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United States: Los Alamos Chief Loses Job; Monday Is Last Day Amid ongoing allegations of theft and corruption, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director John Browne will resign Monday. He said in a statement that “only a change in leadership will restore the confidence that is needed for (Los Alamos) to carry out its difficult and important mission,” the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 22, 2002). Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham praised Browne’s decision, but suggested the Energy Department might demand even more change in the institution operated by the University of California. In a letter to university President Richard Atkinson, Abraham said he questioned the university’s ability to run the laboratory and said there may be a “systematic management failure at Los Alamos.” Los Alamos has been shaken by allegations of equipment theft and credit card abuse. Two law enforcement professionals who were brought in to investigate were fired in November and have publicly announced that their dismissal was an attempt to cover up their findings. Joseph Salgado, the laboratory’s principal deputy director, will also step down on Monday and leave Los Alamos, the Times reported. Browne will stay on as a senior researcher. Atkinson announced the resignations yesterday and also announced establishment of an oversight committee and new requirements that direct many Los Alamos employees to report directly to university leadership (Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 3). George Nanos, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral, will step in as the interim director. “The controversy was so strong and so critical of management that I personally thought the best thing for me to do was resign and to have the university come in and take it to the next level of performance,” Browne said (Leslie Hoffman, Associated Press/Boston Globe, Jan. 3). Abraham has said he will “fully evaluate the university’s capacity to operate” Los Alamos and a review is due April 30. In his letter to Atkinson, Abraham said the problems at the laboratory “have called into question the University of California’s ability to run the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This, I know you will agree, is an untenable situation given the critical role that the Los Alamos National Laboratory serves in protecting our nation’s security and must be remedied to ensure we return Los Alamos to its pre-eminent position in science and national security” (Edward Walsh, Washington Post, Jan. 3).
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