The University of Texas, seen as the University of
California’s main potential competitor for the management of
the Los Alamos National Laboratory, appears likely to drop out of
the competition after an announcement made by its chancellor last
Friday.
The UC has managed the lab since its creation in 1943, but it
has not announced whether it would seek a renewal of its management
contract when it expires later this year.
Chancellor of the University of Texas Mark Yudof announced that
he will recommend to the regents of the University of Texas not to
proceed with a bid for the management contract of Los Alamos. Yudof
is expected to make the official recommendation at the
board’s February meeting.
Though the UC now seems unopposed by other public institutes for
the contract of Los Alamos, UC spokesman Chris Harrington said the
focus of the UC’s potential proposal will not change due to
the competition.
“The UC isn’t looking at the competitive field right
now. The focus is on making the necessary preparations to make sure
we have the best proposal ready if the university does decide to
compete,” Harrington said.
The Board of Regents of the University of Texas first authorized
planning for a possible bid in February 2004 and an advisory task
force was appointed by Yudof soon after. Yudof’s
recommendation to not proceed with the bid comes after a draft of
the Request for Proposal by the Department of Energy was released
in December 2004.
Texas A&M has also expressed interest in competing for the
lab, but bowed out of the process after Lockheed Martin Corp., a
private defense contractor, announced its withdrawal from the
competition last August.
The UC’s current contract expires in September and the UC
Board of Regents has not indicated whether the UC will bid for the
renewal. The board is not expected to make its decision until after
the final Request for Proposal is released by the Department of
Energy.
A final proposal is expected to be released by the department in
February or early March with a contract expected to be awarded this
summer.
The UC has managed Los Alamos National Laboratory for over 60
years, but the Department of Energy recently opened the bidding for
the lab’s management to outsiders for the first time after
the lab faced a number of safety and security breaches.
A missing disk containing classified information as well as an
eye injury suffered by an intern led to a complete shutdown of
operations last summer. Though the disk was never found, Harrington
said the university has taken significant steps since then to
correct the lab’s issues.
The highly publicized security lapses at the lab have prompted
visits by UC President Robert Dynes as well as many local
politicians.
Some, like New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, believe the UC has
overcome its shortcomings and has encouraged the UC to bid for a
renewal of its contract, stating a large public research
institution like the UC may be the best candidate.
“The state leadership in New Mexico are in very strong
support of the UC,” Richardson said in September.
But the final decision may rest on whether the Board of Regents
believes the university has been able to resolve past safety and
security problems.
Members of the Board of Regents have emphasized the importance
of demonstrating that the problems which led to the lab’s
security lapses have been corrected. In July, Regent Chairman
Gerald Parsky said the problems which led to the security lapses
must be corrected before a contract renewal can be considered.