IN THIS ISSUE

Letters

• The Innovation issue
  National security depends on pioneering scientists and engineers who can respond to challenges with new, often surprising, ideas.

Abstracts

• Thom Mason takes the helm at Los Alamos
  The Laboratory’s 12th director discusses national security, the annual assessment letter, and why he chose physics over English in college.
• Los Alamos scientists teach at West Point
  Retiring Colonel Edward Naessens nurtured the relationship between the two institutions.
• New program fosters mission-minded future leaders
  Participants consider how science informs policy.
• Los Alamos recognized for veteran employment
  The Laboratory receives a Gold Award from the Department of Labor.

Features

• Faces of innovation
  Meet seven scientists and engineers whose groundbreaking ideas, experiments, and data have big implications for national security.
• Beyond Trinity: 75 years of weapons advances
  In addition to creating the world’s first nuclear device, Los Alamos has made nuclear weapons more effective, safe, and specific to military needs.
• Additive manufacturing: The power of powder
  At the Laboratory’s Sigma Complex, metal components are created with powder, layer by layer, to withstand extreme environments.

Analysis

• The science of policy
  Three members of the National Nuclear Security Administration share their thoughts on innovation.

Being Essential

• The need for speed
  Jeffrey Luehring is all about parts—weapons parts for his job in materials management and boat parts for the jet boat he drag races.