Eric Pierce

Bio

Eric Pierce serves as associate laboratory director for Environmental and Legacy Management (ELM) at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). He is accountable for managing and delivering on the ELM commitments of SRNL, supporting the Department of Energy’s EM strategies, developing modern approaches to reduce waste, developing low-cost passive remediation technologies, monitoring strategies for ELM implementation, and supporting national needs to minimize global environmental impact.

Prior to SRNL, Pierce served as director of the Environmental Science Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. During his 15 years at ORNL, he progressed through a range of leadership opportunities – including principal investigator, senior scientist, program lead, and deputy division director – building strong relationships with DOE and mentoring young scientific leaders. An experimental geochemist, Pierce has led DOE and DoD-supported programs addressing legacy contamination across multiple sites including Hanford and the Oak Ridge Reservation.

Before joining ORNL, Pierce spent more than a decade at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where he advanced from an undergraduate intern to senior research scientist.

Pierce is a Fellow of the Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program and is active in many professional societies, including the American Chemical Society, European Geochemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Ceramics Society, and Geochemical Society. He’s published more than 100 journal articles, books, and reports.

Pierce received his Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Tulane University and his B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Chemistry from Alabama A&M University.