The Quality of Science and Engineering at the NNSA National Security Laboratories (2013) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Summary
Summary
Pages 1-7
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 1... ...
for the U.S. nuclear weapons program, including, most significantly, the science-based stockpile stewardship program and the S&E basis for analyzing and understanding nuclear weapon developments of other nations and non-state actors.
|
From page 2... ...
An all-encompassing detailed assessment of the quality of S&E at the three NNSA laboratories is a complex task requiring resources far beyond those available to this committee. Instead, the committee chose to sample a set of activities that are central to the core mission of the laboratories, under the assumption that the quality of all of the laboratories' S&E work, including research on energy topics, work for others, and basic research, is dependent on the quality of those core capabilities.
|
From page 3... ...
There appears to be a consensus that the amount of experimental work has declined and continues to decline. Laboratory staff cited increasing costs and increasing operational restrictions and controls on experimental work.
|
From page 4... ...
Assessing and controlling those risks is necessary, and mechanisms have been put into place to do so. However, this process necessarily adds to the cost of conducting experiments and can slow or deter experimental work, particularly when the process involves multiple overseers (e.g., NNSA, NNSA field offices, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, etc.)
|
From page 5... ...
The staffing levels of the modeling and simulation effort are inadequate to meet the needs of retooling the IMC codes to meet the simultaneous challenges of developing higher-fidelity simulation capabilities, meeting expanded mission requirements, and changing the algorithms and software architecture of the codes to respond to the disruptive changes in computer architecture expected to occur over the next decade. Recommendation 5.2.` Given the increasingly important role that the integrated modeling codes will play in certification of the stockpile in the absence of testing, the NNSA should undertake a detailed assessment of the needs for simulation and modeling over the next decade and implement an adequately funded execution plan to meet the challenges outlined in Finding 5.5.
|
From page 6... ...
Following the revelation in 2012 about spending by the General Services Administration for a conference in 2010, the Office of Management and Budget issued travel restrictions 14 that are hindering travel to scientific and engineering conferences by NNSA laboratory staff. Congress might consider requiring that such travel restrictions at NNSA national security laboratories be no more restrictive than those that apply to scientists and engineers funded by other agencies of the federal government.
|
From page 7... ...
, the three laboratories fulfilled a request from NNSA to conduct a 120-day study to evaluate alternatives for warheads to be deployed in multiple reentry vehicle systems and to inform NNSA on potential options for future LEPs. The "120-day study" 15 -- which considered advanced options for the nuclear physics package and various approaches on how to configure the stockpile using existing components and systems with an emphasis on raising the levels of safety, reliability, and security -- provided an example of how teams consisting of a few experienced designers, several mid-career designers, and a large number of near-entry level designers were given the opportunity to develop timely and workable design solutions within customer constraints.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.