Dr. Steven Ashby is Director of the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he sets PNNL’s strategic direction and oversees its $1.5 billion R&D budget. Under his leadership, PNNL’s nearly 6,500 talented staff members draw on signature capabilities in chemistry, Earth sciences, biology, and data science to advance scientific discovery, enable energy sustainability, and enhance national security. 

Dr. Ashby previously served as PNNL’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology.  Prior to joining PNNL, he spent nearly 21 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he founded the Center for Applied Scientific Computing and maintained several leadership positions, ultimately serving as Deputy Principal Associate Director for Science and Technology.

A widely recognized leader in computational science, Dr. Ashby is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics; member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences; national laboratory leadership partner for the U.S. Council on Competitiveness; and serves on advisory committees for local and state organizations, including the Washington Roundtable.

He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.