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Wednesday, August 22, 2018

A&M on board

Looks like Texas A&M will take a post on Triad board, and no other role in LANL


The move reflects Banks’ ascent to Triad’s governing board, an A&M spokesperson wrote in an email Monday. Banks was formerly vice chancellor for engineering and remains dean of the system’s College of Engineering.

Texas A&M University is the only senior Triad partner without a representative among the senior laboratory staff the consortium has identified on its website.

Meanwhile, the number and identities of the remaining Triad board members have not be revealed publicly. Triad plans to disclose the members’ names and affiliations “after our initial Board meeting which is planned for the end of the month,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email Tuesday.

The Triad spokesperson did not immediately know the day for which this meeting is scheduled.

Triad’s senior partners are: Battelle Memorial Institute, longtime Los Alamos manager the University of California, and Texas A&M University. The company is set to take over management of the main U.S. nuclear-weapons laboratory on Nov. 1 under a National Nuclear Security Administration contract potentially worth more than $20 billion over a decade, with options. The contract’s base is worth about $10 billion over five years. The deal allows for up to $50 million in annual fees.


https://www.exchangemonitor.com/ams-banks-gets-new-title-new-lanl-responsibilities/

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Looks like Texas A&M will take a post on Triad board, and no other role in LANL"

"Texas A&M University is the only senior Triad partner without a representative among the senior laboratory staff the consortium has identified on its website."

But, according to one troll, it's an equal partnership because the name is Triad.

Looks like NNSA was sold a pig in a poke, and the troll has earned some more frequent-liar perks from UC.

Anonymous said...

By now it is clear to all that Texas A&M is mere window dressing on Triad. This dean of engineering gets all expense paid trips to quarterly board meetings and she also likely will add several full time staff in her office to accommodate the added workload. The good folks that are paying those added salaries might want to consider what they are getting in return.

Anonymous said...



I think it is possible that you misunderstood Texas AM role. It is more likely relate to eduction and graduate student training. In any case the anti-UC troll seems to think that Battelle is in charge, however if you follow the logic than if Texas AM has little role than UC must have a much larger that 1/3 role.

Another issue is that I have no problem with Battelle they have done great job at other labs and will do a great job at LANL, I am merely pointing at the UC is going to play a major role at LANL in the future and that NNSA obviously liked lots of things that UC did, perhaps they really liked how the handled certain disgruntled ex-employees. If one had read the blog over the many years you will see that the majority of people seem to think that Bechtel was the problem not UC, in fact they seem to think UC was marginalized in LANS. I am not saying it is true but this was the majority opinion and there are reasons to believe it is true. Your issues with UC and LANL appear to be personal. In any even the future of LANL looks bright and we can all be happy for that. The next step is to liberate LLNL.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, right. Bechtel was the problem during the Nanos years too, even before Bechtel had anything to do with LANL. When UC was 100% in charge during the worst years at LANL ever, it must have been Bechtel's fault.

When UC had 84% of the LANL upper management under LANS, Bechtel, with ~10% of the management, was in control. Gotcha. When UC held a controlling fraction of the LANS board votes, UC was "marginalized". Right.

Having gone from 84% of the LANL management scope under LANS to something between 33% and 50% under Triad is, by any competent person's reckoning, a huge demotion for UC. UC having lost all Lab Operations scope to Battelle is a huge demotion. Having lost the Lab Director's position to Battelle is a huge demotion for UC. Having lost the leadership position of the board of directors to Battelle is a huge demotion for UC.

Anonymous said...

All this garbage about who is in charge is just crapola. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about that, it will be as it will be, and no one who bloviates on this blog will have any effect on anything. Workers will have their managers, and those managers will report to other managers, and day-to-day, work will get done and people will either be happy in their jobs, or not. If not, hopefully they will do the right thing and seek employment elsewhere, rather than poison the well for those who want to have a good career. But probably not. Whining and outrage is now the national pastime. We get the society we deserve.

Anonymous said...

There are leaders and there are followers. Some prefer to bury their heads in the sand and that's ok. 6:31 PM is obviously one of those blissfully ignorant crank-turners. However, others need to know what's going on to be able to self-direct and/or provide direction to the aimless.

Anonymous said...

August 25, 2018 at 10:26 AM

No problem with "knowing whats going on," that's good for everyone. One of the things that's "going on" is your job description. You either accept it and do it, or you leave and find your career happiness elsewhere. You don't whine and complain and bitch about it. That is, if you have any self-respect.

Anonymous said...

I have always written my own job goals and description. Every single word. At LANL, only the very lowest level personnel get their job descriptions handed to them by their managers.

Anonymous said...

"Yeah, right. Bechtel was the problem during the Nanos years too, even before Bechtel had anything to do with LANL. When UC was 100% in charge during the worst years at LANL ever, it must have been Bechtel's fault. "

We have gone over this before, Nanos was forced on LANL, UC never wanted anything whatsoever to do with this. In fact just ask anyone at UC around from that time. Before Nanos UC picked scientist for the lab, why would the suddenly just chose a complete non-sciencetists for LANL? They never wanted him, hated him and could not wait to get rid of him. DOE got a lot of egg on their face for that. Sure the one year with Nanos was one of the worse but the 12 under LANS have been very close and several of the years such as the VSP are usually pointed to as the worse.

"When UC had 84% of the LANL upper management under LANS, Bechtel, with ~10% of the management, was in control. Gotcha. When UC held a controlling fraction of the LANS board votes, UC was "marginalized". Right. "

False these people worked for LANS not UC, they got the bonuses and knew exactly who the boss was. Under you logic
LANL would have change just 15% under LANS but everyone aggress LANL radically changed under LANS more than 50%. Gotcha. Also ask you self this, if UC had 84% of the LANL than they would have kept 84% of the profit, but they kept none of it as the money they did get was just reinvented in the lab. Bechtel kept the profit and leveraged much more, it was in their interest to be in control of LANS and you better believe they where.

LANS was in controll not UC, now UC will have direct control which in many ways means UC will have a bigger role in
running LANL. Under your logic if UC was so bad it would have been thrown out but it was not which shows that DOE has
a lot of faith in UC. This also goes along with what people in DOE will say privately. You do not know a single person at DOE do you. If you did you will have heard all these things already.

Anonymous said...

But probably not. Whining and outrage is now the national pastime. We get the society we deserve.

August 24, 2018 at 6:31 PM

Yep pretty horrible, we are close to all time lowest unemployment for all groups in America, we are close to the lowest crime
rates in US history, and not in a war. Maybe we do get the society we deserve.

Anonymous said...

You don't whine and complain and bitch about it. That is, if you have any self-respect.

August 26, 2018 at 5:33 PM

The United States founded on people that whine and bitch. History has not been very kind to those that don't complain, bitch, standup, fight to make changes. It takes self-respect to take a stand and say something.

Doing noting and getting mowed over and letting others get mowed over is the opposite of self respect. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

Doing noting and getting mowed over and letting others get mowed over is the opposite of self respect. Just saying.

August 26, 2018 at 10:17 PM

Doing "noting" to proofread your own post is the opposite of self-respect. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

...and not in a war. ...
August 26, 2018 at 10:11 PM

Oh, really? I am going to love reading your retort explaining how Afghanistan is not a war. Maybe you would care to explain it to all of the vets and their families and survivors.

Anonymous said...

Oh, really? I am going to love reading your retort explaining how Afghanistan is not a war. Maybe you would care to explain it to all of the vets and their families and survivors.

August 28, 2018 at 4:10 PM

Yes Afghanistan was a war, it was Bushes war and Obama's war. The current US activities there are now minimal so it is safe to say we are no longer at war with Afghanistan now, nor are we at war with Iraq. We have not stated a new war with Syria. You would figure after 15 years of war that that last two relatively peaceful years for the US is rather nice. But I guess your right American has been a disaster during the past two years.

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