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Thursday, June 16, 2022
LANL challenges
LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Contractor Improving in Safety and Other Areas but Still Faces Challenges
Mello makes many bad points about LANL. He does make case that I think is legit that I have not seen LANL address.
He says " In that regard, one of the nation's highest nuclear safety authorities, currently serving in that capacity, said to me in 2019: "We all know what will happen if LANL does pit production. There will be an accident, and that will be that. We can only hope not too many people will be hurt."
Mello hasn’t got a clue and never has. TRIAD, while a vast improvement over Bechtel, is still a pretty lame organization focused primarily on the inflated salaries of their rather weak management class. We must do better as a country.
I agree Mello is clueless but it does not take a lot of deep thinking to expect that there will be some accident or event with Pit Production at LANL. This work is risky and it is hard got best and brightest to come to LANL anymore. The town is becoming increasingly unpleasant to live in, more expensive and the large fires have reduced the appealing nature aspect of the area. The school systems in New Mexico are getting worse. The pay maybe high for mediocre managers but for tech people that pay is not that much higher or the same as you can get in much better locations.
9:02 has a good point. Is the pay worth it if you have to live up on the hill? I remember the retail situation up there being terrible. Don’t know if that has changed,
I remember the retail situation up there being terrible. Don’t know if that has changed,
6/18/2022 6:00 PM
Who cares? Santa Fe is a short drive and a welcome time off the hill. If you need something fast, Smiths is ok. LA retailers have tried to compete with that fact for decades, without success.
Who cares? Santa Fe is a short drive and a welcome time off the hill. If you need something fast, Smiths is ok. LA retailers have tried to compete with that fact for decades, without success.
6/19/2022 5:20 PM
It takes an hour or more each way to Santa Fe so no it is not a short drive. Also New Mexico drivers are horrible, this is particularly obvious if ever drive in other states. People in NM have no concept of how to merge, drive slow in the left lane. The Los Alamos Smiths is now a total disasters now with many missing items, huge lines and low quality food. It is true that the Santa Fe markets are much better but that is at least three hours out of your day to go there. Los Alamos is a bizarre town for its size, if look at local cities of the size of 17000 people in Colorado or Arizona they seem to way more things in terms of restaurants or stores. The local paper has story after story about how local business are closing or cannot get started. The town also has a growing number of derelict buildings that are just abandoned. It was certainly much better 25 years ago.
New Mexico itself has plenty of issues like being 50th in eduction, the road quality is poor and there is rampant corruption in in politics. It is always stunning going to Flagstaff or Duranngo and suddenly the road signs function, the road quality is nice, the number of stores grows and driver quality improves.
Living in New Mexico is not really like living in the United States. The quality of life in Los Alamos has rappdily dropped in the last 25 years in comparison to other places to live.
8:17 Having lived my entire life in Northern New Mexico, I can say with certainty that people like you are not welcome here.
6/21/2022 5:22 PM
No you cannot say that and you are clearly wrong. I am not originally from New Mexico but my mother and grandmother are they and many of my extend extended family are always saying how NM needs to bring more highly educated people, more industry, improve the political climate and educational standards. They love New Mexico and many aspects of it but are also honest about the issues that NM has and want it to improve. I think I will take the words of multi-generational NM natives over the 5.22PM poster. In short you are not certain of anything is only your personal opinion which is obviously not shared by all New Mexicans. You do not speak for New Mexicans you speak for yourself only.
Los Alamos and Northern NM can be an acquired taste- Either you love it or hate it based on what you value for quality of living. If you love the nightlife and retail, not the place for you. Its not perfect but there are many less desirable places to work in the U.S.
Los Alamos and Northern NM can be an acquired taste- Either you love it or hate it based on what you value for quality of living. If you love the nightlife and retail, not the place for you. Its not perfect but there are many less desirable places to work in the U.S.
6/23/2022 4:36 PM
I agree with you and that has been true for last 60 years. The problem is that high tech people have way more options than they did 20 years. Even if you love what NM has LANL is no longer the same lab it use to be. The quality of science and engineering at LANL has substantially dropped from where it was 20 years ago. In 1999 LANL was the crown jewel of the DOE lab complex and acknowledged as such it was very prestigious to be LANL, now this is no longer the case by a long shot.
There was a report that has been put on this blog many times that LANL was on the top 10 institutes in terms of publications in 1999 it was 75 in 2012 and now down to 150. ORNL, ANL and LBNL are now the top labs and in general if people have postdoc offers form these labs over LANL they will go to these labs. I also know that cases where people are told if you have another offer say at ANL go there over LANL. One of the big reasons is that LANL is not seen as a stable place as it often has high profile incidents, like WHO, the Nanos shut down, WIP or accidents that suddenly change the funding landscape and lead to large number of people leaving. Also the bureaucracy at LANL seems to be much worse than at other labs. This is not some random rant. In 1999 if you looked at the postdocs you had 30-50% from places like UCB, Caltech, MIT, Harvard and Princeton, now if you look at the current lists less than 5% come from these schools anymore despite thee fact that these schools now graduate larger numbers of PhDs now than they did 20 years ago.
The bigger point is LANL is not the same lab it was 20 years ago.
I retired from LANL 15 years ago (one year after LANS took over and I could not stand it anymore), and I agree with you. My 30-year UC pension is pretty damn good.
I retired from LANL 15 years ago (one year after LANS took over and I could not stand it anymore), and I agree with you. My 30-year UC pension is pretty damn good.
6/25/2022 6:05 PM
One came access the list of postdocs at LANL of the 400 postdocs if you look at a the typical list of to; 10 schools there are only 20 from these, you can change your definition of top 10 however you like and always end of with 10 to 5 % of the postdocs are from the top 10 schools. In 1999 that number would have close to 50%. The particular group I was had postdocs from Harvard, Caltech, Stanford, MIT and UCB, Oxford. It also explains why many of the LANL postdocs are no longer getting faculty offers.
400 postdocs
1 Harvard 0 Stanford 1 Yale 3 MIT 1 Cal Tech 0 Princeton 3 Columbia 3 U Chicago 3 Cornell 4 UC Berkeley
Ok, look folks, the entire US R&D complex isn't the same it was 20+ years ago. Its not just a LANL problem. There is so much foreign competition driving down wages and working conditions that very few motivated, competent US citizens go into research these days, period. If I was 20 years older, I would probably be at SLAC or Argonne or maybe a university. But most US citizens look at the pay, cost of living, foreign competition and working conditions and say screw it, Ill do law, medicine, banking or just get a security clearance and not deal with the H1B competition willing to do a postdoc for 10 years and marry an ugly spouse and have ugly kids cause your pay and job security is crap.
As for the claim that Los Alamos sucks compared to the rest of the US, I call bullshit. What's better for your typical family, San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York? Between the crime and the cost of living, people are leaving in droves.
If shopping is your thing, I'm guessing science isn't really your primary interest. I do all of my shopping on Amazon or other websites anyway.
16 comments:
Mello makes many bad points about LANL. He does make case that I think is legit that I have not seen LANL address.
He says " In that regard, one of the nation's highest nuclear safety authorities, currently serving in that capacity, said to me in 2019: "We all know what will happen if LANL does pit production. There will be an accident, and that will be that. We can only hope not too many people will be hurt."
Mello hasn’t got a clue and never has. TRIAD, while a vast improvement over Bechtel, is still a pretty lame organization focused primarily on the inflated salaries of their rather weak management class. We must do better as a country.
'Mello hasn’t got a clue and never has.A"
I agree Mello is clueless but it does not take a lot of deep thinking to expect that there will be some accident or event with Pit Production at LANL. This work is risky and it is hard got best and brightest to come to LANL anymore. The town is becoming increasingly unpleasant to live in, more expensive and the large fires have reduced the appealing nature aspect of the area. The school systems in New Mexico are getting worse. The pay maybe high for mediocre managers but for tech people that pay is not that much higher or the same as you can get in much better locations.
9:02 has a good point. Is the pay worth it if you have to live up on the hill? I remember the retail situation up there being terrible. Don’t know if that has changed,
I remember the retail situation up there being terrible. Don’t know if that has changed,
6/18/2022 6:00 PM
Worse, way worse.
I remember the retail situation up there being terrible. Don’t know if that has changed,
6/18/2022 6:00 PM
Who cares? Santa Fe is a short drive and a welcome time off the hill. If you need something fast, Smiths is ok. LA retailers have tried to compete with that fact for decades, without success.
Who cares? Santa Fe is a short drive and a welcome time off the hill. If you need something fast, Smiths is ok. LA retailers have tried to compete with that fact for decades, without success.
6/19/2022 5:20 PM
It takes an hour or more each way to Santa Fe so no it is not a short drive. Also New Mexico drivers are horrible, this is particularly obvious if ever drive in other states. People in NM have no concept of how to merge, drive slow in the left lane.
The Los Alamos Smiths is now a total disasters now with many missing items, huge lines and low quality food. It is true that the Santa Fe markets are much better but that is at least three hours out of your day to go there. Los Alamos is a bizarre town for its size, if look at local cities of the size of 17000 people in Colorado or Arizona they seem to way more things in terms of restaurants or stores. The local paper has story after story about how local business are closing or cannot get started. The town also has a growing number of derelict buildings that are just abandoned. It was certainly much better 25 years ago.
New Mexico itself has plenty of issues like being 50th in eduction, the road quality is poor and there is rampant corruption in in politics.
It is always stunning going to Flagstaff or Duranngo and suddenly the road signs function, the road quality is nice, the number of stores grows and driver quality improves.
Living in New Mexico is not really like living in the United States. The quality of life in Los Alamos has rappdily dropped in the last 25 years in comparison to other places to live.
8:17 Having lived my entire life in Northern New Mexico, I can say with certainty that people like you are not welcome here.
8:17 Having lived my entire life in Northern New Mexico, I can say with certainty that people like you are not welcome here.
6/21/2022 5:22 PM
No you cannot say that and you are clearly wrong. I am not originally from New Mexico but my mother and grandmother are they and many of my extend extended family are always saying how NM needs to bring more highly educated people, more industry, improve the political climate and educational standards. They love New Mexico and many aspects of it but are also honest about the issues that NM has and want it to improve. I think I will take the words of multi-generational NM natives over the 5.22PM poster. In short you are not certain of anything is only your personal opinion which is obviously not shared by all New Mexicans. You do not speak for New Mexicans you speak for yourself only.
12:05 you’ve convinced me that literacy is important.
Los Alamos and Northern NM can be an acquired taste- Either you love it or hate it based on what you value for quality of living. If you love the nightlife and retail, not the place for you. Its not perfect but there are many less desirable places to work in the U.S.
Los Alamos and Northern NM can be an acquired taste- Either you love it or hate it based on what you value for quality of living. If you love the nightlife and retail, not the place for you. Its not perfect but there are many less desirable places to work in the U.S.
6/23/2022 4:36 PM
I agree with you and that has been true for last 60 years. The problem is that high tech people have way more options than they did 20 years. Even if you love what NM has LANL is no longer the same lab it use to be. The quality of science and engineering at LANL has substantially dropped from where it was 20 years ago. In 1999 LANL was the crown jewel of the DOE lab complex and acknowledged as such it was very prestigious to be LANL, now this is no longer the case by a long shot.
There was a report that has been put on this blog many times that LANL was on the top 10 institutes in terms of publications in 1999 it was 75 in 2012 and now down to 150. ORNL, ANL and LBNL are now the top labs and in general if people have postdoc offers form these labs over LANL they will go to these labs. I also know that cases where people are told if you have another offer say at ANL go there over LANL. One of the big reasons is that LANL is not seen as a stable place as it often has high profile incidents, like WHO, the Nanos shut down, WIP or accidents that suddenly change the funding landscape and lead to large number of people leaving. Also the bureaucracy at LANL seems to be much worse than at other labs. This is not some random rant. In 1999 if you looked at the postdocs you had 30-50% from places like UCB, Caltech, MIT, Harvard and Princeton, now if you look at the current lists less than 5% come from these schools anymore despite thee fact that these schools now graduate larger numbers of PhDs now than they did 20 years ago.
The bigger point is LANL is not the same lab it was 20 years ago.
6/25/2022 10:05 AM
I retired from LANL 15 years ago (one year after LANS took over and I could not stand it anymore), and I agree with you. My 30-year UC pension is pretty damn good.
I retired from LANL 15 years ago (one year after LANS took over and I could not stand it anymore), and I agree with you. My 30-year UC pension is pretty damn good.
6/25/2022 6:05 PM
One came access the list of postdocs at LANL of the 400 postdocs if you look at a the typical list of to; 10 schools there are only 20 from these, you can change your definition of top 10 however you like and always end of with 10 to 5 % of the postdocs are from the top 10 schools. In 1999 that number would have close to 50%. The particular group I was had postdocs from Harvard, Caltech, Stanford, MIT and UCB, Oxford. It also explains why many of the LANL postdocs are no longer getting faculty offers.
400 postdocs
1 Harvard
0 Stanford
1 Yale
3 MIT
1 Cal Tech
0 Princeton
3 Columbia
3 U Chicago
3 Cornell
4 UC Berkeley
20 from the top ten
or 5% from top 10%
he bigger point is LANL is not the same lab it was 20 years ago.
6/25/2022 10:05 AM
Maybe, but even before then the story in academia was "don't worry about getting tenure, you can always go to work at a national lab."
Ok, look folks, the entire US R&D complex isn't the same it was 20+ years ago. Its not just a LANL problem. There is so much foreign competition driving down wages and working conditions that very few motivated, competent US citizens go into research these days, period. If I was 20 years older, I would probably be at SLAC or Argonne or maybe a university. But most US citizens look at the pay, cost of living, foreign competition and working conditions and say screw it, Ill do law, medicine, banking or just get a security clearance and not deal with the H1B competition willing to do a postdoc for 10 years and marry an ugly spouse and have ugly kids cause your pay and job security is crap.
As for the claim that Los Alamos sucks compared to the rest of the US, I call bullshit. What's better for your typical family, San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York? Between the crime and the cost of living, people are leaving in droves.
If shopping is your thing, I'm guessing science isn't really your primary interest. I do all of my shopping on Amazon or other websites anyway.
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