Terry Wallace named director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, president of Los Alamos National Security

Effective Jan. 1, 2018, Terry Wallace has been appointed director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and president of Los Alamos National Security, LLC (LANS), which operates the laboratory for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

Norman J. Pattiz and Barbara E. Rusinko, chair and vice chair of the Los Alamos National Security (LANS) Board of Governors, announced the appointment Tuesday.

Wallace currently serves as principal associate director for global security (PADGS) at LANL and leads laboratory programs focusing on using scientific and engineering capabilities to address national and global security threats, in particular, nuclear threats.

“Dr. Wallace’s unique skills, experience, and national security expertise make him the right person to lead Los Alamos in service to the country,” Pattiz said. “Terry’s expertise in forensic seismology, a highly specialized discipline, makes him an acknowledged international authority on the detection and quantification of nuclear tests.”

Wallace will oversee a budget of approximately $2.5 billion, nearly 12,000 employees and contractors and a 36-square-mile site of scientific laboratories, nuclear facilities, experimental capabilities, administration buildings and utilities.

“I am honored and humbled to be leading Los Alamos National Laboratory,” Wallace said. “Our Laboratory’s mission has never been more important than it is today. As director, I am determined to extend, if not strengthen our 75-year legacy of scientific excellence in support of our national interests well into the future.”

Wallace will succeed Charlie McMillan, who plans to retire from the laboratory by the end of the year.