Los Alamos National Laboratory played a key role in protecting our nation during the Cold War, and it had a hand in ending it. "As director of the laboratory during these turbulent times, I had a ringside seat - one close enough to participate," Hecker says.
Hecker will discuss how nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship is designed to keep the peace in the years following the Cold War.
He will also discuss how the increased danger of a proliferation of nuclear weapons caused by the breakup of the Soviet Union and how the environmental nuclear legacy of the Cold War must be addressed to resolve issues that will otherwise hinder the recognition of nuclear power's potential.
Hecker was director of Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1986-1997 and was named Laboratory Director of the Year in 1998 by the Federal Laboratory Consortium. He is currently a senior fellow of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, fellow of the Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials Society (TMS) and fellow of the American Society for Metals.
Hecker earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees in metallurgy from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.
Members of the public wishing to attend the June 25 lecture should call ORNL's Communications and Public Affairs office at 574-4165.
ORNL, one of DOE's multiprogram national research and development facilities, is managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation.