"In planning what is really an extended examination of our future, we've tried to schedule events that honor significant people and accomplishments, remember key points from our history, and reach out to our neighbors in Northern New Mexico," said Dennis Erickson, co-chair of the Laboratory's 60th Anniversary Task Force.
Laboratory Interim Director George "Pete" Nanos said the variety of events, scientific lectures, conferences and workshops planned over the next several months will give Laboratory employees, and media representatives, a clear look at where the Laboratory is today, and where it is headed. Although the audience for many of the events is limited to Laboratory staff, and security and space limitations often preclude public invitations, Nanos said he hopes journalists take part in as many activities as possible so they can pass along to the public a picture of Los Alamos' rich tradition and strong future.
"This is in fact a time of great opportunity, just as it was six decades ago when the Laboratory was formed amid the uncertainty of World War Two," Nanos said. "Los Alamos played a key role in the genealogy of modern science and technology, but we're not resting on our laurels."
The formal contract between the federal government and the University of California establishing the Laboratory was signed on April 20, 1943, although some historians point to March 6, 1943, the initial informal meeting of the scientific committee headed by Los Alamos' first director, J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Anniversary events begin with a special address by Nanos scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, April 7, followed by a forum moderated by Nanos that will include former Laboratory directors Harold Agnew (1970-1979), Donald Kerr (1979-1985), Sig Hecker (1986-1997) and John Browne (1997-2003). Each will discuss his accomplishments and challenges as Laboratory director.
The media is invited to talk with the directors afterwards, at 11:30 a.m.
At 1:15 p.m., Laboratory Senior Fellow Emeritus George Cowan and Senior Fellow Emeritus Louis Rosen will be awarded the Los Alamos Medal for their decades of contributions to the Laboratory and their scientific and professional accomplishments.
The following evening, April 8, Los Alamos Historical Society will host the directors at a public forum in the Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School. Additional information is available from the Historical Society at 505-662-6272, and tickets are on sale at the Historical Society Museum Shop next to Fuller Lodge or at the door for $5 each.
Other events will follow throughout the next six months, focusing on the Laboratory's contributions to national security and its future missions and directions in science and technology.
"All of these activities are in keeping with the Laboratory's anniversary slogan 'Ideas that change the world,'" Erickson said.
The next major events will be April 22, when government officials and other friends of the Laboratory visit to dedicate two major facilities - the Nonproliferation and International Security Center and the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrotest facility - and to break ground for the National Security Sciences Building, which will replace the current Administration Building in Technical Area 3.
A "Science Day" for Laboratory employees and the media is scheduled at the Laboratory for 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23, and will feature discussions of science-based prediction, astrophysics, genetics, explosives and actinide chemistry.
Among scheduled public events are a workshop on global climate and local drought in Santa Fe on the morning of April 23, a lecture on the Human Genome Project in Los Alamos the same evening and an evening lecture on black holes and the Milky Way galaxy scheduled for Los Alamos (April 29), Santa Fe (April 30), Albuquerque (May 7) and Taos (May 8).
Activities marking the 60th anniversary will continue through the summer and wind up in September with the publication of a special issue of Los Alamos Science magazine.
Schedules and general information about 60th Anniversary activities are available at http://sixty.lanl.gov online. New events will be added to the event schedule frequently.
"Plan to join the Laboratory family and our communities in celebration during the coming weeks and months." encouraged task-force co-chairman Denny Erickson.
Major April Events (subject to change)
April 7 9 a.m. Anniversary Address--Pete Nanos, Main Auditorium 9:30 a.m. Laboratory Directors Forum Main Auditorium 11:30 a.m. Media Availability with the Directors, Oppenheimer Study Center, Second Floor 1:15 a.m. Los Alamos Medal Awards Ceremony, Main Auditorium
April 8 Public Laboratory Directors Forum, Los Alamos Historical Society, Duane Smith Auditorium, Tickets required, PUBLIC
April 21 1 p.m. Lecture, "Lifetime of Turbulence" -- Frank Harlow, Theoretical Division, Main Auditorium
April 22 Anniversary Recognition Ceremony, Main Auditorium National Security Sciences Building Groundbreaking, TA-3 Nonproliferation and International Security Center Dedication, TA-3 Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility Dedication, DARHT Site
April 23 9:30 a.m. 5 p.m. Science Day, Oppenheimer Study Center 8:30 a.m. Noon Anniversary Workshop on Global Climate: "Water, Drought and New Mexico," Hilton Hotel, Santa Fe, PUBLIC 6:30 p.m. Anniversary Lecture on "Completion of Human Genome and Impact on Humanity" - Norman Doggett, Bioscience Division, UNM-Los Alamos, PUBLIC
April 29 7:30 p.m. Frontiers of Science Lecture on "Black Holes and Collapsed Stars: Our Galaxy and Its Neighbors" - William Priedhorsky, Nonproliferation and International Security Division, Duane Smith Auditorium, PUBLIC
April 30 1:30 p.m. Anniversary Forum on "Nuclear Power in the 21st Century," Physics Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Frontiers of Science Lecture on "Black Holes and Collapsed Stars: Our Galaxy and Its Neighbors" - William Priedhorsky, Nonproliferation and International Security Division, James S. Little Theatre, Santa Fe, PUBLIC
Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.
NOTE: Media representatives are invited to attend these events, but must contact Jim Danneskiold at least 48 hours before any event not listed as "PUBLIC" on the schedule below.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.