Polly Arnold is a renowned heavy-element chemist who joined Berkeley Lab from the University of Edinburgh where she is the Crum Brown Chair of Chemistry. Her research focuses on advancing our understanding of the bonding and reactivity of heavy elements, the elements of the f-block of the periodic table. Among her many awards and honors, Arnold is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was awarded the 2012 Rosalind Franklin Award and Order of the British Empire in 2017 for her outstanding contributions to chemistry and women in STEM.

Ethan received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He first joined ALS as a postdoctoral fellow and subsequently progressed to a Research Scientist (2014), a Career Staff Scientist (2017), and the ALS Program Development Lead and Science Council Chair (2021). In 2021, he became a Courtesy Faculty member at Oregon State University in the School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering (CBEE). His research group focuses on the utilization and development of ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) to study chemical and electrochemical reactions at the solid/gas, solid/liquid, and solid/solid interfaces. He has been recognized for his scientific achievements, receiving the International Solid State Ionics Young Scientist Award, The American Ceramics Society Ross Coffin Purdy Award, the Department of Energy Early Career Research Award, the LBNL Director’s Award for Exceptional Early Scientific Career Achievement, and the International Society of Electrochemistry-Elsevier Prize for Experimental Electrochemistry.

Kristin serves as the Senior Business Manager for the Chemical Sciences Division, where she leads a dynamic team of operations professionals in the areas of Finance, HR, Facilities, IT, and general administrative services. She joined LBNL in 2012 as the Operations Manager for the Joint Center for Artificial Synthesis (JCAP). Prior to the Lab, she was the Pilot Manufacturing Manager for the start-up company Progentech (2008) and the Manager of the Peptide Synthesis, siRNA Synthesis, and Sequence Design groups at Santa Cruz Biotechnology (2003). Kristin received an MBA from UC Davis as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular, Cellular, & Developmental Biology from UC Santa Cruz. She graduated with honors in both degrees and was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma (BGS) in 2012.

Martin Neitzel, Ph.D., is the Safety Manager for the Chemical Sciences and Materials Sciences Divisions at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Prior to this he was the Hazardous Materials Manager and environmental compliance consultant for the NASA Ames Research Center and NASA Research Park. Martin is an experienced synthetic chemist/medicinal chemist with most of his career dedicated to the research and development of drug candidates for neurological diseases. Martin obtained a bachelor degree in Biology from California State University, San Bernardino and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of California, Riverside as well as certificates in hazardous materials management and environment health and safety from University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the author of over 27 peer-reviewed publications and holds 14 US patents.

Angie is responsible for managing finance, proposals, and program development in the Chemical Sciences Division. This includes managing funding opportunities for core projects as well as cross-functional engagements while fostering effective collaborations with researchers and operation staff to support the Lab’s scientific objectives. Angie joined LBNL in 2010. Previously, she worked in various Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) and Accounting capacities in private industries including ecommerce (Walmart.com), real estate project management (Rockwood Capital, LLC), and food company (Nestlé formerly Dreyer’s Ice Cream). Angie is an alumna of the University of California, Davis and The University of Hong Kong, where she studied International Relations, Managerial Economics, and Human Development; and received a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis.

Joshua Ballesteros is a certified Facility Management professional (FMP) with over 28 years of experience in senior leadership, management, and technical expertise in facilities and infrastructure operations, maintenance, strategic planning, scientific equipment installation, and project management. As Infrastructure Manager at Berkeley Lab's Energy Sciences Area, Joshua collaborates closely with division leadership to ensure the smooth operation of scientific facilities and infrastructure, while also contributing to Lab priorities and property and space management. Prior to his role at Berkeley Lab, Joshua served as the Facility Manager for the Weapons Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Ambily serves as the Senior HR Division Partner for Chemical Sciences, Material Sciences and the Energy Sciences Area Office. She has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources Management. Ambily joined the Lab in 2021. Prior to that she was at UC Berkeley for 15 years supporting the Chancellor’s Office, Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost’s Office, several research divisions under the Vice Chancellor of Research, Office of Laboratory Animal Care and the Division of Equity & Inclusion. Ambily has a Masters degree in Personnel Management and was certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.