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UC regents urged to bid for lab contracts
by Betsy Mason, September 23, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO - Urging University of California officials to look past recent scandals, an advisory panel encouraged regents Wednesday to fight for management of the nation's nuclear laboratories.

After more than 60 years of running Los Alamos National Laboratory, regents must soon decide whether to compete to keep the contract.

Although opponents gave regents an earful Wednesday, William Friend, chairman of the advisory council, said regents should be proud of UC's performance over the years. His panel gave an enthusiastic recommendation for a bid on the Los Alamos, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore lab contracts.

Friend, a retired Bechtel executive, called continued management "critical to national security," and said an industry partner should be brought in for the Los Alamos competition.

But students, activists and a Nobel Prize-winning physics professor spoke to regents and strongly disagreed for reasons ranging from international law to moral obligations. Though a bid vote isn't likely until early next year, some regents hinted at their own opinions on the matter.

"If someone else can do a better job than UC, then we should step aside and let them do it," said Regent David Lee.

"But if we are the best, then we should step up and do it."

"These labs are going to exist anyway," said UC president, Robert Dynes. "I'd rather have some influence on the decisions than be a bystander."

Several regents said the best interests of national security need consideration. "We really have to examine our conscience about what is best for the country," said Regent Peter Preuss.

Others expressed concern about weapons research. "The idea of building a new round of nuclear weapons is appalling," said Regent Richard Blum.

In 2002, in response to a string of accounting, safety and security problems at the labs, Congress directed the Department of Energy to put the contracts up for bid. The Los Alamos contract expires in September 2005, and the Livermore lab contract was extended through 2007. The contract for Lawrence Berkeley, which does no nuclear weapons work, expires in January.

The regents asked two UC professors for their opinions. William Kastenberg, a nuclear engineering professor at UC Berkeley, endorsed the relationship because of scientific collaboration between UC and the labs. More than 250 UC students get some funding from Lawrence Livermore and lab scientists collaborate with more than 300 UC researchers, he said.

"They help us recruit the best students, they help fund our students, they provide laboratory and computing facilities to our students that are unparalleled in the world, and they provide jobs for our students on graduation," he said.

National security is best served by UC's continued management, he said. "Would I want an Enron or an Arthur Andersen or a 3Com running such a strategic mission?"

Walter Kohn, a Nobel Prize-winning physics professor at UC Santa Barbara, said UC should not be involved in weapons research. "In my opinion it is wrong for our university to design, develop" or help their manufacture, he said.

His opinions echoed those of students and activists who also spoke.

"The university's role has been to provide this fig leaf of academic legitimacy to nuclear weapons science," said Josh Kearns, a UC Berkeley earth sciences graduate student.

Others argued that in today's sour economic climate, the money needed to compete for the contracts should be spentelsewhere.

"I think it's hypocritical to raise $5 million to bid when the university is also raising student fees," said Michael Coffey of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

Also at the meeting, Los Alamos lab director Peter Nanos and Robert Foley, UC vice president for lab management, gave regents an update on security and safety issues at the lab.

In July, Nanos halted all activity at Los Alamos following a string of security lapses. He said he expects the majority of the lab to be up and running by early October.

Gerald Parsky, Regents chairman, reminded Nanos of the gravity of the security issues and the impact on UC's ability to manage Los Alamos.

"Unless we are confident that they have been corrected, it will be very difficult for us to proceed to bid, let alone to secure it," Parsky said.

Originally published by the Contra Costa Times.

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