Charles F. McMillan
Dr. Charles F. McMillan died Sept. 6, 2024. He was 69.
McMillan passed away unexpectedly as a result of a vehicle accident in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
He was born on October 25, 1954, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Robert Charles McMillan and Betty Jo (Boynton) McMillan. The eldest of four children, he and his sisters Sally, Susie, and Cindy grew up in the Washington, D.C., area where his father was a physicist and his mother taught junior high math.
One of his earliest memories was standing outside with his father watching as Sputnik passed overhead. He also remembered begging his mother to teach him to read when he was four years old. She told him he had to wait until he started school to learn to read words; she taught him to read music instead. His first instrument was the piano and he later learned to play the recorder. In college, he nearly completed a music major at the encouragement of his organ teacher. He ultimately decided to graduate with only two majors, mathematics and physics.
Dinners at the McMillan household included science and math education. He tutored his younger sisters on the Doppler effect by pointing out the changing sounds of passing fire trucks. He created algebra problems for them as soon as they learned addition and subtraction. He learned to tune pianos when he was 14 years old. He often took his tuning forks and tuning kit on family vacations in case of a piano-tuning emergency. He led family expeditions to the Smithsonian Museums, the National Zoo and concerts at the National Cathedral.
He enjoyed interactions with his sisters. The twins, Susie and Cindy, remember a backpacking trip for their 9th birthday led by himself and Janet (his girlfriend and future wife). They camped on a significant hillside and spent the night sliding downhill. In the morning, they had a lengthy discussion on map reading and topography.
When they finished college, He married Janet Robb on June 26, 1977, in Washington, D.C. he applied for graduate school and then he and Janet spent the next year volunteering at Rusangu Secondary School in Zambia, Africa. Charlie taught English and science and Janet was the school nurse for the school of 600 boarding students in grades 8 through 12. Later, they both participated in short-term building and medical projects along the Amazon in Brazil, two short-term projects in Tanzania, and one in Nepal. They enjoyed hiking in the Himalayan Mountains of Nepal and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. They also regularly took their own children, along with their children’s friends, backpacking for summer vacations.
In recent years, Janet and Charlie, his sisters, and their families have gathered regularly. They enjoyed spending time together at rustic cabins in northern Minnesota, a chateau in the south of France, and even the far reaches of Alaska (where they searched for the Northern Lights).
At the beginning of his career, he did groundbreaking work in ophthalmic diagnostics and laser surgery, which led to four U.S. patents and a Canadian patent. His contributions significantly advanced medical technology and improved the precision and effectiveness of eye care treatments. He spent over two decades at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he led critical programs in experimental physics and computing. He also oversaw the transition of key systems in the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
In 2006, he came to Los Alamos, New Mexico. In 2011, he became the 10th Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and President of Los Alamos National Security, LLC. During his tenure he played a critical role in advancing the institution's experimental capabilities at Los Alamos and the Nevada National Security Site. He was a major proponent of cutting-edge research in areas such as HIV, advanced manufacturing, vaccine development, Earth-system modeling, and planetary exploration via the Mars Rover. He was instrumental in bringing Roadrunner online and acquiring Trinity. These two supercomputers were, in their time, two of the fastest supercomputers in the world and played a major role in supporting stockpile stewardship before the installation of the Crossroads supercomputer system in 2022. Over the course of his career, he was twice awarded the Department of Energy's Award of Excellence.
After retiring from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2017, he remained active in national security work in America's nuclear security enterprise and around the globe. Most recently, he was deeply involved in pursuits related to artificial intelligence, spearheading important talks with federal officials in Washington, D.C., on the importance of artificial intelligence oversight and its potential geopolitical implications. He also served on several Sandia Review committees and on the boards of two start-up companies.
In addition to his mission-focused work, he was an ardent supporter of STEM education and engaged in a range of community-focused and education-related activities. As LANL director, he supported the growth of the LANL Scholars Program to nearly double its size and greatly increased the number of lab internship opportunities available to Northern New Mexico students. He was honored to be a mentor for LANL’s Executive Leadership Development Program and was very proud of each of his group members. He enjoyed acting as a coach for several individual managers at LANL. He helped transition the craft workers from contract workers to LANL employees and strongly believed that teams could accomplish more together than individuals could alone.
He earned a doctor of philosophy in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physics from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University).
Beyond his professional career, he was an avid photographer, a passionate astronomer, and an accomplished musician who performed regularly with a Baroque chamber music ensemble. He took his hobbies as seriously as his job and often achieved at a professional level. He had a profound love for the arts, the night sky, architecture and geological formation; he loved sharing these interests with those around him. He even shared his talents by performing in several local Los Alamos theater productions.
His musical interests were broad, though not all of his early experiments were successful — such as the time he tried to learn to play the bagpipes while living in a third-floor walk-up apartment. Despite these challenges, he was thrilled when the semi-professional chorus he sang in with his mother had the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Janet Robb McMillan, son Paul McMillan and spouse Suzanne Long, daughters Caroline McMillan and Katherine McCurry, her spouse Paul McCurry, and their son Oliver McCurry.
He leaves behind an incredible legacy of scientific and personal achievement. He will be remembered for his love of family, friends, and community. His significant contributions to the world and his generous spirit will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.
A service will be held in his honor on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Ashley Pond in Los Alamos, New Mexico. In lieu of flowers, the McMillan family requests that those wishing to honor his memory support local education by donating to the LANL Foundation. Donations can be made via the LANL Foundation’s website at Dr. Charles McMillan Tribute Fund, where a fund has been established in his name. https://lanlfdn.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list
The family of Dr. Charles F. “Charlie” McMillan has entrusted the care of their loved one to the DeVargas Funeral Home and Crematory of the Espanola Valley. (505-747-7477 www.devargasfuneral.com). To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dr. Charles F. McMillan, please visit the flower store.
