR Spectroscopy of Solvation Dynamics and Ion Pairing in Alkaline Aluminate Solutions." Journal of Physical Chemistry B 122, no. 48:10907-10912. PNNL-SA-138291. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b10145
• Graham T.R., M. Dembowski, E. Martinez Baez, X. Zhang, N.R. Jaegers, J.Z. Hu, and M.S. Gruszkiewicz, et al. 2018. "In-Situ 27Al NMR Spectroscopy of Aluminate in Sodium Hydroxide Solutions Above and Below Saturation with Respect to Gibbsite." Inorganic Chemistry 57, no. 19:11864-11873. PNNL-SA-132754. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.8b00617
• Lines A.M., G.L. Nelson, A.J. Casella, J.M. Bello, S.B. Clark, and S.A. Bryan. 2018. "Multivariate Analysis To Quantify Species in the Presence of Direct Interferents: Micro-Raman Analysis of HNO3 in Microfluidic Devices." Analytical Chemistry 90, no. 4:2548-2554. PNNL-SA-126639. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.7b03833
• Lines A.M., J.D. Warner, W.R. Heineman, S.B. Clark, and S.A. Bryan. 2018. "Spectroelectrochemical Sensor for Spectroscopically Hard-to-detect Metals by in situ Formation of a Luminescent Complex Using Ru(II) as a Model Compound." Electroanalysis 30, no. 11:2644-2652. PNNL-SA-140865. doi:10.1002/elan.201800427
• Nelson G.L., S.E. Asmussen, A.M. Lines, A.J. Casella, D.R. Bottenus, S.B. Clark, and S.A. Bryan. 2018. "Micro-Raman technology to interrogate two-phase extraction on a microfluidic device." Analytical Chemistry 90, no. 14:8345-8353. PNNL-SA-129484. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.7b04330
• Pouvreau M., M. Dembowski, S.B. Clark, J.G. Reynolds, K.M. Rosso, G.K. Schenter, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2018. "Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Reveal Spectroscopic Siblings and Ion Pairing as New Challenges for Elucidating Prenucleation Aluminum Speciation." Journal of Physical Chemistry B 122, no. 29:7394-7402. PNNL-SA-132755. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b04377
• Zhang X., P.I. Huestis, C.I. Pearce, J.Z. Hu, K. Page, L.M. Anovitz, and A. Aleksandrov, et al. 2018. "Boehmite and Gibbsite Nanoplates for the Synthesis of Advanced Alumina Products." ACS Applied Nano Materials 1, no. 12:7115-7128. PNNL-SA-139693. doi:10.1021/acsanm.8b01969
• Zhang X., W. Cui, K. Page, C.I. Pearce, M.E. Bowden, T.R. Graham, and Z. Shen, et al. 2018. "Size and Morphology Controlled Synthesis of Boehmite Nanoplates and Crystal Growth Mechanisms." Crystal Growth & Design 18, no. 6:3596-3606. PNNL-SA-132799. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.8b00394

2017

• Hu J.Z., X. Zhang, N.R. Jaegers, C. Wan, T.R. Graham, M.Y. Hu, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2017. "Transitions in Al Coordination During Gibbsite Crystallization Using High-Field 27Al and 23Na MAS NMR Spectroscopy." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121, no. 49:27555-27565. PNNL-SA-130259. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b10424
• Morrison S.S., C.L. Beck, J.M. Bowen, T.A. Eggemeyer, C.C. Hines, M. Liezers, and L.A. Metz, et al. 2017. "Determination of tungsten in geochemical reference material basalt Columbia River 2 by radiochemical neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry." Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 311, no. 1:749-754. PNNL-SA-119558. doi:10.1007/s10967-016-5065-1
• Morrison S.S., S.B. Clark, T.A. Eggemeyer, E.C. Finn, C.C. Hines, M.D. King, and L.A. Metz, et al. 2017. "Activation Product Analysis in a Mixed Sample Containing Both Fission and Neutron Activation Products." Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 314, no. 3:2501-2506. PNNL-SA-119557. doi:10.1007/s10967-017-5563-9
• Snow M., S.S. Morrison, S.B. Clark, J. Olson, and M. Watrous. 2017. "237Np Analytical Method using 239Np Tracers and Application to a Contaminated Nuclear Disposal Facility." Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 172. PNNL-SA-121395. doi:10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.02.018
• Zhang X., X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, C.I. Pearce, B.L. Mehdi, A.T. N'Diaye, and S.N. Kerisit, et al. 2017. "Fast Synthesis of Gibbsite Nanoplates and Process Optimization using Box-Behnken Experimental Design." Crystal Growth & Design 17, no. 12:6801-6808. PNNL-SA-129361. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01400

2016

• Clark S.B., M.V. Buchanan, and B. Wilmarth. 2016. Basic Research Needs for Environmental Management. PNNL-25166. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Basic Research Needs for Environmental Management
• Lines A.M., Z. Wang, S.B. Clark, and S.A. Bryan. 2016. "Electrochemistry and Spectroelectrochemistry of Luminescent Europium complexes." Electroanalysis 28, no. 9:2109-2117. PNNL-SA-114011. doi:10.1002/elan.201600034
• McDonald L.W., J.A. Campbell, T. Vercouter, and S.B. Clark. 2016. "Characterization of Actinides Complexed to Nuclear Fuel Constituents using ESI-MS." Analytical Chemistry 88. PNNL-SA-116620. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.5b03352

2014

• McDonald L.W., J.A. Campbell, and S.B. Clark. 2014. "Failure of ESI Spectra to Represent Metal-Complex Solution Composition: A Study of Lanthanide-Carboxylate Complexes." Analytical Chemistry 86, no. 2:1023-1029. PNNL-SA-96226. doi:10.1021/ac401751r
• Samuels A.C., C.A. Boele, K.T. Bennett, S.B. Clark, N. Wall, and A.E. Clark. 2014. "Integrated Computational and Experimental Protocol for Understanding Rh(III) Speciation in Hydrochloric and Nitric Acid Solutions." Inorganic Chemistry 53, no. 23:12315-12322. doi:10.1021/ic501408r

2005

• Douglas M., S.B. Clark, J.I. Friese, B.W. Arey, E.C. Buck, and B.D. Hanson. 2005. "Neptunium(V) Partitioning to Uranium(VI) Oxide and Peroxide Solids." Environmental Science & Technology 39, no. 11:4117-4124. PNNL-SA-44460.