Ames Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy research facility operated under contract by Iowa State University. For more than 60 years, the Ames Laboratory has sought solutions to energy-related problems through the exploration of chemical, engineering, materials, mathematical and physical sciences. Established in the 1940s with the successful development of the most efficient process to produce high-purity uranium metal for atomic energy, the Lab now pursues a broad range of scientific priorities.