“Eric brings a deep understanding of environmental systems and extensive experience leading multidisciplinary research,” said SRNL Director Johney Green. “His leadership will be instrumental in advancing SRNL’s mission to deliver innovative solutions that ensure environmental stewardship and national security.”

 Pierce succeeds Connie Herman, who will begin an assignment with the Department of Energy after more than three decades of distinguished service at the Savannah River Site. Herman will serve as a senior advisor to the lab director during the transition, focusing on emerging applications of artificial intelligence that support the environmental management mission.

Pierce joins SRNL from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he served as director of the Environmental Sciences Division and led research advancing environmental remediation, energy security, and sustainable resource management. Pierce held several leadership positions over his 15 years at ORNL including principal investigator, senior scientist, group leader, and deputy division director. He previously spent more than a decade at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, progressing from undergraduate intern to senior research scientist.

Pierce is an experimental geochemist and has led numerous Department of Energy and Department of Defense funded programs addressing legacy contamination challenges at sites including Hanford and the Oak Ridge Reservation. He has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications on uranium and mercury biogeochemistry as well as mineral weathering processes.

Pierce earned his doctorate in environmental science from Tulane University and his  Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in chemistry from Alabama A&M University. He is an alumnus of the Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program and active in several professional societies, including the American Chemical Society and the Geochemical Society.