NS&D Monitor
1/29/2016
IN THE INDUSTRY
Chris Gentile, president of the Honeywell subsidiary that manages and operates the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Security Campus at Kansas City, Mo., will retire on March 18, the site announced this week. As part of his 26-year career at the company, Gentile served as head of Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies and “led the business through one of the largest U.S. industrial moves ahead of schedule and under budget and a successful contract bid, securing Honeywell’s 65-year contract with the [DOE],” the site said. From 2013 to 2014, Honeywell helped move operations to a smaller National Security Campus facility in Kansas City. The announcement added that under Gentile’s leadership, the company achieved the National Nuclear Security Administration’s highest performance evaluation scores. The company is searching for its next president and expects to name a successor soon, according to the announcement.
Morgan Smith will take over next week as president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, but the contractor – which manages both the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants under a combined contract – has yet to announce Smith’s replacement as chief operating officer. CNS spokesman Jason Bohne said he expected Smith to announce “soon” his choice for COO, but gave no specific timetable for the executive appointment. Smith will replace Jim Haynes at the helm of CNS, with Haynes returning to Bechtel Corp. as head of the human resources team.
IN THE NNSA
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has awarded $25 million to a consortium of eight universities led by the University of California, Berkeley, for nuclear science and security research and development. The consortium will receive $5 million per year for five years to integrate basic academic and applied national laboratory research, provide basic research in support of the NNSA’s nonproliferation mission, and prepare nonproliferation experts for national lab careers, the NNSA said this week.
Research and development will focus on nuclear and particle physics, radiochemistry and forensics, nuclear engineering, and nuclear instrumentation and radiation detection. NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Anne Harrington said, “I am confident that more basic research efforts in academia will complement the applied efforts of the national laboratories and industry in supporting the critically important national security goals of our country.”
The consortium also includes Michigan State University; the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Irvine; the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; George Washington University; Texas A&M University; and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge, and Sandia National Laboratories are partners to the members of the consortium.
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is seeking small business sources that could provide a weapon-mounted ballistic sighting module, according to a solicitation posted this week. The NNSA is considering acquiring and fielding the 40-mm day/night sight aiming technology and intends to award a firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a five-year ordering period, worth up to approximately $735,000, the solicitation said. The device must be compatible with an M203 grenade launcher attached to an M4 rifle, must work with standard military 40-millimeter grenades, and must weigh no more than 10 ounces, according to the solicitation. Other requirements include night vision compatibility, shock absorption capability, and a 100- to 350-meter aiming accuracy. Businesses interested in the solicitation should respond at www.fedconnect.net by Feb. 8.
The NNSA’s protective forces are equipped with armored vehicles, heavy-caliber weapons, and armor-penetrating ammunition. According to the NNSA, the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee also uses the M203 grenade launcher as part of its defense posture.
