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The director of Los Alamos National Laboratory announced last week that he is stepping down after two years filled with controversy and troubling news from one of the nation's leading weapons research facilities.

Pete Nanos took the helm of Los Alamos in January 2003. Since then the laboratory has suffered through security lapses and revelations of procurement abuse by employees. In 2004, Nanos shut down Los Alamos operations for months while officials conducted a security review.

Late last year, the National Nuclear Security Administration initiated an open competition for contractors interested in operating the laboratory, ending a run of more than 60 years by the University of California as the uncontested operator of the elite facility.

Nanos is moving to a post with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

He will be replaced by Robert Kuckuck, who has experience at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory - also run by the University of California - and at the NNSA in Washington. Kuckuck is scheduled to begin his work May 16 and serve as the interim director at least until the current UC contract to run the lab expires later this year.

"Dr. Pete Nanos has led Los Alamos National Lab during a challenging time," said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. "He instituted a number of sound business practices that have helped Los Alamos remain one of the premier labs in the world ... I wish him the best of luck in his new responsibilities at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency."

Others, however, were critical of Nanos. A blog devoted to leadership issues at the lab, "LANL: The Real Story," was filled with comments cheering his departure.

On Sunday, the Albuquerque Journal North edition published an editorial that said Nanos' departure is good for Los Alamos.

"Making everybody mad may be good journalism, but it isn't often good management," the editorial said. "Nanos' departure ... may augur well for the future of the lab."

There was also skepticism about Kuckuck. Pete Stockton, a Los Alamos observer at the Project on Government Oversight, said Kuckuck "is one of the good ol' boys."

"He comes from Lawrence Livermore ...they have insurmountable security problems," Stockton said. "A breath of fresh air he is not."

Several others, including the Albuquerque Journal, expressed optimism that the new director could usher in an era of cooperation between scientists and management. Bodman said Kuckuck "brings an enormous wealth of experience to this task."

COMMENTS

• Having worked for a Contractor within the DOE complex for 7 years I can speak with some knowledge of what Dr. Nanos was up against. There is a "good old boy/revolving door" relationship between the DOE and the various DOE Contractors that make the DOD revolving door issues pale in comparison. If the GAO ever did a thorough audit of the DOE, and took a look at where their GS 15's and SES's end up after retirement they would find that the vast majority work for a Contractor they had a professional relationship with while they were employed by the DOE. They would also find that few if any worked until retirement age, 55 with 30 years of service. It's strange how SES's and GS-15's get offered early retirements that just happen to coincide with Contractor hiring requirements. To my knowledge this doesn't happen anyplace else in Government to the extent it happens within the DOE This has driven a culture where a guy like Dr. Nanos with all the good intentions in the world will not succeed because the people around him are all looking toward the future, their future. Dr Nanos didn't have a chance from the start, the DOE system is way too big for one man to fix and there is way too much money involved for the Contractors or the DOE to change much, everybody wants their part of the pie. Integrity and Ethics, the things he built his Navy career on are little known attributes in the DOE Complex. And no, I'm not a disgruntled former employee, just a guy with high ethical standards that made a terrible career choice and calls them as I see them. Mike Page Posted May 11, 2005 3:12 PM
• Pete Nanos brought accountability to the hill. He is a product of the Nuclear Navy - that is, he is technically competent and has a no excuses chain-of-command accountability style vs the Los Alamos "culture" of running the place like a college campus. He was exactly what those Coneheads needed, someone that would give them a SWIFT KICK IN THE BUTT instead of covering up for them. GovExec.com reader Posted May 10, 2005 1:48 PM
• Nanos is moving to a post with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Great job for a guy that could not even protect his lab. Now I really feel safe. taxpayer Posted May 10, 2005 7:25 AM