On October 11, 2006, Battelle hosted its inaugural Independent Research and Development (IR&D) Environmental Roundtable in Arlington, Virginia, to obtain advice on the investment of the firm's fiscal year 2007 environmental IR&D budget. Each year, Battelle devotes more than $40 million to IR&D projects. Approximately $3 million is earmarked specifically for environmental research initiatives, while many of the other projects also have considerable environmental content. Participants in this first Roundtable included senior R&D officials from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as representatives from professional organizations.

In his opening remarks, Dr. Edward Saltzberg of Battelle asked participants to think about ways in which Battelle could use its IR&D budget to make a difference in advancing the nation's environmental research agenda and contributing to sound environmental stewardship. Specifically, he encouraged them to identify research that could provide leverage to attract additional funding, accelerate ongoing research, jump-start new research, or fill key gaps in critical Federal environmental research programs.

The Roundtable featured concurrent breakout sessions that focused on five broad research topics:

• Climate Change and Energy
• Emerging Human Health Issues
• Ecological Systems
• Restoration
• Sustainability.

In each session, participants worked with a Battelle senior scientist to develop a prioritized list of research candidates. At the conclusion of the Roundtable, participants discussed the results of the individual sessions. Over 100 research candidates emerged from the breakout sessions, with 24 selected as research priorities. Four themes common to some or all of the five topic areas were also identified:

• the need for improved tools and models to predict and assess outcomes
• the need for improved indicators to better understand the health of environmental systems and prediction of outcomes
• the need for more effective integration and use of data
• the need to better incorporate social and economic factors into environmental assessment methods and tools.

Battelle has prepared a report summarizing the results of the Roundtable, which is guiding Battelle's fiscal year 2007 IR&&D investment decisions. Roundtable participants are updated periodically on the progress of Battelle's environmental research projects. The report is available to the public.

For additional information about this program and for a copy of the report, contact Ms.Natasha Rhodes at (703) 416-5818, rhodesn@battelle.org.