Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCS) area unique class of research and development (R and D) facilities that share aspects of private and public ownership. Some FFRDCS have been praised as national treasures, but FFRDCS have also been the focus of much criticism through the years. This paper traces the history of FFRDCS through four periods: (1) the World War II era, which saw the birth of federal R and D centers that would eventually become FFRDCS; (2) the early Cold War period, which exhibited a proliferation of FFRDCS despite their unclear legislative status and growing tension with an increasingly capable and assertive defense industry, (3) there-evaluation and retrenchment of FFRDCS in the 1960s and early 1970s, which resulted in a dramatic decline in the number of FFRDCS; and (4) the definition and codification of the FFRDC entity in the late 1970s and 1980s, when Congress and the executive branch worked together to formalize regulations to control FFRDCS. The paper concludes with observations on the status of FFRDCS at the end of the twentieth century.

Sandia recently completed an updated strategic plan, the essence of which is presented in chapter 4. Sandia`s Strategic Plan 1994 takes its direction from DOE`s Fueling a Competitive Economy: Strategic Plan and provides tangible guidance for Sandia`s programs and operations. Although it is impossible to foresee precisely what activities Sandia will pursue many years from now, the strategic plan makes one point clear: the application of our scientific and engineering skills to the stewardship of the nation`s nuclear deterrent will be central to our service to the nation. We will provide the necessary institutional memory and continuity, experience base, and technical expertise to ensure the continued safety, security, and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile. As a multiprogram laboratory, Sandia will also continue to focus maximum effort on a broad spectrum of other topics consistent with DOE`s enduring core mission responsibilities: Defense (related to nuclear weapons), Energy, Environment (related to waste management and environmental remediation), and Basic Science.

This report presents a five year plan for the laboratory. This plan takes advantage of the technical strengths of the lab and its staff to address issues of concern to the nation on a scope much broader than Sandia`s original mission, while maintaining the general integrity of the laboratory. The plan proposes initiatives in a number of technologies which overlap the needs of its customers and the strengths of its staff. They include: advanced manufacturing technology; electronics; information and computational technology; transportation energy technology and infrastructure; environmental technology; energy research and technology development; biomedical systems engineering; and post-cold war defense imperatives.

This review of ongoing research at Sandia National Laboratory in the areas of nuclear weapons development and testing, arms control. As a multiprogram laboratory, their core competencies make special contributions in other areas of national importance. Work on US DOE programs is presented on the following subjects: robots; computers: arms control; nuclear weapons reliability; fusion research; solar energy; semiconductor detectors; radioactive waste management; nuclear explosion detection; and others. The laboratories strategic plan and other management methods are outlined. (GHH)

In September 1990, the President's Office of Science and Technology released a document that bears on the future of our nation's technological vigor and economic performance. Entitled, US Technology Policy, it is a statement of a set of broad principles that will constitute the federal government's technology policy for the 1990s. One of the leading principles of this policy is the imperative for cooperation and teamwork among government, industry, and academia, including an active, partnership role for the national laboratories in the mainstream US technology community. Until now, the nation's technology policy has never been explicit, although a tacit technology policy of one sort or another has at all times been in effect. The federal government has consistently been willing to create and fund institutions and programs to promote important national technology goals. Historical examples of such sponsorship include atomic energy, agriculture, aeronautics and space, energy, and medicine. The recognition in US Technology Policy that government has an active role to play in fostering technology development is a particularly significant admission. The vision of a partnership between the federal government and the private sector, as the policy outlines, provides a foundation upon which the national laboratories of the Department of Energy (DOE) can build to play a stronger role in enhancing US economic competitiveness. 6 refs.