Newsmakers

Division Director Bruce Matthews presented a colloquium titled "The Plutonium Legacy" at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, on April 15. The audience came from both the Nuclear Engineering and Materials Science and Mineral Engineering Departments. Several faculty members and students expressed strong interest in continued dialogue and potential collaborative work with Los Alamos.

Bruce Matthews was elected to the rank of Fellows of the American Nuclear Society. The citation reads, "For his unique contributions in nuclear fuels technology development (fabrication, testing, and demonstration) and being an ardent proponent of safe, beneficial uses of nuclear technologies for the nation and the world."

Paul Cunningham served as Science Counsel in Vic Reis' Washington office during March, April, and May. Reis is the Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs in the Department of Energy (DOE). One aspect of Cunningham's assignment was to arrange a "Plutonium Workshop" for Defense Programs contractors and DOE personnel.

Dana Christensen gave colloquia at UC Davis (May 20), New Mexico State University (NMSU) (April 2), and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (April 3). He informed his audiences on the state of current nuclear materials and nuclear weapon activities. He also discussed potential collaborations with faculty and students at all three campuses, including summer and sabbatical assignments and support for campus projects.

Consultant Gerd Rosenblatt spent two days with us on March 21 and 22, and two days on May 13 and 14. Rosenblatt is the former Deputy Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (retired) and was Division Leader of the Los Alamos Chemistry Division. He will advise the NMT Division Director and the Nuclear Materials and Stockpile Management Program Director on science and technology issues, facilitate university interactions, and help in recruiting scientists and students.

NMT has a new Division Review Committee member. Todd R. LaPorte is Professor of Political Science and formerly Associate Director of the Institute of Government Studies at UC, Berkeley. He teaches and publishes in the areas of public administration, organization theory, and technology and politics, with particular emphasis on the decision-making dynamics of large, complex, technologically intensive (and hazardous) organizations. Sound familiar to you at TA-55? We are very pleased that Professor LaPorte has joined us as a member of the NMT External Advisory Team. LaPorte's first visit is scheduled July 11 and 12.

Keith W. Fife (NMT-2) submitted his Ph.D. dissertation in chemical engineering to NMSU's Graduate School. Fife did his graduate work while maintaining a full-time career at TA-55. The dissertation is entitled "A Kinetic Study of Plutonium Dioxide Dissolution in Hydrochloric Acid Using Iron (II) as an Electron Transfer Catalyst." Congratulations, Keith, for your hard work and for the successful completion of your Ph.D. program.

The Science and Technology Panel of the University of California President's Council on the National Laboratories visited Los Alamos on April 19 to be briefed on programmatic activities of several divisions. For NMT, Division Director Bruce Matthews gave an hour-long presentation on NMT's responses to the observations and concerns raised by the DRC in its most recent report, several new programmatic initiatives undertaken by the division, the funding outlook for both science and technology, and facility and infrastructure support.

LDRD News A Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) proposal by Larry Avens (NMT-6) and a number of co-principle investigators has been selected for funding at one million dollars for five years. The title of this winning proposal is "Actinide Molecular Science," and it proposes a fundamental investigation into a broad range of actinide science topics.

As of May 20, the last day for the 1997 LDRD proposals, NMT technical staff members submitted a record number of individual projects and program development proposals. Ed Heighway, LDRD Office Leader, sends a message that he is delighted to see NMT is playing an improved and significant role in the Laboratory's LDRD program.

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