Beason joined Los Alamos in 2001 after a distinguished career in the US Air Force. His doctorate from University of New Mexico was garnered from work done at Los Alamos on simulating explosive iodine lasers.
In two assignments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, Beason worked on peer review design analysis of the W76 nuclear weapon, and with his collaborators developed a closed solution to relativistic Compton scattering for radiation transport codes that is still in use today; the latter led to his election as a Fellow of the American Physical Society. A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Beason served on the White House staff in the Office of Science and Technology Policy and taught as an associate professor of physics at the USAF Academy.
Beason has served at Los Alamos as deputy associate director for Threat Reduction, and division leader of the International, Space and Response Division. As associate director for Threat Reduction he will oversee the execution and development of Los Alamos programs to eliminate threats from weapons of mass destruction and to defeat new and emerging threats. The Threat Reduction organization, with a current budget of approximately $500 million, oversees some 1,200 employees and their unique facilities. Four science divisions fall under Threat Reduction: Bioscience; Decision Applications; International Space & Response and Nuclear Nonproliferation.
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.