Lab Agenda

Los Alamos National Laboratory plays a vital role in safeguarding the United States and its allies against the world’s most serious threats.

In a time of renewed urgency for the Nuclear Security Enterprise, the Laboratory is committed to advancing deterrence across all missions. The coming decades are a critical time for the nation and our allies. The US is modernizing its strategic forces as it confronts two nuclear-near-peers for the first time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming science, security, and technology at every level. In this environment, deterrence depends on the scientific excellence to design, produce, certify, and field capabilities on threat-relevant timelines. To meet these global challenges, the Laboratory draws on its multidisciplinary expertise—spanning signature science, supercomputing and AI, nuclear and particle physics, weapons design and engineering, and more—to develop innovative solutions that advance agile, effective deterrence against nuclear warfare and other emerging dangers. Through meeting these objectives, the Laboratory not only strengthens national security but also drives world-changing discoveries.

Back row (left to right): Pablo Prando, LANL general counsel; Srinivas Iyer, ALDCELS; Ed Anderson, executive officer, DDOPS; Nancy Jo Nicholas, ALDGS; Angela Mielke, executive officer, DDSTE; Bob Webster, DDW; David Dooley, ALDWP. Middle row (left to right): Mark Chadwick, ALDSCT; Ellen Cerreta, ALDPS; Unica Viramontes, ALDDP; Mark Davis, DDOPS; Laurie Monfiletto, chief human resources officer; Kim Scott, executive officer, DDW; Bret Simpkins, ALDFO. Front row (left to right): Pat Fitch, DDSTE; Scott Aeilts, ALDBUS; Frances Chadwick, LANL staff director; Thom Mason, LANL director; Mark Anthony, ALDPI; Charlie Nakhleh, ALDX; Steve Coleman, ALDESHQ.

Meeting the Needs of the Nation

As a federally funded research and development center, the Laboratory’s comprehensive deterrence framework reflects key US priorities across nuclear security, intelligence, defense, nonproliferation, counterterrorism, emergency response, science leadership, energy security, environmental management, and beyond. This strategy is closely aligned with guidance from the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and national policy documents.

Lab Agenda

The Lab Agenda communicates the Laboratory’s enduring mission and strategic imperatives, our institutional goals for FY27, and the values and behaviors that shape our culture. 

Updated annually by the Leadership Team, the Lab agenda is designed to:

• Align Lab initiatives with national strategic priorities
• Foster collaboration across organizations
• Inform decisions—from institutional investments to organizational plans and individual goals
• Drive shared accountability and continuous improvement

The Lab Agenda is just one piece of the Laboratory’s broader portfolio of institutional strategies. As such, it is not intended to capture all of the Laboratory’s priorities or encompass all areas of the Laboratory’s work.

Strategic Imperatives

Los Alamos National Laboratory has four strategic imperatives that guide mission delivery: nuclear deterrence, threat reduction, technical leadership, and trustworthy operations.

Institutional Goals

The Laboratory’s institutional goals focus on key challenges and opportunities that require immediate, cross-organizational collaboration to align scientific and technical opportunities with national security needs. Each goal supports two or more strategic imperatives and is designed to drive significant progress through focused investments and actions.

Excellence and continuous improvement in foundational and enduring functions—from safety and security to facilities management, business systems, human resources, and community partnerships—are essential for the success of each goal.

For FY27, the Laboratory will prioritize five institutional goals: 

Behaviors

Collaborative problem solving

Continuous learning

Shared outcome

Trustworthy

Commitment