The Department of Energy on Wednesday decided it will bid the management contract for Los Alamos as a separate competition from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory contract.
The competition for the management of the Laboratory will be conducted by the department's National Nuclear Security Administration. NNSA will announce the schedule for the Los Alamos request for proposals (RFP) in the near future. Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said last year that the Los Alamos contract would be competed. The university has managed Los Alamos since its Manhattan Project creation in 1943.
"I have concluded that it is very important to ensure we have the broadest possible competition for future contracts," said Abraham. "Separating these two competitions will achieve that result."
The University of California manages both Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national labs. UC's contract to manage Los Alamos expires Sept. 30, 2005.
To read the DOE news release, click here.
In response to DOE's announcement on Wednesday, the University of California issued a statement from Robert Foley, UC vice president for Laboratory management. To read the statement, click here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)