Paul Hommert named vice president of Sandia’s California division

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Sandia National Laboratories Director Tom Hunter announced that Paul Hommert will rejoin the lab Aug. 25 as vice president for Sandia/California and leader of the lab’s Homeland Security and Defense Strategic Management Unit. Hommert will take over for retiring Sandia/California Vice President Mim John.

“Paul brings a wealth of experience from his time at Sandia and especially from his time at the Atomic Weapons Establishment and Los Alamos,” said Hunter. “He is acknowledged across the NNSA community as one whose leadership provides competence, commitment, and integrity to any position. We welcome him as a member of Sandia’s executive team and are pleased to have him in this important role in California.”

Sandia is a National Nuclear Security Administration laboratory.

Hommert has served as leader of the Applied Physics (X) Division at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) since November 2003. There, Hommert oversees the work of some 350 scientists, engineers, and support personnel responsible for nuclear weapon design and assessment, weapon performance code development, and supporting weapon science. In addition, Hommert is the program director for X program, which involves oversight for the investment of some $200 million for physics program deliverables across LANL.

Hommert initially joined Sandia in 1976 and held progressively responsible positions for the lab and for Lockheed Martin Corporation. As a Sandia director, Hommert led the lab’s Engineering Sciences organization before moving to the United Kingdom from January 2000 to March 2003 to serve as director of research and applied science for the Lockheed Martin team operating the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE). He then returned to Sandia for a brief period before joining LANL in late 2003.

During his previous tenure at Sandia, Hommert was director of the Systems Analysis Center in the Defense Systems and Assessments organization at Sandia. In this capacity, he was responsible for strategic planning and business development for Sandia’s non-nuclear work in support of the Department of Defense.

As director of research and applied science at the AWE, Hommert led the nuclear weapon stewardship effort in the United Kingdom. His organization had responsibility for nuclear weapon design, large scale experimental operations in hydrodynamics, high energy density physics, and material and engineering science in support of the weapons program. His 800-person organization also included computational science and the procurement and operation of computational capabilities for the UK’s nuclear weapons program.

From April 1995 until December 1999, Hommert was director of Engineering Sciences at Sandia, leading engineering research efforts at Sandia and the organization that provided engineering analysis for the full range of Sandia’s programs. In that role, he was also responsible for establishing Sandia’s program in engineering simulation development as part of the NNSA strategic computing initiative.

Earlier in his Sandia career, he was involved in a wide range of programs supporting energy research, including research in geophysics, oil shale, underground coal gasification, geothermal energy, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He is the author of numerous technical papers in the area of fossil energy recovery and radiation transport.

Hommert earned a B.S.M.E. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and an M.S.M.E. and Ph.D. from Purdue University. In 2003, he received an outstanding alumnus award for professional excellence from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue.