Saturday, June 24, 2006
New director aims to take LANL forward
By ANDY LENDERMAN | The New Mexican
June 24, 2006
LOS ALAMOS -- The director of Los Alamos National Laboratory says he's ready for a new era there, with enough money to pay the best scientists, a motivated workforce and a clear mission.
"The mission, in my vision of the lab, is really to be the national-security-science laboratory for the 21st century," director Mike Anastasio said in a recent interview.
Anastasio is also the president of Los Alamos National Security LLC, the private company that took over management of the lab on June 1 after bidding on a federal contract.
[...]
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[I don't usually do this, but there are only a few days lft before the blog shuts down so I am making an exception and posting an anonymous comment on the author's behalf. --Doug]
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Mr. Anastasio I read the New Mexican this am and instead of writing to you through the New Mexican I felt it best to use LANL: The Real Story web site that will apparently end soon because it was put together by a very good scientist that you did in fact lose from LANL among others. I am sincerely glad you are optimistic and have been meeting with small groups of people and though I commend you for this good start I ask that you don't stop there. Randomize to include other than management and remove aspects of management that make it difficult for the scientists to speak freely and you will get a more accurate view on the morale at LANL. It is important to acknowledge that the average PhD physicist, engineer, and other scientist report low morale throughout the lab when able to voice their opinion anonymously.
Your scientists report that low morale is multifactorial i.e. your $2.2 billion dollar budget is just about entirely for stewardship and production now with little budgeted for their research and I am sure if you will listen they will fill you in on all the other issues of importance when asked, but what is very disturbing to me as a physician in the community is that since the take over of LANL by Bechtel, management of the scientists is as "at will employees" meaning that they can be let go with no cause or procedure afforded other federal employees causing them extreme stress on the job. Mr. Anastasio without changing the “at will employee” status of your scientists and creating an avenue for their input into lab management you will have great difficultly in having your scientists/your greatest resource upon which the LANL runs tell you how they truly feel and what they think for fear of being let go. Unfortunately there is a much history to over come secondary to the retaliation, which occurred with frequency when Director Nanos ran LANL before you as in the case of Todd Kauppila who although he had hearings, the hearings did not protect him because management had no checks and balances and still has no checks and balances.
Mr. Anastasio I too am an optimist and I believe you can make the difference and become a great leader if you can create a win win situation. This will not be easy with the current business mindset of corporate America introduced by Bectel, which focuses on the "bottom line" with a "production management style" where the means to the end becomes blurred. Mr. Anastasio, make your mark in the history of LANL by creating an environment for the "best scientists" you say you have the money for. Utilize them and value them by allowing them to express their full potential through the stewardship and production needed while supporting their ongoing scientific research and input for management of LANL. Your support can be evidenced both by better funding of their research and a change in the management style that includes employee input that can effect change when necessary.
The best work environment is arrived at by continuous input from all levels. This can be accomplished by task forces put together from all levels of industry to identify problems, implement change and re-evaluate the change in a never ending cycle that continues to identify, implement and re-evaluate...this management style is backed up by extensive research done by the Center for Disease Control, Division of Occupational Health to lower job stress in the work place. Mr. Anastasio you cannot facilitate the mission of LANL or your vision for LANL being the “national-security-science laboratory for the 21st century" without input from your scientists at all levels of management in a work environment that yields their best effort.
___________________________
Mr. Anastasio I read the New Mexican this am and instead of writing to you through the New Mexican I felt it best to use LANL: The Real Story web site that will apparently end soon because it was put together by a very good scientist that you did in fact lose from LANL among others. I am sincerely glad you are optimistic and have been meeting with small groups of people and though I commend you for this good start I ask that you don't stop there. Randomize to include other than management and remove aspects of management that make it difficult for the scientists to speak freely and you will get a more accurate view on the morale at LANL. It is important to acknowledge that the average PhD physicist, engineer, and other scientist report low morale throughout the lab when able to voice their opinion anonymously.
Your scientists report that low morale is multifactorial i.e. your $2.2 billion dollar budget is just about entirely for stewardship and production now with little budgeted for their research and I am sure if you will listen they will fill you in on all the other issues of importance when asked, but what is very disturbing to me as a physician in the community is that since the take over of LANL by Bechtel, management of the scientists is as "at will employees" meaning that they can be let go with no cause or procedure afforded other federal employees causing them extreme stress on the job. Mr. Anastasio without changing the “at will employee” status of your scientists and creating an avenue for their input into lab management you will have great difficultly in having your scientists/your greatest resource upon which the LANL runs tell you how they truly feel and what they think for fear of being let go. Unfortunately there is a much history to over come secondary to the retaliation, which occurred with frequency when Director Nanos ran LANL before you as in the case of Todd Kauppila who although he had hearings, the hearings did not protect him because management had no checks and balances and still has no checks and balances.
Mr. Anastasio I too am an optimist and I believe you can make the difference and become a great leader if you can create a win win situation. This will not be easy with the current business mindset of corporate America introduced by Bectel, which focuses on the "bottom line" with a "production management style" where the means to the end becomes blurred. Mr. Anastasio, make your mark in the history of LANL by creating an environment for the "best scientists" you say you have the money for. Utilize them and value them by allowing them to express their full potential through the stewardship and production needed while supporting their ongoing scientific research and input for management of LANL. Your support can be evidenced both by better funding of their research and a change in the management style that includes employee input that can effect change when necessary.
The best work environment is arrived at by continuous input from all levels. This can be accomplished by task forces put together from all levels of industry to identify problems, implement change and re-evaluate the change in a never ending cycle that continues to identify, implement and re-evaluate...this management style is backed up by extensive research done by the Center for Disease Control, Division of Occupational Health to lower job stress in the work place. Mr. Anastasio you cannot facilitate the mission of LANL or your vision for LANL being the “national-security-science laboratory for the 21st century" without input from your scientists at all levels of management in a work environment that yields their best effort.
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