Under Alivisatos’ leadership, the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab shifted its priorities to the more interdisciplinary areas of renewable energy and climate-change research. During his tenure, the Lab began construction on new buildings for computational research, building efficiencies, solar energy research, and biological science.
Alivisatos focused on integrating the Lab into the nation's innovation ecosystem, especially in the areas of energy and the environment. While some of the groundwork for this integration was laid by former Director Steve Chu, Alivisatos led efforts to leverage the wide range of scientific capabilities at Berkeley Lab with a variety of industry partners and entrepreneurs. These public/private sector collaborations resulted in technology transfer for industries as diverse as automobiles and medicine, and contributed to an increased speed of development in manufacturing and renewable energy. On March 23, 2015 Alvisatos announced that he would step down as Director when a replacement was identified.
Alivisatos has also been outspoken on the issue of basic science funding at the federal level and America's ability to stay competitive in the areas global scientific research and development.