Des Moines Register
12-20-06
Ames Lab director Barton to step down
By DAVID ELBERT
REGISTER BUSINESS EDITOR
Thomas Barton will step down as director of the Ames Laboratory and the
Institute for Physical Research and Technology at Iowa State University at
the end of February, ISU officials said today.
Barton, 66, has been director of the Ames Lab, which is a unit of the U.S.
Department of Energy, since 1988, and he’s been director of the ISU institute
since 1998. He will return to the Iowa State chemistry faculty, where he holds the
title of distinguished professor, according to a statement announcing the change.
ISU President Gregory Geoffroy praised Barton’s leadership and said he hopes
to have a new director for the Ames Lab in place by July 1. A committee of up to
12 ISU officials will be named in January to conduct a nationwide search for
Barton’s successor, Geoffroy said in the announcement.
An interim director of the Ames Lab will be named early next year and that
person could be a candidate to be permanent director of the research facility, the
ISU president said in the statement.
Barton was the first administrator to head both the Ames Lab and the Institute for
Physical Research. Geoffroy said he has asked John Brighton, ISU’s vice
president for research and economic development to talk with employees of both
organizations about whether the dual positions should continue to be led by a
single individual, or if the groups should have separate directors, as was the case
prior to 1998.
The announcement said Barton considered this a good time for him to return to
teaching.
Barton said there is strong leadership in place in both organizations and noted
that he had recently completed a new $150 million, five-year contract between
the Department of Energy and ISU to operate the Ames Lab. The lab’s annual
budget has grown from $17 million in 1988, when he took over to $30 million
today, Barton said.
Barton’s salary during the fiscal year ended last June 30 was $202,434,
according to state records.
The Ames Lab at ISU grew out of the World War II Manhattan Project that
resulted in the creation of the atomic bomb. Today, the lab “conducts research
into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed
computer design environmental cleanup and restoration and the synthesis and
study of new materials,” the statement said.
The ISU Institute for Physical Research is a network of scientific research
centers at Iowa State, of which the Ames Lab is the largest. In addition to
performing research, the institute provides technical assistance to Iowa
businesses.
Awards received by Barton during his career, include a citation in 2003 as the
Technology Transfer Director of the Year from the Federal Laboratory
Consortium, a network of 700 federal labs and other groups.
Business Editor David Elbert can be reached at (515) 284-8533 or
delbert@dmreg.com