LabNews 04/15/2005 — PDF (650KB)
It is a momentous change at the top that reverberates throughout Sandia and the entire DOE laboratory complex. Paul Robinson is leaving and Tom Hunter is succeeding him.
The announcement, a subject of internal rumors for some days, came Monday morning: The Sandia Corporation Board of Directors has named Tom Hunter President of Sandia Corporation and Director of Sandia National Laboratories, effective April 29. He will be Sandia’s 12th president.
Tom is Sandia’s senior vice president for Defense Programs, with oversight of the Labs’ nuclear weapons programs. He’s the only person holding the senior VP rank.
He will succeed Paul, who came to Sandia in 1990 and has served as President and Labs Director since August 1995, ushering in a decade of relative stability and growth after the turbulent period of the early 1990s.
Paul will leave Sandia April 29 to assist Lockheed Martin Corporation in preparing its bid to DOE for the management and operating contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory. Paul said Monday the bid will list him as the LANL director and he will serve as director if Lockheed Martin wins the bid.
Lockheed Martin announced its intention to make that bid just two weeks ago (Lab News, April 1). The current M&O contract for LANL, now held by the University of California, expires at the end of September.
More changes expected later
Tom said Executive VP Joan Woodard will take over Tom’s duties as head of Sandia’s Nuclear Weapons Program. She will also remain Executive VP and Deputy Director during the transition.
Additional management changes are expected later.
“We are thrilled Tom Hunter has agreed to accept the position of director of Sandia National Laboratories,” said Mike Camardo, Sandia Corporation Board Chairman and executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Information and Technology Services. “Tom is a man of great intelligence and extremely high integrity. He has a deep and thorough understanding of the national security needs of the nation, the complex missions of the laboratory, and he cares about the people who work at Sandia.”
Camardo praised Paul for demonstrating great vision during his 10-year tenure as Sandia’s director. “Paul kept Sandia on a steady course toward excellence, ethical behavior, and a better quality of life for its employees and the local community. Sandia consistently received high ratings from our customer, the Department of Energy. This record reflects well upon Paul and the leadership team he put together to manage Sandia,” he said.
DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman had praise for Paul. “While director of Sandia, Paul has overseen important contributions to our national security and defense. He has provided strong stewardship of the nuclear weapons complex and has helped Sandia build its technology base to respond to emerging threats. Paul has a strong science and management background that has served this country well and I thank him for his service.”
NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks likewise had kind words: “Paul has helped Sandia become one of America’s premier laboratories as the lab has been instrumental in NNSA’s efforts to maintain a nuclear weapons stockpile that is safe, secure, and reliable. His leadership and vision will be missed.”
Tom,
whose
PhD
is
in
nuclear
engineering
from
the
University
of
Wisconsin,
has
held
a
variety
of
positions
since
coming
to
Sandia
in
1967
(see
story
on
next
page).
In
his
most
recent
post,
he
has
led
Sandia’s
Defense
Programs,
which
encompasses
about
60
percent
of
the
Labs’
$2.2
billion
annual
budget.
From
October
1995
to
March
1999,
he
served
as
vice
president
of
Sandia’s
California
site
and
leader
of
Sandia’s
nonproliferation
programs.
Tom
said
the
core
mission
of
Sandia
will
continue
to
focus
on
maintaining
the
nation’s
nuclear
weapons
stockpile.
As
a
premier
national
security
laboratory,
it
also
will
continue
to
develop
technology
solutions
for
the
challenging
problems
that
threaten
peace
and
freedom
at
home
and
abroad.
Tom said his vision for the laboratory is based on the principles that national security is Sandia’s first and primary business, that Sandia’s employees are its most important asset, and that Sandia will always be a good corporate citizen in that it values strong, positive relationships with its communities and partners.
A unique heritage and capabilities
“Sandia has a unique heritage and capabilities, from advanced failsafe technologies, processes, and systems to ensure the safety and security of our nuclear arsenal, to our growing efforts in microsystems, simulation and modeling, homeland security technologies, materials development, energy, and water,” he said. “I have great confidence that, with the continued support of our outstanding employees, Sandia will continue to be a laboratory that provides exceptional service in the national interest.”
During an early morning meeting on Monday with Large Staff (VPs and Directors), Tom talked about what he calls “our quest for operational excellence in all the Labs does,” adding, “We have some serious challenges to deal with, particularly with employee safety.” At the same time, he said, the Labs has made notable strides in areas such as security.
“Our actions over the next several weeks,” he added, “will be fairly deliberate with some short-term and long-term goals.” Some of those short-term goals, he explained, will be defining some principles about organizational structure. “Based on those principles we’ll name a set of roles and functions for the Labs and a set of individuals to carry them out.”
New Mexico’s two US senators issued statements Monday on the management changes at Sandia.
“I believe Paul Robinson’s decision is significant because of the expertise he will bring to the Lockheed Martin bid,” Sen. Pete Domenici said. “Paul has worked at Los Alamos, and he has been a terrific director at Sandia. I’m sad he’s leaving Sandia, but his departure and new role certainly tells me that Lockheed Martin is intent on putting together a competitive bid. I think he will play a formidable role, and I think he helps the Lockheed Martin proposal immensely.
“The bidding for the Los Alamos contract will be competitive. My ultimate interest is in having the new contract end up being the best for the lab workers, pensioners, and, of course, the lab in its totality. I think the University of California and Lockheed Martin, and possibly other interested parties, are working toward this goal.
“I look forward to working with Tom Hunter as the new director at Sandia. This is a superb choice, and I think his experience in heading the weapons program at Sandia puts him in a good position to do well as director.”
Sen. Jeff Bingaman acknowledged the outstanding work that Paul Robinson has done at Sandia, and he expressed confidence in Paul’s successor, Tom Hunter.
“Paul Robinson has been a dynamic and highly effective director of Sandia National Laboratories,” Bingaman said. “Given his depth of experience at Sandia and Los Alamos, it comes as no surprise that Lockheed Martin would tap him to prepare its proposal for the management of the LANL contract. We are fortunate that a strong and capable team, led by Tom Hunter, will be in place to manage Sandia as Paul takes on his new assignment.” -- Chris Miller
Tom
Hunter,
who
joined
Sandia
in
1967
as
a
member
of
the
technical
staff
working
in
advanced
weapons
systems
concepts,
has
served
in
a
number
of
leadership
capacities
closely
related
to
the
Labs’
core
missions.
Before
being
named
Sandia
President
and
Laboratories
Director
on
Monday
(the
appointment
takes
effect
April
29),
Tom
served
most
recently
as
Senior
VP
and
head
of
the
Sandia
Nuclear
Weapons
Strategic
Management
Unit.
In
that
capacity,
he
has
been
responsible
for
nuclear
weapons-related
work
accounting
for
some
60
percent
of
Sandia’s
$2.2
billion
annual
budget.
Diverse responsibilities
As head of the NWSMU and VP of Division 9000, Tom’s responsibilities have included oversight of research programs in microelectronics, materials science, engineering science, computer science, and pulsed power; nuclear weapons engineering; information systems and technology; production and manufacturing; advanced computing, computational engineering science, environmental testing, corporate information systems, and systems integration.
From October 1995 to March 1999 he was VP at Sandia’s California site. His responsibilities there included managing programs in nuclear weapons R&D, nonproliferation, advanced manufacturing technology, information systems, environmental technology, and energy research. As site manager in California, Tom was responsible for community and government outreach. He also served as corporate leader of development for nonproliferation, arms control, and materials management programs.
In
earlier
positions,
Tom
was
Director
of
the
Energy
and
Environment
Program
Center,
where
he
coordinated
Sandia’s
activities
in
energy
development
and
environmental
quality.
He
emphasized
international
energy
and
environment
development
and
supporting
information
systems.
He
led
Sandia
and
US
DOE
laboratory
programs
to
establish
cooperative
R&D
programs
in
the
former
Soviet
Union
to
support
nuclear
nonproliferation.
Tom
also
served
as
Director
of
Nuclear
Waste
Management
and
Transportation,
Manager
of
the
Yucca
Mountain
Project,
and
leader
of
the
R&D
Program
for
the
Waste
Isolation
Pilot
Plant,
respectively.
He
was
responsible
for
developing
advanced
technology
for
underground
nuclear
weapons
testing,
reactor
safety
programs,
and
fusion
engineering.
A time to dream big
Four months ago in the Dec. 10, 2004, Lab News, Tom recalled his early days at Sandia. “It was a time . . . when you were only limited by your imagination. It was a time in which you were able to dream big and think of things that had thought to be impossible and how one might do them . . . .”
In that same story, Tom recalled how tackling the large, complex engineering challenges of the weapons program immersed him in the Sandia culture: “As a formative thing for a staff member, it allows you to face the depths of apparent failure and the heights of apparent success, all in a period of a matter of months. We taxed the entire laboratory, including the procurement organization — they had to do things in unprecedented timeframes. The experience, more than any other, probably formed my impression of what it means to work at Sandia.”
In a Lab News Q&A in October 2003, Tom talked about the things he finds most satisfying about his job: “The most rewarding part of the job is clearly teamwork that has an impact. The ability for the laboratory to team together, particularly across the Nuclear Weapons Leadership Council, to achieve a common goal with the other laboratories for example, is very rewarding. The other thing that’s rewarding is to be able to represent Sandia in numerous outside forums. Being engaged in the national debate, representing Sandia, is extremely rewarding because we have an excellent reputation and we’re viewed as people who deliver and who think deeply.”
New staff and powerful vision for MESA
“Another [satisfying aspect of the job] is the new staff. We’ve made a deliberate effort to bring new staff into the weapons program. We’ve seen significant new blood in the Laboratory and they bring ideas and energy that we really need.”
Under Tom’s stewardship as head of the NWSMU, Sandia’s largest construction project ever, MESA — the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications complex — moved from vision to reality. During the MESA groundbreaking ceremony, Tom spoke about the MESA vision:
“The [MESA] vision was simple! It was based on three ideas:
“Imagine then how revolutionary the best of these three ideas would be if brought together in one place. That is the vision of MESA. Today we celebrate that vision and dedicate this place and ourselves to making it real.”
Tom has been active in leadership roles outside the Labs, as well. He served as a panel member for the National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council, as well as the chair for the Board of Visitors for the Dean of the College of Engineering, University of California at Davis. He serves on the Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Florida, and is the author of numerous technical papers and presentations. He has served on various review groups with other DOE laboratories. Earlier, he was an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico.
Tom earned a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida, an MS in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico, and an MS and PhD in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin. Tom was recognized as a distinguished alumnus by the University of Florida and the University of Wisconsin. -- Bill Murphy
By Bill Murphy
When
Paul
Robinson
came
to
Sandia,
the
Berlin
Wall
had
just
come
down,
the
Soviet
Union
was
reeling,
careening
toward
history’s
dustbin,
and
the
nuclear
weapons
establishment
was
beginning
—
beginning
—
to
think
about
the
challenges
of
a
post-Cold
War
world.
Paul, who had worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1967-1985, became head of its primary weapons programs by 1980. After a brief stint in the private sector, he was appointed by President Reagan in 1988 as the US Ambassador to nuclear testing talks with the Soviets in Geneva, Switzerland.
And then to Sandia.
His technical fluency, his ambassadorial cachet, and his reputation for deep thoughts about issues regarding nuclear weapons, made him a perfect fit for the new post-Cold War thinking and leadership the Labs sought.
Upon joining Sandia as director of the newly created Systems Analysis Center in October 1990, Paul said, “I’m particularly excited to be able to work with Sandia systems analysts to think through, in considerable depth, new directions in defense and other areas that would make the most sense for the US.”
A new VP for a new division
Paul advanced quickly from his director position to a newly created VP slot: Vice President of Laboratory Development. The new Division 4000 was part of a major organizational shuffle that took effect Aug. 1, 1991. That new group, said Labs President Al Narath, would have major responsibilities in quality, change management, strategic planning, tech transfer, coordination with political and military leaders, and development of new Labs-wide information systems. It was, in short, the organization that would play a key role in defining and shaping a Sandia Labs for the 21st century.
Between the time he became VP and when he was appointed to the top Labs position in August 1995, Sandia was in the midst of dramatic readjustments. Just a few high points of those eventful years: The Tiger Team reviews had just been completed and their impact was being felt throughout the Labs. CRADAs — cooperative research and development agreements — and technology transfer efforts in general — encouraged by 1989 legislation sponsored by Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman — were assuming a larger role in the Labs’ strategic planning. Quality process management became much more formalized. AT&T, the Labs’ steward for 44 years, announced it wouldn’t seek to renew its no-fee contract to manage the Labs after Sept. 30, 1993. After a complex, competitive, DOE-managed bid process, Martin Marietta was awarded the contract to manage Sandia, bringing its own distinctive culture and managerial style to the Labs. Shortly thereafter, Martin Marietta merged with fellow defense contractor Lockheed Aircraft to form Lockheed Martin.
Galvin Commission
While this was going on, the post-Cold War role of the nation’s weapons labs and their operation also came under scrutiny from the so-called Galvin Commission. The outcome of that commission report was a wake-up call that the national labs needed to become much more efficient and businesslike in their operations. The long-term impact of the commission findings still affect, at least indirectly, the ways Sandia conducts business.
Meanwhile, technical strides continued to be made in a wide range of emerging technologies — microelectronics, computing, materials, sensors, across the entire spectrum of the labs portfolio, really. And a first-ever visit by Sandia scientists and engineers to a secret science city in the former Soviet Union marked the beginning of cooperative relationship that continues to this day.
‘I am delighted’
Against this background — only the broadest-brush picture of the Labs’ state at the time — came a momentous announcement, momentous especially for Paul: Al Narath would step down (or step up, as he moved to a key management position with Lockheed Martin) and Paul Robinson, the former ambassador, the PhD physicist, and former Los Alamos weapons chief, would become Sandia Labs Director and President of Sandia Corporation. The date was Aug. 4, 1995.
“There is no question in my mind that what Al [Narath] is passing to me is the world’s number one laboratory,” Paul told the Lab News the day of his confirmation by the Sandia Corp. Board of Directors. “I am delighted. And I am challenged to try and see how we can make it better.” Joining Paul as Executive VP was John Crawford, who was serving as VP of the Sandia/California site. Later, when John retired, Paul tapped Joan Woodard as his Executive VP, a position she still holds today.
Problems and controversies
Within
days
of
his
promotion,
Paul
was
greeted
with
the
first
of
several
major
problems
and
controversies
that
arose
during
his
tenure.
The
Labs
had
made
a
decision
to
bring
the
World
Wide
Web,
because
of
its
limitless
promise
as
a
tool
for
information
sharing,
to
desktops
across
the
Labs.
Fast
on
the
heels
of
that
decision,
the
Labs
was
hit
by
a
computer
misuse
flap,
caused
by
some
employees
downloading
inappropriate
materials
from
the
web.
In
ensuing
years,
other
controversies
—
not
all
Sandia-specific,
to
be
sure,
because
some
involved
the
entire
nuclear
weapons
complex
—
involved
polygraph
testing,
security
lapses,
and
diversity
challenges
(specifically,
alleged
security
profiling
of
Asian-
and
Pacific
Island
heritage-Americans
in
the
wake
of
the
Los
Alamos
Wen
Ho
Lee
case).
Paul, characteristically, addressed each controversy straight on, openly, and with no-nonsense leadership. In a memorable comment during a diversity standdown mandated by DOE, Paul addressed the issue of less-than-professional treatment of underlings by some Sandia managers. He said, bluntly and very publicly, that rudeness from the top down is not acceptable at Sandia. “That’s bull****,” he said with a fervor that left no doubt he meant it.
First among equals
During his tenure as Sandia President and Labs Director, Paul belonged to a very small fraternity — directors of America’s three nuclear weapons labs. And although his colleagues at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos were highly accomplished and capable leaders, there was a perception — and not just among Sandians — that Paul was the first among equals in that club. His stature, physically as well as in reputation and accomplishment, made him an always-compelling advocate, champion, and representative of the weapons labs during frequent congressional testimony and interactions with the congressional delegation.
Paul had sat across the table from the Soviets during many arms control negotiation sessions in Geneva, so it isn’t surprising that he became a leader in the effort to increase contacts and cooperation between DOE labs and their Russian counterparts in the post-Cold War years. Under his leadership, Sandia established relationships with Russian labs that continue to advance the causes of nonproliferation, nuclear waste management, and, in a recent initiative, major cooperation to advance the vision of a global nuclear future.
The most electrifying event during Paul’s tenure, of course, was the attack on the World Trade Center and the subsequent American response. By interesting coincidence, Paul, during a brief stint in the private sector after leaving Los Alamos, had actually worked in the WTC. The attacks were very personal for him. As he wrote in an invited front page letter to all Sandians in the Sept. 21, 2001, Lab News: “For me, the memories were particularly stark and painful. From late 1985 until early 1988, I sat at the southwest corner of the 93rd floor of Tower Two. Every day since the tragedy, the faces flash through my mind of all the people who were likely there that morning — what has been their fate?”
‘Who will now rise to avenge . . .’
And he concluded, at the end of his thousand-word open letter and meditation: “And with all of the deaths — in Washington, in New York, and with those who perished in the airplane that took a sharp plunge to the ground outside Pittsburgh — our nation faces a great crisis.
“Who will now rise to avenge their deaths? Who will create the means of preventing or blunting such attacks in the future? Who will devise the new means of protecting our air travel systems and restoring our ‘open and trusting’ ways of life? Who will design the buildings of the future to still be just as beautiful as those we lost, but prove even more protective of the lives inside? Further, who will step forward to ‘wage peace’ by grappling with the fundamental problems that divide mankind and succeed in securing a lasting peace with freedom for all? These tasks are not ours alone, but they indeed are our challenges, just as surely as there is any truth in our belief that science and engineering have an enormous power to make the world a better place. This week the trumpet has sounded the call for ‘exceptional service’ louder than at any time in our lives. Let us answer the call.”
That rousing call set the stage for Sandia to become a key partner with the new Department of Homeland Security to find technological answers to pressing national security issues. Indeed, before the week of the attack was out, Sandians were working 24/7 to begin to answer the call.
In the subsequent years, Sandia technology has been brought to bear against America’s enemies in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Lives have been saved and millions of Americans’ lives made safer as a result of work that, even now, is still really in its infancy.
The work and the people . . . always the people
Paul
leaves
Sandia
while
it
is
in
the
midst
of
its
largest
construction/infrastructure
project
of
its
50-plus-year
history.
The
MESA
project
is
well
on
its
way
to
completion.
Paul
—
along
with
key
labs
associates
like
Senior
VP
Tom
Hunter
(named
this
week
to
succeed
him)
and
political
supporters
like
Sen.
Pete
Domenici
and
others
—
has
championed
and
shepherded
MESA
through
the
convoluted
passageways
of
the
Washington
funding
maze.
MESA,
along
with
major
nanotechnology
infrastructure
investment
(represented
by
the
Center
for
Integrated
Nanotechnology),
a
robust
supercomputing
initiative
(Red
Storm,
the
latest
in
a
long
line
of
blazingly
fast
Sandia
supercomputers,
will
come
on
line
this
year),
and
a
rapidly
expanding
capability
in
the
biosciences,
combined
with
Sandia’s
traditional
competencies
across
a
wide
spectrum
of
science
and
engineering
fields,
provide
compelling
evidence
that,
even
in
the
midst
of
political
storms
and
foreign
wars,
under
Paul’s
leadership,
the
work
came
first.
The work — and the people . . . Because Paul, for all his technocratic credentials, ultimately has been a man who leads from the front, who moves and inspires people to do their best and to live up to the Labs’ original challenge: to provide exceptional service in the national interest. -- Bill Murphy
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