Iowa State recently renewed its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy by signing a five-year contract to manage and operate the Ames Laboratory.

The contract, signed Dec. 17 by ISU President Martin Jischke and Robert San Martin, manager of the DOE’s Chicago operations office, is effective until Dec. 31, 2004.

“We are extremely pleased with the new DOE contract for the continuing operation of the Ames Laboratory,” Jischke said. “This contract is a re-affirmation of the federal government’s commitment to the research and technology transfer efforts of the Ames Laboratory and their importance to the future of the nation.”

Ames Lab employs a work force of 472 employees, and of those employees, 274 are scientists and engineers. The work force also includes about 135 students participating in research or working on an hourly basis.

In the 1999 fiscal year, 49 percent of the federal research dollars allocated to Iowa State were from the Department of Energy for the Ames Lab, a total of $25.9 million. Salary and benefits to Ames Lab employees accounted for $15 million, said Steve Karsjen, communications manager for Ames Lab.

“It is a substantial contribution to the economies of Ames and Story County,” Karsjen said.

Ames Laboratory was founded in 1947, after ISU scientists assisted in developing a produce to purify uranium for the Manhattan Project.

Located on the ISU campus behind Gilman Hall, Ames 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, according to a DOE press release.

Since 1984, researchers at Ames Lab have received 14 R&D 100 Awards. R&D Magazine annually recognizes the 100 top new technology inventions with this award. More than 250 patents have been issued for Ames Lab discoveries.