Sandia Labs undergoes management changes

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Sandia Corporation Board of Directors has named Dr. Thomas O. Hunter President of Sandia Corporation and Director of Sandia National Laboratories, effective April 29. Hunter most recently has served as Sandia’s senior vice president for Defense Programs, with oversight of the labs nuclear weapons programs.

Hunter will replace Dr. C. Paul Robinson, who has served as President and Labs Director since August 1995. Robinson will leave Sandia April 29 to assist Lockheed Martin Corporation, which currently manages Sandia, in preparing its bid to the Department of Energy for the management and operating contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Dr. Joan Woodard will replace Tom Hunter as head of Sandia’s Nuclear Weapons Program. She will also remain as Sandia’s Executive Vice President and Deputy Director during the transition.

“We are thrilled Tom Hunter has agreed to accept the position of director of Sandia National Laboratories,” said Michael F. Camardo, Sandia Corporation Board Chairman and executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Information and Technology Services. “Tom is a man of great intelligence and extremely high integrity. He has a deep and thorough understanding of the national security needs of the nation, the complex missions of the laboratory, and he cares about the people who work at Sandia.”

Camardo praised Paul Robinson for demonstrating great vision during his 10-year tenure as Sandia’s director. “Paul kept Sandia on a steady course toward excellence, ethical behavior and a better quality of life for its employees and the local community. Sandia consistently received high ratings from our customer, the Department of Energy. This record reflects well upon Paul and the leadership team he put together to manage Sandia,” he said.

Hunter, who earned a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin, has held a variety of positions since coming to Sandia in 1967. In his most recent post, he led the laboratories’ Defense Programs, which encompasses about 60 percent of Sandia’s $2.2 billion annual budget. From October 1995 to March 1999, he served as vice president of Sandia’s California site and leader of Sandia’s nonproliferation programs.

Hunter said the core mission of Sandia, a Department of Energy laboratory, will continue to focus on maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. As a premier national security laboratory, it also will continue to develop technology solutions for the challenging problems that threaten peace and freedom at home and abroad.

Hunter said his vision for the laboratory is based on the principles that national security is Sandia’s first and primary business, that Sandia’s employees are its most important asset, and that Sandia will always be a good corporate citizen in that it values strong, positive relationships with its communities and partners.

“Sandia has a unique heritage and capabilities, working to maintain the nuclear weapons stockpile while improving the nation’s homeland defenses and anticipating future national security challenges,” he said. “I have great confidence that, with the continued support of our outstanding employees, Sandia will continue to be a laboratory that provides exceptional service in the national interest.”