Texas A&M System, Los Alamos National Laboratory Form National Security Center
The Joint Center for Resilient National Security Established to Counter Rapidly Evolving Threats
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents created a new center Thursday, through which the Texas A&M University System and Los Alamos National Laboratory collaboratively will address pressing national security issues.
The Joint Center for Resilient National Security will develop capabilities that can be applied to challenges such as maintaining national security in the face of rapidly evolving threats. It will leverage the latest academic research – including on topics such as high-performance computing and the behavior of systems under extreme conditions – to bolster capabilities of the national security laboratories.
Researchers from laboratories and universities also will address complex national security problems, including how to maintain nuclear deterrence without nuclear-explosive testing.
Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M System said that universities bring the ability to produce graduates who will be well versed in areas vital to national labs.
“The A&M System is here to serve the nation through the new center,” said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M System. “Applying our expertise to solving national security challenges is part of our DNA, and this joint center is a natural extension of our work.”
Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Thom Mason noted that national security relies on timely responses to changes in the world. The resilience and responsiveness of the U.S. National Security Enterprise is dependent on scientists in the national security national laboratories working with key faculty from U.S. universities, like those at Texas A&M System campuses.
“Since the genesis of LANL, engagement with faculty across the nation has been a crucial component to our national security mission,” Mason said. “The lab is looking forward to working with the Texas A&M System through the new center to ensure the continuation of purposeful mission-driven engagement between the labs and universities.”
The center will have co-directors at the Texas A&M System and the New Mexico-based national lab. The role will be filled for the Texas A&M System by Jim Morel, professor of nuclear engineering. The acting co-director from Los Alamos National Laboratory will be John Scott.
Professor Morel joined the faculty of Texas A&M University in summer 2005. For the previous two decades he served at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a technical staff member and group leader. He is one of the world’s leading experts on computational methods, especially for particle transport problems.
John Scott is the National Security and International Studies office director at Los Alamos National Laboratory. During his 20-year tenure at Los Alamos National Laboratory, he has had various leadership roles in nuclear weapons programs including group leader for Integrated Design and Assessment and deputy division leader for Theoretical Design.
The Texas A&M System, the University of California and Battelle Memorial Institute began the management of Los Alamos National Laboratory in November 2018 as members of Triad National Security, LLC.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation with a budget of $6.3 billion. The System is a statewide network of 11 universities; a comprehensive health science center; eight state agencies, including the Texas Division of Emergency Management; and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M System educates more than 151,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $1 billion in FY 2019 and helped drive the state’s economy.
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