Speaker Biographies

Keynote Speaker

Nan Sauer

Nan Sauer received her B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from University of Idaho summa cum laude in 1981 and her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Iowa State University in 1986.  She came to Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Director's Postdoctoral Fellow and joined the staff of the Isotope and Nuclear Chemistry Division in 1990.  Most of her career at LANL has been spent as a Technical Staff Member and Project Leader in the Chemistry Division.  In 2005, Nan joined DX-3 the Hydrodynamics Group as the Deputy Group Leader and the lead for beryllium mitigation effort for the Hydrotest Program.  During her time at LANL, Sauer has led a broad range of research programs in inorganic coordination chemistry and environmental chemistry.  Her environmental research has focused on the understanding and development of technologies for remediation of contaminated soils, ground waters and debris containing hazardous organics and metals as well as the stabilization of biocatalysts using water-soluble polymers.  In the inorganic chemistry arena, efforts have focused on the design of advanced membrane-based systems for metal ion separations, uranium oxidation chemistry and the environmental behavior and bioavailability of beryllium.   Sauer is currently the Director of the LANL Institutes.  She was awarded LANL Distinguished Performance Awards in 1993 and in 1996, an R&D 100 award in 1995, a LANL Mentor Award in 2000, Weapons Program Recognition, DARHT team (2002) and the Fellows Prize for Leadership in 2004.  Nan has been very active in her support institutional activities, particularly those which impact science at LANL.  She has chaired the Fellows Selection Committee (2003), SEAC (1998) and the Postdoc Committee (1996).

Keynote Speaker

Jake Meadows

Jake Meadows is a graduate research assistant in the Water Quality and RCRA group providing technical support to the Construction General Permit Program and conducting research in the area of surface water runoff relationships.  He started at LANL as a student intern in 2004 after completing his Bachelor’s degree in soil science at Montana State University.  For the past year he has served as the chair of LANL’s Students’ Association.  Jake completed coursework for the Master of Water Resources Program at The University of New Mexico this summer.

Jake’s interest in water quality began in seventh grade when he noticed a declining fish population in Little Beaver Creek, which runs through his family’s Montana ranch.  This problem led him to coordinate a cooperative effort between adjacent land owners, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, Green Mountain Conservation District, and Washington Water Power to assess, characterize, and rehabilitate the stream.  The Rehabilitation of Little Beaver Creek required a concentrated effort to improve the water quality and trout habitat over a seven mile stretch and earned several awards including a Certificate of Merit from the Albert Schweitzer Institute for Humanities.  This work steered him toward studying land resources and environmental science at Montana State University prior to his involvement in the Water Resources Program and support of the Lab's Construction General Permit Program. 

Jake won the 2003 Montana Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer and Rancher’s discussion meet and competed nationally in 2004.  He presented at the International Erosion Control Association’s 2006 Conference and has been accepted to present at the American Water Resources Association’s Conference this fall. 

Keynote Speaker

Carol Hogsett

Employed at LANL since 1993, her role over the years as LANL Student Programs Coordinator and LANL Recruiter provide her with a unique perspective on the CTN and HPC Division Student Pipeline and Recruiting needs. Her background in Geology (BA) and Science Education (MS) provide a solid founding not only in the sciences but in educational philosophy as well. Her excellent knowledge in Human Resources provides depth required to assist students and external customers. Carol has been assigned to CTN and HPC Division as a dedicated recruiter and student liaison since February 2004.

Keynote Speaker

Mac Hyman

Good Choices for Great Careers
Students are at a critical point in their careers and are making choices that will impact them for a lifetime. I will use the experiences of scientists who have had great careers to identify universal distinguishing traits of good career choices that can guild decisions in education, choice of profession, and job opportunities to increase the chances of having a great career with long-term sustained accomplishments.

Bio: Mac Hyman is the past president of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) and the leader of the Mathematical Modeling and Analysis Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his BS from Tulane University and his PhD from the Courant Institute of Mathematics Sciences at NYU. His research interests include mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamical systems, and the numerical solution of differential equations. When away from his day job, he is a dancer, plays (at) the piano, and spends as much time as he can skiing off the top of mountains. http://math.lanl.gov/~mac/