John Scott
Introduction
John Scott is the Acting Associate Laboratory Director for Weapons Physics (ALDX), directing the experimental, theoretical, and high-performance computing efforts necessary to assess, modernize, and certify the US nuclear stockpile. This organization is responsible for weapons physics and design, the development of multi-physics simulation software, and the design and execution of dynamic experiments at a variety of firing sites as well as the flagship Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test facility. This integrated effort is key to ensuring the robust physics understanding necessary to inform life-extension and modernization programs.
Background
Scott has nearly 30 years of experience at Los Alamos National Laboratory, beginning his career as a postdoctoral student in 1998. He most recently served as the Division Leader for X-Theoretical Design, the weapons physics design division, which uses state-of-the-art scientific theoretical, numerical, and experimental tools and methods to understand nuclear weapons design, performance, safety and surety, outputs and effects.
During his career, Scott has served as the system point of contact for two weapons systems and was the lead secondary designer for the Lab’s Reliable Replacement Warhead project. He also served as the group leader for the Integrated Design and Assessment Group within the Theoretical Design division and as the deputy division leader for stockpile work in the Theoretical Design Division.
Education
PhD, Nuclear Engineering—University of California, Berkeley
Area Managed
ALDX stewards foundational scientific capabilities in weapons physics and design, dynamic experimentation, multiphysics computational simulation, and national security information archiving, management, and curation activities. The directorate manages the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Research, Development, Testing & Engineering portfolio, which is comprised of a large set of programs spanning the Office of Experimental Sciences, the Inertial Confinement Fusion program, the Advanced Simulation and Computing program, and the Office of Engineering Technology & Maturation. ALDX oversees the following divisions: Dynamic Experiments, Integrated Weapons Experiments, Weapons Research Services, Computational Physics, and Theoretical Design.