Multiple programs: essential to the scientific vitality of the DOE Defense Program Laboratories

Abstract

The future of the Department of Energy� s Defense Program (DP) laboratories-Los Alamos, Livermore, and Sandia-has been extensively debated and examined over the past several years. To assist in this process, I have asked that a set of documents be prepared, which, when taken together, present a comprehensive picture of the three laboratories. This document describes the multiprogram nature of the DP laboratories and the value of their involvement in non-DP work as it relates to the nuclear weapons program. The other two documents, Integration and Collaboration.. Solving Science and Technology Problems for the Nation (DOE/DP-96009797) and Roles and Responsibilities of the Department of Energy Nuclear Weapons Laboratories in the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program (DOE/DP-97000280), describe respectively the integrated nature of the DP laboratories and the roles of the laboratories as they meet their individual and collective responsibilities of ensuring the safety and reliabilities of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The scientific and technical challenges inherent in the DP laboratories� national security responsibilities today are as complex as those during the Manhattan Project and the Cold War years. Science-based stockpile stewardship and management require in-depth understanding of the full spectrum of nuclear weapons science and technology- physics, chemistry, materials, manufacturing, computational modeling, engineering, and electronics, to name a few-as well as a combination of capabilities and facilities unavailable anywhere else in the country. In addition to stockpile stewardship and management, many other nationally important issues involve science and technology-for example, nuclear nonproliferation, energy security, and environmental protection and remediation. Over the years, the DP laboratories have applied expertise and technologies developed in their nuclear weapons work to these other issues, focusing on those areas where they can make unique and valuable contributions. The nation has invested substantially in the three DP laboratories, creating an unmatched resource of scientific and engineering expertise, facilities, and capabilities. In this era of tight budgets, it is important that the laboratories extract maximum leverage from this investment and fulfill their nuclear weapons responsibilities as cost-effectively as possible. The multiprogram nature of the DP laboratories has been key to their success in achieving the outstanding level of scientific and technical excellence that has become their hallmark and in carrying out their national security mission. The multiprogram work of the laboratories also provides an extremely effective way of leveraging the nation� s investment in science and technology. It makes sense for the DP laboratories to apply their expertise to non-nuclear-weapons programs of national importance. It also makes sense for the DP laboratories to collaborate with other government laboratories, universities, and industry to apply the unique expertise, facilities, and capabilities of these institutions to national security challenges. This report briefly reviews the challenges faced by the DP laboratories in fulfilling their stockpile stewardship and management responsibilities. It then discusses the benefits of the synergy and the accelerated pace of scientific achievement that arise from the laboratories� multiple programs. A representative selection of accomplishments is presented that illustrates the importance of the contributions made to the laboratories� national security mission by their non-nuclear-weapons projects and their connections with the wider scientific community.