Michael Anastasio - The National Security Laboratories — From Nuclear Weapons To An HIV Vaccine

Summary: Dr. Anastasio retired as the former Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2011. LANL applies science and technology to the certification of the U.S. nuclear deterrent; the reduction of global threats; advancing energy security; and the solution of other emerging national security challenges. Dr. Anastasio is also the former Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the only person to hold both positions. He began his career at LLNL as a physicist dealing with the science of nuclear weapons. During his tenure, Dr. Anastasio was instrumental in the development and execution of the national Stockpile Stewardship Program, which uses a fundamental science-based approach to sustain the safety, security, and reliability of America's nuclear weapons stockpile. He has served as the scientific adviser at the Department of Energy and has provided scientific advice on various national security science issues to senior members of the U.S. government. Dr. Anastasio has received numerous commendations and is widely recognized for his leadership in national security science and the safe stewardship of nuclear weapons. He is the recipient of the DOE/NNSA Gold Medal, the Distinguished Alumni Award-- SUNY Stony Brook, and the DOE Weapons Recognition of Excellence Award. He is currently serving on the State Department International Security Advisory Board, the Defense Science Board, as a Special Advisor to the Commander of the United States Strategic Command, as a Member of the Corporation of the Draper Laboratory, and as a member of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. He has also served on the International Security Advisory Board, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science & Technology for Countering Terrorism, the California Council on Science and Technology, and the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology. Dr. Anastasio has taught at Brooklyn College of City University of New York and performed research in theoretical nuclear physics at the Center for Nuclear Studies in Saclay, France, and at the Nuclear Research Center in Julich, Germany. He received his B.A. in Physics, with Honors, from Johns Hopkins University and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Theoretical Nuclear Physics from the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He is a member of Sigma Pi Sigma (national physics honor society).