LANL’s Carl Beard Presents Talk to Rotarians

Carl Beard presents a talk on LANL’s environmental stewardship program to local Rotarians. Photo by Hal Davis

By Carol A. Clark

Dr. Carl Beard presented a talk on the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s long-term environmental stewardship and sustainability strategy during Tuesday’s Rotary lunch meeting at the Dixie Girl Restaurant in downtown Los Alamos.

Beard is the Principal Associate Director for Operations and Business Services (PADOPS) at LANL.

PADOPS provides oversight of Business Services, Maintenance and Infrastructure Planning, Environment, Safety and Health, Nuclear High Hazard Operations, Safeguards and Security, and Institutional Quality.

He explained to the nearly 50 Rotarians gathered at the restaurant Tuesday that in the 1940s and 1950s, regulatory control did not exist.

In the early 1990s, the Department of Energy performed comprehensive environment, safety and health assessments, which drove a new culture of compliance and accountability.

“The purpose of our long-term strategy is to clean up the past, control the present and live a sustainable future,” Beard said. “We at Los Alamos always believe that we need a strong scientific base to do this and that is why we’ve been so successful.

He added that the effort has great support from LANL Director Charlie McMillan, DOE customers and the Los Alamos Site Office and its Manager Kevin Smith.

“At LANL, our commitment to controlling impacts on the environment is done hand-in-hand with everyday operations. That’s the only way it can work,” Beard said.

Before becoming Principal Associate Director for Operations and Business Services, Beard served as the Associate Director for Plutonium Science and Manufacturing (ADPSM), which is responsible for the production of nuclear weapon components and other national security-related products and services.

Prior to joining LANL, Beard was the Engineering Division Manager at the BWXT-Pantex Plant, where he was responsible for engineering support for all weapons assembly and disassembly operations.

His BWXT-Pantex Plant experience also included, managing the Applied Technology Division, which is responsible for high explosive manufacturing and testing operations.

Beard’s experience also includes various management and technical oversight roles, such as the University of Texas (UT) at Austin where he was as an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory (a 1.1 MW TRIGA nuclear reactor.)

Prior to employment at UT, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory as a Project Manager and Technical Staff Member working on a variety of nuclear material related activities.

Beard has a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Search
LOS ALAMOS

ladailypost.com website support locally by OviNuppi Systems