Oppenheimer Documentary Screening & Dinner

Registration closed.

Join Leaders in National Security from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as the
National Laboratories Office of the Texas A&M University System

Presents

“J. Robert Oppenheimer: Science, Mission, Legacy”

a documentary produced by Los Alamos National Laboratory

SPACE IS LIMITED, REGISTER: http://u.tamu.edu/2023OppenheimerDoc

 

AGENDA

5:00 – 5:30 p.m.

Grab & Go Dinner

5:30 – 5:35 p.m.

Welcome by Dr. Sean McDeavitt, Associate Vice Chancellor for National Laboratories Office (NLO), The Texas A&M University System

5:35 – 5:45 p.m.

Documentary Introduction by Alan Carr, Senior Historian, Los Alamos National Laboratory & Brye Steeves, Director, National Security Research Center

5:45 – 6:30 p.m.

Screening of “Oppenheimer: Science, Mission, Legacy”

6:45 – 7:45 p.m.

Q&A with Los Alamos National Laboratory Executive Staff

BIOS

Brye Steeves, Director, National Security Research Center

Brye Ann Steeves is Director of the National Security Research Center (NSRC). The NSRC is the Lab’s classified library and serves researchers across the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) departments including the weapons program, and the National Nuclear Security Enterprise (NNSE). She is the curator of a few of history’s most-fascinating, one-of-a-kind relics dating back to World War II.

As the Director, Brye is responsible for strategic planning, program management, including internal and external partnerships—ensuring that the NSRC continues to grow as a core competency for Los Alamos as a singular asset to the nation.

Prior to assuming this position in January 2023, Brye served as the head of NSRC communications. Since its inception in the summer of 2019, Brye has led the NSRC’s team of writers, editors, graphic designers, web developers, and multi-media specialists in the execution of strategic communications to help build the NSRC as a customer service organization. This includes The Vault magazine, multiple history books, Relics podcast, internal and external websites, documentary films, tours, presentations, and events.

Brye came to LANL in 2019. Her professional experience is divided between public affairs and journalism, working on monetary policy and socioeconomic messaging for the Federal Reserve. Most recently, she’s helped to develop nuclear deterrence messaging for the Department of Defense. She worked as a reporter at three daily newspapers and as an editor for a publishing company in Seoul, South Korea. Brye has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in international relations with an emphasis in global conflict and energy security.

She and her husband Geoff have a daughter, a son, and a much-loved puppy. They love northern New Mexico and all its outdoor adventure as well as traveling the world together to make their own adventure.

Alan Carr, Senior Historian, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Alan B. Carr currently serves as a Program Manager and the Senior Historian for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).

During his tenure as a Laboratory historian, which began in 2003, Alan has produced several publications and lectures pertaining to the Manhattan Project, nuclear testing history, and the historical evolution of LANL.

He has lectured for numerous professional organizations and has been featured as a guest on many local, national, and international radio and television programs. Before coming to Los Alamos, Carr completed his graduate studies at Texas Tech University.

Jim Kunetka, Author of “The General and The Genius”

Historian James Kunetka is the author of three popular books on America’s early nuclear weapons development.

City of Fire: Los Alamos and the Atomic Age, 1943-1945 (1979), is the first mainstream history to focus on the individuals and dramatic scientific achievements at America’s fabled WWII secret weapons laboratory.

Oppenheimer: The Years of Risk (1982), is a re-examination of Robert Oppenheimer’s complex public life, from the creation of the Los Alamos Laboratory in 1943 through nine turbulent postwar years until 1954, when he was dismissed from public service as a risk to national security.

The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer – The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atomic Bomb (2015) chronicles the extraordinary wartime relationship between two multifaceted, talented men who built and delivered the world’s first nuclear weapon.

Kunetka is also the author of four novels: the New Times Bestseller, Warday, Nature’s End, Shadow Man, and Parting Shot, the last two set in Los Alamos.

The author lives in Austin, Texas and is retired from The University of Texas at Austin.

Charlie McMillan, PhD, Director Emeritus, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dr. Charles F. McMillan was the 10th Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and President of Los Alamos National Security, LLC from June 2011 to December 2017.
During his appointment, McMillan guided Los Alamos through continuing high levels of mission execution. He signed seven annual assessment reports to the President and Congress evaluating the Los Alamos-designed weapons in the stockpile. Under McMillan’s leadership, the Laboratory continued to innovate new techniques and tools to ensure that nation’s deterrent remained safe, reliable, and effective. In retirement, McMillan continues to serve the national security enterprise on various boards and review committees.

Prior to becoming Laboratory Director, McMillan served as the Principal Associate Director for Weapons Programs. He was responsible for the science, technology, engineering, and infrastructure enabling the Laboratory to fulfill its nuclear deterrent mission. McMillan directed research that supported the technical analysis necessary to ensure stockpile safety, security, and effectiveness. This included small-scale materials experiments through fully integrated hydrotests that provided essential modeling and simulation data necessary for validation in the absence of full-scale nuclear testing.

McMillan has more than 30 years of scientific and leadership experience in weapons science, stockpile certification, experimental physics, and computational science. He began his career as an experimental physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1983, where he held a variety of research and management positions for two decades.

He holds a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Washington Adventist University. He has earned two DOE Awards of Excellence for his work in developing an innovative holographic tool that enhanced the ability of scientists to predict nuclear performance. He is a frequent speaker on the vital role of national laboratories for the nation, and the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in cultivating the talent necessary to sustaining that role in the future.

He resides in Los Alamos, NM, with his wife Janet, with whom he reared three children.

Ellen Cerreta, PhD, Associate Laboratory Director, Physical Sciences, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Ellen Cerreta is the Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for Physical Sciences at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). She oversees an organization dedicated to delivering scientific and technical breakthroughs that enable Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions that solve national security challenges.

Previously, she was Division Leader for the lab’s Materials Science and Technology Division supporting research, development, and component manufacturing as well as the application of fundamental materials expertise to a range of national security needs. She has served as the deputy division leader for Explosive Science and Shock Physics (M) and the Associate Laboratory Director for Weapons Engineering (ALDW) High Explosive Safety Program Manager. In those roles she worked to support explosive science and shock physics research as well as high explosive fabrication, disposition, and execution of hydrodynamic experiments.

She received her Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia and her master’s and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. She has been at LANL since 2001 and her own research focuses on the relationship between microstructure and dynamic materials properties. Cerreta has led a number of projects in the investigation of dynamic materials performance and has provided insight toward advanced predictive capabilities for strength and damage in extreme environments. Additionally, Cerreta has been involved in the service of professional societies and within the academic community. She has served on The Minerals Metals and Materials Society (TMS) and ASM, International Board of Directors and Board of Trustees, respectively; 2021 President for TMS and was inducted into the 2016 ASM Fellows Class.

Please feel free to email Lee Towns at ltowns@tamus.edu with questions that you may have.