Materials Science & Technology, Vision and Mission

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Materials Science & Technology

The Materials Science and Technology Division will support the Laboratory's missions by providing leadership and resources in cutting-edge materials science and technology. We will bring to bear the best people, capabilities, and support to understand and control the materials properties needed for mission execution.

Our Vision
Our vision is to be the premiere organization in the world applying materials science to the solution of technical problems critical to national and global security.

Our Mission
To serve the nation by

researching materials to create new knowledge and lay the foundations for new technologies.

Materials Science and Technology for Nuclear Weapons
With the end of the Cold War, the emphasis of the Nuclear Weapons Program has shifted from designing, testing, and manufacturing new weapons to the maintenance and certification of the enduring stockpile under the Stockpile Stewardship Program. Los Alamos has the mission to ensure the safety, security and reliability of most of the weapon systems in the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Many of the issues that threaten the safety, security and reliability of these weapons are associated with the performance of the many materials that comprise the weapons. An improved understanding of nuclear weapons materials properties and aging is critical to the success of this program. Indeed, changes in nuclear weapons materials properties or uncertainty about the properties produced by current or former manufacturing processes are the central issues in stockpile stewardship. Understanding and controlling these materials properties is a primary focus of MST-Division.

Some of our sponsors and partners: DOE Defense Programs, DOE Albuquerque Area Office, Nevada Test Site, Y-12, Pantex, Kansas City Plant.

Materials Science and Technology for National Needs
A central strategy for MST Division is to apply the capabilities that have arisen out of our primary mission of national security to serve other national priorities. Serving multiple programs enables us to provide a greater return on the U.S. taxpayer investment in LANL, add diversity to the work of the Laboratory, and broaden the scope of technical challenges that attract top technical staff to the Laboratory.

Some of our sponsors and partners: US Department of Energy, DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network, DOE Office of Fossil Energy, DOE Office of Environmental Management, DOE Office of Nonproliferation and National Security, US Department of Defense, US Department of Justice, NASA, LANL Industrial Business Development.

Frontiers of Materials Science
The MST Frontiers of Materials Science business sector is focused on better understanding materials at a basic level and inventing new materials-based technologies. This sector represents our commitment to advance materials science for the betterment of mankind and for the joy of discovering the future. This sector emphasizes originality and creativity in materials science and pursues new materials and new materials properties, relationships, and processing avenues. Frontiers research is an important component of all MST programs, as it extends our knowledge beyond present boundaries. Key motivations for pursuing frontiers research are the continued intellectual development of our staff, the recruitment of the best new talent in materials science, and the establishment of an environment that encourages innovation.

Some of our sponsors and partners: DOE Office of Science, DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, BES Division of Materials Sciences, National Science Foundation, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, LANL Science and Technology Base Program Office, Laboratory-Directed Research and Development.

Los Alamos National Laboratory • Established 1943