Current and former VPs commemorate Sandia/California’s milestone anniversary
Sandia President and Laboratories Director Jill Hruby, who started her career in California, said via a prerecorded message that Sandia/California currently plays a major role in every Program Management Unit at the Labs.
Achievement, community, and persevering through change were the key topics at a panel discussion last month commemorating Sandia/California’s 60th anniversary. Moderated by Bob Carling, director of the Transportation Energy Center at the California site from 2008-14, the panel featured former Sandia/California VPs John Crawford, Tom Hunter, Mim John, Paul Hommert, Rick Stulen, and Steve Rottler, and current Sandia/California VP Marianne Walck. Of that list, Tom and Paul went on to become Sandia Labs directors.
The event, “Honoring 60 Years of Engineering, Science, and Service,” focused on key events that occurred during the panelists’ tenure as vice president that had a significant influence on leadership and discussion making.
Sandia President and Laboratories Director Jill Hruby, who started her career in California in January 1983 and spent the next 27 years working at the site, participated via a recorded video. She recalled the hard work and significant contributions from everyone at the site in areas from nuclear weapons to homeland security, and the strong foundation in materials research, engineering sciences, combustion, and biology.
Current and former Sandia California VPs from top left to right: Rick Stulen, Steve Rottler, Marianne Walck, and John Crawford. Sitting: Paul Hommert, Mim John, and Tom Hunter.
“As we look ahead, the women and men at the California site will continue to contribute to the security and well-being of our nation and the world,” Jill said. “And as new challenges arise, the nation turns to Sandia to solve difficult problems, and we respond with innovative technical solutions. Today, our work is more diverse and complex than ever, and all of us need to respond with the creativity, integrity, and inclusivity needed.”
Div. 8000 VP Marianne Walck said she is always reminded that she has the best executive job in the Laboratories.
“We are in a time right now here at the California Laboratory [with] good challenges,” she said. “The open campus coupled with our work in nuclear weapons and sensitive work in cyber and other areas helps implement our mission.”
On May 21, the site will host a 60th anniversary event at the Bankhead Theater in Livermore.