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Interim Laboratory Director Pete Nanos, left, talks with U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman and Linton Brooks, National Nuclear Security Administration administrator, before Tuesday's 60th Anniversary Recognition ceremony in the Administration Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3.

With credit to its science, Lab receives new vows of support

Dignitaries join Anniversary Recognition Ceremony

The Laboratory owes its existence to a unique marriage of science and America’s fighting spirit, Linton Brooks, nominee to be permanent undersecretary of the Department of Energy and administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, told an audience as he kicked off the Lab’s 60th Anniversary Recognition Ceremony Tuesday.

"The Lab has been around longer than DOE or NNSA, but we and our predecessors have been entwined with the Laboratory and its science for these 60 years," Brooks told an Administration Building Auditorium audience and Lab workers watching on Labnet. "The nation looks forward to your future leadership."

Brooks headlined a list of distinguished guests on hand to acknowledge the Laboratory’s six decades of achievement. Among them were Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.; Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M.; Governor Bill Richardson; University of California Regents Chairman John J. Moores; and UC President Richard Atkinson. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., joined events later Tuesday morning, attending the New Mexico Adventures in Supercomputing Challenge in the Physics Building Auditorium and the dedication of the Lab’s Nonproliferation and International Security Center also at Technical Area 3.

Sen. Pete Domenici and Don Cobb, associate Laboratory director for Threat Reduction, cut the ceremonial ribbon at Tuesday's dedication of the Nonproliferation and International Security Center at Technical Area 3. The new facility houses some 400 NIS Division personnel. Seated at right in photo are Linton Brooks, National Nuclear Security Administration director and Interim Laboratory Director Pete Nanos.

Interim Laboratory Director Pete Nanos welcomed the audience and guest speakers, saying the threats facing the nation are as severe as they were 60 years ago. These threats now can fall into the hands of more than one or two countries. They also take new forms, weapons that are easier for those would who would harm the nation, or to make and use.

"We haven’t walked away from our primary mission of stewardship of the nation’s nuclear stockpile," Nanos said. "We’ve expanded our horizons in the service of the nation to include work to protect against many of these new threats."

Nanos credited the Lab’s six decades of success in large part to the support of the local community, the Pajarito Plateau homesteaders and the neighboring pueblos who provided the very foundation for the institution.

It’s critical that the federal Department of Homeland Security take advantage of the enormous knowledge base at Los Alamos, Sen. Bingaman said. Citing such advances as the new Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test, or DARHT facility, he congratulated the Laboratory for providing the finest possible service in service to the nation.

The plaque for the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test, or DARHT facility, sits on the podium at Tuesday's dedication. Photos by LeRoy N. Sanchez, Public Affairs

Rep. Udall acknowledged work on fuel cell research as one example of the "ideas that change the world," the Lab’s anniversary theme. He also credited the nonprofit Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation for providing exemplary resources and leadership to education in the region.

Governor Richardson, a one-time congressman who represented the Northern New Mexico district where the Lab is located, and a former Department of Energy secretary, called Nanos an engine of reform and change. Referring to controversies at the Lab when he was DOE secretary, Richardson said he nevertheless renewed the DOE-UC contract prior to his leaving DOE. "I hope the relationship continues," he said. "Otherwise, the effectiveness of this great institution will be harmed."

He said he sees Los Alamos as a partner with the state, working with state colleges and universities, spinning off technologies and helping more New Mexico graduates advance their scientific careers locally.

"Why mess with something that works and works well?" Richardson asked.

UC President Atkinson noted the close working relationship between Lab and university scientists. "About 25 percent of the publications by scientists at UC’s national labs are written jointly with university researchers, and vice versa, a remarkable collaboration that produces superior science," he said.

Atkinson announced a Lab-university initiative to be established at Los Alamos — creation of a new institute of engineering, combining the skills of the two institutions — that will offer a master’s degree in engineering.

"I’m confident that the improvements to the Lab’s business practices we’re making, the strong leadership team we’ve put in place and the work force dedicated to their mission will soon return the nation’s focus to the stellar scientific work done at this Laboratory," said Atkinson.

The ceremonies also included brief remarks by State Rep. Jeannette Wallace, R-Los Alamos, Sandoval, and New Mexico House Speaker Ben Lujan, D-Santa Fe.

Noting the special relationship with neighboring pueblos, Nanos signed a reaffirmation of the accord first signed in 1994 with Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Jemez and Cochiti pueblos. All four pueblo governors co-signed the accord, with Brooks signing as witness.

"This Lab did not grow from barren rock," Nanos concluded. "It grew from the vibrance of the communities of Northern New Mexico. It’s our responsibility to give back in full measure that which we’ve received."

Additional 60th anniversary activities are scheduled today with Science Day and a talk on water and drought in Santa Fe. Schedules and general information about 60th anniversary activities are available at http://sixty.lanl.gov online. New events will be added to the event schedule frequently.

-- Bill Dupuy

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