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Editor's note: The University of California on Monday released this statement regarding the National Research Council's report on "Maintaining High Scientific Quality at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories." The statement is from Robert Foley, UC vice president for laboratory management.

UC issues statement on National Research Council report

The University of California appreciates the National Research Council's (NRC) thorough, thoughtful and professional response to the complex charge put forward to them by the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. We appreciate the recognition by the NRC of the important scientific and technological work being performed at these national laboratories. The NRC report is also sensitive to the issues and challenges of managing the complex nuclear weapons laboratories. 

The University agrees with the NRC report on a variety of its findings and recommendations, including the recommendations for the NNSA to seek contractors that have the capability to recruit and retain the laboratories' world-class scientific staffs, provide excellent management capabilities, implement best practices and take innovative approaches. The University also agrees with the NRC committee which "feels strongly that the continuing scientific excellence and productivity of [Los Alamos National Laboratory] and [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory] are critical to the nation's nuclear deterrence capability..." and that their "scientific quality…is dependent on (their) continuing to attract and retain an excellent scientific staff." We believe that continuing the "interplay" between [Los Alamos] and LLNL, including the "coordination and constructive competition," is extremely important.

The University of California recognizes that the final decision as to what format these competitions will take is ultimately a decision to be made by DOE and NNSA. The University continues to aggressively prepare as if we will compete, but the UC Board of Regents will make that decision following a thorough review of the respective RFPs.

To read a National Research Council news release, click here. The full report will be posted on the same Web page at a later date.

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