Sandia Official to Serve as Director of National Ignition Facility
NS&D Monitor
9/19/2014
Sandia National Laboratories official Mark Hermann will take over as the new director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility Oct. 6, Principal Associate Director for NIF and Photon Science Jeff Wisoff said in a Sept. 16 memo obtained by NS&D Monitor. Hermann has served as the director of Sandia’s Pulsed Power Sciences Center, senior manager of the lab’s High Energy Density Science and Radiation and Fusion Physics Groups, and manager of the ICF Target Design Department. Hermann began his career at Livermore as a postdoc in 1998 before becoming a staff physicist in the AX division. He is replacing Jeff Atherton, who had been serving as the NIF director as well as the principal deputy for NIF and Photon Science.
Hermann will oversee the operations of the facility, the facility use plan and develop a strategic plan for NIF’s long-term future. “Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position and has played a recognized leadership role in national efforts to help shape the future of HED science,” Wisoff said in the memo. “He has worked closely with all three laboratories, as well as our NNSA stakeholders.”
Krishnan Named as LLNL Head of Engineering
The lab also announced last week that Anantha Krishnan was taking over as its new associate director for Engineering, replacing Monya Lane, who announced her intent to retire last year. Krishnan joined the lab in 2005, serving as the deputy associate director in the Engineering Directorate and as the program director for Bio-Security. He most recently headed up the Office of Mission Innovation. “Anantha is exceptionally well-qualified for this role and I am confident that he will be an outstanding advocate for the engineering discipline, sustain excellence in our engineering staff, ensure excellence in managing our critical facilities and lead the development of the next generation of our mission-enabling technologies,” LLNL Director Bill Goldstein said.
