University, Bechtel Tapped To Run Los Alamos Lab

University, Bechtel Tapped To Run Los Alamos Lab

University, Bechtel Tapped To Run Los Alamos Lab

The University of California will continue running Los Alamos National Laboratory with the help of military contractor Bechtel Corp.

By K.C. Jones, TechWeb News
Dec. 21, 2005
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175007611

The University of California will continue running Los Alamos National Laboratory with the help of military contractor Bechtel Corp. in a decision announced Wednesday.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced the decision during a conference call with lab employees and reporters. The academic and corporate team, Los Alamos National Security LLC, also includes BWX Technologies and the Washington Group International. The group defeated Lockheed Martin in competing proposals to run the lab in New Mexico.

The university has been running the lab for 62 years. This was the first time the government requested competitive contract proposals.

The lab, which employs scientists from countries all over the world, hosts research relating to homeland security, supercomputing and an array of other sciences. The lab is considered by many to have one of the best supercomputers in the world."

It is also responsible for maintaining the country's nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility has come under fire in recent years for security breaches, safety problems and accounting scandals. Bodman addressed the history but stressed the future of the facility, located northwest of Santa Fe.

"There has been quite a bit of turmoil and uncertainty over the last few years," he said. "Today's announcement is designed to relegate that tumult to the past, and to usher in a new era of invaluable, cutting-edge science at Los Alamos."

The lab is one of three National Nuclear Security Administration nuclear weapons laboratories. It was established in 1943 to create the first atomic bomb and continues to perform sensitive national security missions. In the past several years, it has been criticized for losing track of its inventory, including materials that can be used as weapons.

The new contract has outlined several goals, including the implementation of best management practices, scientific skepticism and strong peer review and attainment of standards which will become a model in the U.S. nuclear complex.

Bodman told lab employees that the work they do has "consequences of potentially epic proportions."

Los Alamos National Security obtained the seven-year contract after a process that took more than 18 months and involved unprecedented public input, a review by career civil servants with experience in nuclear weapons research and high-level approval. The contract can be renewed for up to 13 years, depending on the lab's performance.

In June 2006, the partnership will begin running the lab, which has a budget over $2 billion. Operators will receive an annual management fee between $53 million and $80 million, also depending on performance.

Transition activities were set to take place immediately.

The Department of Energy promised an economic boost to northern New Mexico through the commercialization of technologies developed at the lab.

Employees of the lab were already questioning who will benefit and how, through several postings on a LANL: The Real Story Wednesday afternoon.