Keeping with COVID-19 protocols, NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty elbow-bumps Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Dr. Bill Goldstein during her visit to the Lab.
Keeping with COVID-19 protocols, NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty elbow-bumps Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director Dr. Bill Goldstein during her visit to the Lab.

Gordon-Hagerty visits LLNL and Sandia/California

WASHINGTON – This week, Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, continued her tour of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. She met with members of the workforce at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus.

NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty thanks the team after receiving an outdoor briefing on what Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has accomplished during the NNSA era.
NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty thanks the team after receiving an outdoor briefing on what Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has accomplished during the NNSA era.

The trip coincides with the 20th anniversary of NNSA’s creation. By year’s end, the Administrator plans to have made her way across the Nation visiting the laboratories, plants, and sites that help the agency complete its missions.

During her tour the Administrator was able to observe the status of ongoing mission work and thank, in person and via livestream, the more than 7,000 employees at the two laboratories. The workforce has continued on despite the challenges posed by COVID-19.

“The people at LLNL and Sandia/California carry out crucial nonproliferation and defense missions,” Administrator Gordon-Hagerty said. “They’ve done their part and I wanted to thank them in person. It is because of their ongoing work that NNSA has not missed any major milestones or deliverables since the beginning of the pandemic response. The NNSA community has pulled together to help ensure the security of our Nation each and every day.”

NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty talks to first responders at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. During her visit, she helped break ground on a new Emergency Operations Center at the Lab.
NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty talks to first responders at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. During her visit, she helped break ground on a new Emergency Operations Center at the Lab.

The Administrator visited LLNL on Tuesday and Sandia/California on Wednesday.

At LLNL, the Administrator cut the ribbon to open the Lab’s Applied Materials and Engineering Campus, helped break ground on its new Emergency Operations Center, and celebrated a key electrical upgrade that was completed early and under budget. She was updated on LLNL’s response to the pandemic and its progress on weapons work, and given a look at the Lab’s work for NNSA over the past two decades.

At a virtual town hall meeting, she praised the men and women who have worked through the pandemic and wildfires.

“I am continually amazed at the adaptability and resilience I have seen from top-to-bottom in the Nuclear Security Enterprise over the past six months,” Administrator Gordon-Hagerty said. “Thank you for your work over these past challenging several months, thank you for your work over the past two decades, and thank you in advance for what I’m confident you will achieve over the next two decades.”

NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, joined by team members from NNSA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, cuts the ribbon on the Lab's new Applied Materials and Engineering Campus.
NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, joined by team members from NNSA and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, cuts the ribbon on the Lab's new Applied Materials and Engineering Campus.

The following day at Sandia, Gordon-Hagerty received briefings on the W80-4 warhead Life Extension Program and the site’s COVID-19 response. She also visited the new Sandia Programs Engineering and Assembly Research (SPEAR) test facility, which allows the assembly and electrical testing of modernization program components and systems.

Follow the Administrator on Twitter at @LGHNNSA to keep up with her travels.

NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, flanked by members of the Sandia National Laboratories' California campus and NNSA staff, visits the Sandia Programs Engineering and Assembly Research facility.
NNSA Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, flanked by members of the Sandia National Laboratories' California campus and NNSA staff, visits the Sandia Programs Engineering and Assembly Research facility.