Menu ☰

Back to Top

Physics History Network

Over 1000 biographies of physicists and histories of institutions with information pertaining to their lives, careers, and research.

Tip: Search within this page by using Ctrl + F or ⌘ + F


Search Our Catalogs

Archives Books

Collections

Emilio Segré Visual Archives Digital Collections Oral Histories Archival Finding Aids Physics History Network Member Society Portals Ethical Cataloging Statement

Preservation and Support

Donating Materials Suggest a Book Purchase Saving Archival Collections Grants to Archives Documentation Projects History Newsletters

Center for History of Physics

Scholarship & Outreach

Main Navigation

HomeAboutTopic GuidesFeedback

Table of Contents

Institutional History

AbstractLaboratory directorsImportant DatesPlacesSubjectsCitations

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as Subject

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Photo

Dates

1981 – present

Authorized Form of Name

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Additional Forms of Names

L.A.N.L.

LANL

Los Alamos National Laboratories

United States. Department of Energy. Los Alamos National Laboratory

United States. Los Alamos National Laboratory

University of California, Berkeley. Los Alamos National Laboratory

Institutional History

Abstract

In 1981, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was renamed Los Alamos National Laboratory. The Laboratory's basic mission is to maintain the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear deterrent without the need to return to underground testing. The laboratory also works on nuclear nonproliferation and border security, energy and infrastructure security, and countermeasures to nuclear and biological terrorist threats.

Laboratory directors

1981-85, Donald Kerr.

1985-97, Siegfried Hecker.

1997-03, John Browne.

2003-05, Peter Nanos.

2006-11, Michael Anastasio.

2011-present, Charles McMillan.

Important Dates

1981Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was renamed Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos (N.M.).

1981 – 1982Edward Knapp was on staff.

1981 – 1982Mitchell Feigenbaum was on staff.

1981 – 1982David Edwards was on staff.

1981 – 1985Donald Kerr was on staff.

1981 – 1985C. Paul Robinson was on staff.

1981 – 1985Wick Haxton was on staff.

1981 – 1985John Wheatley was on staff.

1981 – 1992David Campbell was on staff.

1981 – 1994R. G. Hamish Robertson was on staff.

1981 – 1994Zachary Fisk was on staff.

1981 – 2002J. David Bowman was on staff.

1981 – 2003John Browne was on staff.

1981 – 2005Siegfried Hecker was on staff.

1981 – presentJoel Moss has been on staff.

1981 – presentGeorge Zweig has been on staff.

1982 – 1992Albert Clogston was on staff.

1992 – presentHans Frauenfelder has been on staff.

2002 – 2005G. Peter Nanos was on staff.

2006 – 2011Michael Anastasio was on staff.

Places

Headquarters

Los Alamos (N.M.)

Subjects

Applied physics and engineering.

Chemistry.

Materials science.

National security.

Nuclear nonproliferation.

Nuclear physics.

Physical laboratories.

Superconductivity.

Citations

Historical information from Los Alamos National Laboratory -- Our History website (http://www.lanl.gov/about/history-innovation/index.php).

Relationships

People

Employees & Officers

Anastasio, Michael R.

Director.

Anderson, Herbert Lawrence

Senior Fellow.

Birgeneau, Robert J. (Robert Joseph), 1942-

Member, External Advisory Committee, Physics Division.

Boehm, Felix

Member, Users Association.

Bowman, J. D. (J. David)

Staff Member, Nuclear Physics, Meson Physics Facility and Staff Member, Physics Division.

Browne, John C.

Group Leader, Nuclear Physics; Division Leader, Physics; Associate Director, Experimental Physics; Defense Researcher; Computer Science Researcher; Program Director, Energy Research; and Director.

Campbell, David K.

Ulam Fellow; Staff Member, Theoretical Division; and Director, Center for Nonlinear Studies.

Clogston, Albert McCavour

Member, Center for Materials Science.

Dashen, Roger F.

Consultant.

Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-

Consultant.

Edwards, David F. (David Franklin)

Physicist.

Feigenbaum, Mitchell, 1944-2019

Staff member, Theoretical Physics, and Fellow.

Fisk, Zachary

Fellow.

Frauenfelder, Hans, 1922-

Staff Member, Director, Center for Nonlinear Studies, Senior Fellow, Theory Division.

Frieman, E. A.

Consultant.

Garwin, Richard L.

Consultant.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Laboratory Fellow.

Griem, Hans R.

Consultant.

Haxton, Wick C.

Postdoctoral Staff Member, J. R. Oppenheimer Fellow and Staff Member.

Hecker, Siegfried S.

Associate Division Leader; Deputy Division Leader; Acting Chair, Center for Materials Science; Division Leader, Center for Materials Science; Chair, Center for Materials Science; Director; and Senior Fellow.

Jackiw, Roman W.

Consultant.

Kerr, Donald M.

Director.

Keyworth, George A., II, 1939-

Leader, Laser Fusion Division.

Knapp, Edward A.

Leader, Accelerator Technology Division and Senior Fellow.

Kraichnan, Robert H., 1928-2008

Consultant.

Kuckuck, Robert W.

Director.

Maple, M. Brian, 1939-

Bernd T. Matthias Scholar, Center for Materials Science.

McMillan, Charles F.

Director.

Moss, Joel M.

Researcher, Physics Division; Leader, Nuclear Physics Group; Leader, Medium Energy Physics Group; Deputy Division Leader, Medium Energy Physics Group; and Program Director, Nuclear and Particle Physics.

Nanos, G. Peter

Principal Deputy Associate Director, Threat Reduction Directorate, and Director.

Pines, David, 1924-2018

Member and Chair, Advisory Committee, Theoretical (T) Division; Staff Member; B. T. Matthias Visiting Scholar; S. Ulam Visiting Scholar.

Robertson, R. G. Hamish, 1943-

Staff Member; Fellow; and Scientific Director, Sudbury Neutrino Observatory.

Robinson, C. Paul

Associate Director, National Security Programs.

Schramm, David N.

Consultant.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Member, Advisory Committee, Meson Physics Facility.

Spruch, Larry

Consultant.

Weitz, David A.

Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Center for Non-Linear Science.

Wheatley, John Charles

Researcher and UCLA-Los Alamo Joint Fellow.

Zweig, George

Staff Member and Fellow.

Associates & Members

Burman, Robert L., 1933-

Chu, Ching-wu, 1941-

Visiting Staff Member.

Conner, Jerry

Hoddeson, Lillian

Kidder, R. E. (Ray E.)

Lax, Melvin J.

Consultant.

Lee, Wen Ho

Matthias, Bernd T., 1918-1980

Los Alamos Fellow.

Sanders, Gary H. (Gary Hilton)

Scalapino, Douglas J.

Condensed Matter Fellow.

Schrieffer, J. R. (John Robert), 1931-

Fellow.

Sharp, D. H. (David Howland), 1938-

Stickley, Carlisle Martin, 1933-

Tombrello, Thomas A.

Underhill, Robert M. (Robert McKenzie)

Institutions

Institutional Hierarchy

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Name changed in 1981.

Collaborators

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Lab was originally run by the University and was led during the Manhattan Project by University professor J. Robert Oppenheimer. The University ended its direct involvement in 2006.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Both participated in the Manhattan Project.

Associates

University of California, Los Angeles. Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

A brief history of the Condensed Matter and Thermal Physics Group at Los Alamos, 2007.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Director's personnel files.

Archives.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Group CRM-1, Mail Stop C-322, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

Los Alamos Science special issue on Stanislaw Ulam,1987.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Los Alamos, the beginning of an era, 1943-1945, 1984.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Nerve Center of a National Laboratory: A History of the Los Alamos Administration Building (1956-2006), 2010.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews.

Archives.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Group CRM-1, Mail Stop C-322, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

Photographic collection.

Archives.

Los Alamos National Laboratory

Group CRM-1, Mail Stop C-322, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA

Special colloquium [sound recording] : Arms Control Panel / 1983 April 13.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Thirty-five years of drift-tube linac experience, Los Alamos National Laboratory, LA-10138-MS, 1984.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

A brief history of the Condensed Matter and Thermal Physics Group at Los Alamos, 2007.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

DPW Reports, 1950-1987.

Manuscripts and Archives Department

Hagley Museum and Library

298 Buck Road East, Greenville, DE 19807, USA

E. A. Frieman papers, 1959-2000.

Mandeville Special Collections Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA

Half lives [videorecording] / Nuclear Waste Documentary Project; Carolyn Jourdan, producer and director, 1995.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Mary F. Singleton papers, 1958-2005.

parks Library. Archives of Women in Science and Engineering

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011-2140, USA

Oral history collection, circa 1958-1984.

Cushing Memorial Library and Archives.

Texas A&M University.

College Station, TX 77843-5000, USA

Oral history interview with Carlisle Martin Stickley, 1984 September 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with D. H. Sharp, 1993 July 23.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Gary H. Sanders, 1998 October 16.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral History interview with Jerry Conner, 1984 April 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Ray E. Kidder, 2008 April 29.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Thomas Tombrello, 2010 December 26-31.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interviews. High-Energy Physics. Selected Experiments: BNL-E-791: Study of Very Rare K-Long Decays, 1990-1991.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interviews. Space Science: International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE), 1992-1994.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Pais Prize session: the national laboratories after 1980 [sound recording], 2012 April 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Robert L. Burman response to 1988 Nuclear Physics Survey.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Robert M. Underhill papers.

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA

University of California, Los Angeles Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Administrative files, 1959-1990.

University Research Library. Department of Special Collections

University of California, Los Angeles

Los Angeles, CA 90024-1575, USA

Published Resources

Author

Beam Instrumentation Workshop : Santa Fe, NM, October 1993 / editor, Robert E. Shafer.

Los Alamos science / Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory.

Non-neutral plasma physics V : Workshop on Non-Neutral Plasmas : Santa Fe, New Mexico, 7-11 July 2003 / editors, Martin Schauer, Travis Mitchell, Richard Nebel.

Plutonium futures-- the science : Topical Conference on Plutonium and Actinides, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 10-13 July 2000 / editors, K.K.S. Pillay, K.C. Kim ; [sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory in cooperation with the American Nuclear Society].

Production and neutralization of negative ions and beams : 10th International Symposium on Production and Neutralization of Negative Ions and Beams : Kiev, Ukraine, 14-17 September 2004 / editors, Joseph D. Sherman, Yuri I. Belchenko. ; sponsoring organizations, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA.

Project Y, the Los Alamos story.

Tests of time reversal invariance in neutron physics : April 17-19 1987, Chapel Hill, NC / edited by N.R. Roberson, C.R. Gould, J.D. Bowman.

The Laboratory's 50th anniversary : [1943-1993] / Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The Monte Carlo method in the physical sciences : celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Metropolis Algorithm : Los Alamos, New Mexico, 9-11 June 2003 / editor, James E. Gubernatis.

Subject

A convenient spy : Wen Ho Lee and the politics of nuclear espionage / Dan Stober and Ian Hoffman.

My country versus me : the first-hand account by the Los Alamos scientist who was falsely accused of being a spy / by Wen Ho Lee, with Helen Zia.