Ames Laboratory
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| Established | 1947 |
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| Research type | Unclassified |
| Budget | $50 million |
| Director | Adam Schwartz |
| Staff | 308 |
| Students | 198 |
| Location | Ames, IA |
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Operating agency
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Iowa State University |
| Website | Ames Laboratory |
Coordinates: 42°01′50″N 93°38′54″W / 42.0305°N 93.6482°W
Ames Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Ames, Iowa and affiliated with Iowa State University. The Laboratory conducts research into various areas of national concern, including the synthesis and study of new materials, energy resources, high-speed computer design, and environmental cleanup and restoration. It is located on the campus of Iowa State University.
In January 2013 the Department of Energy announced the establishment of the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) at Ames Laboratory, with a mission to develop solutions to the domestic shortages of rare earth metals and other materials critical for U.S. energy security.
In 1942, Frank Spedding of Iowa State College, an expert in the chemistry of rare earth elements, agreed to set up and direct a chemical research and development program, since called the Ames Project, to accompany the Manhattan Project's existing physics program. Its purpose was to produce high purity uranium from uranium ores. Harley Wilhelm developed new methods for both reducing and casting uranium metal, making it possible to cast large ingots of the metal and reduce production costs by as much as twentyfold. About one-third, or around 2 tons, of the uranium used in the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction at the University of Chicago was provided through these procedures, now known as the Ames Process. The Ames Project produced more than 2 million pounds (1,000 tons) of uranium for the Manhattan Project until industry took over the process in 1945.
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