Key Appointments Announced for New Homeland Security Organization at Lawrence Livermore

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s new Homeland Security Organization (HSO) Director Wayne Shotts announced several strategic appointments today designed to help the nation’s war on terrorism.

Six programs, charged with responsibility for developing technologies to reduce U.S. terrorism vulnerabilities in different areas, have been established and their acting managers have been selected.

A staff has also been named to build relationships with universities, industry, and federal, state and local government, all key partners in meeting homeland security challenges.

"The new Homeland Security Organization structure takes into account the threats most important to the nation," Shotts said. "We have to quickly and effectively find solutions."

The HSO will focus on defending against catastrophic terrorism, including nuclear, chemical, biological and cyber attacks, as well as other threats that can cause mass destruction or disruption.

The six HSO programs are:

• Chemical and Biological Countermeasures, which is being led by J. Patrick Fitch. Fitch has led the Chemical and Biological National Security Program for the past 16 months, directing a $54 million program that develops biodetection instruments, the DNA signatures used by the instruments, as well as chem/bio modeling tools and decontamination and restoration technologies.

• Nuclear and Radiological Countermeasures, which will be headed on an acting basis by Page Stoutland, who is also the deputy leader for programs for the Counterterrorism and Incident Response Division. Previously, Stoutland led the Chemical and Biological National Security Program within the Department of Energy.

• System Analysis and Studies, which will be directed by actingprogram leader Richard Wheeler. Wheeler is currently the manager of the Homeland Security Analysis Program within the Counterterrorism and Incident Response Division.

• Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, which will beled on an acting basis by C. Wes Spain. Spain, a national security analyst, was recently named principal deputy division leader for the Laboratory’s International Assessments Program (Z Division).

• Border and Transportation Security, which will be directed on anacting basis by Donald Prosnitz. Prosnitz has served for the past three years as the first-ever chief science adviser to the U.S. Attorney General and the Department of Justice.

• Emergency Preparedness and Response will be led, also on anacting basis, by Harry Vantine, who also leads the Laboratory’s Counterterrorism and Incident Response Division.

The Homeland Security Organization will also contain elements devoted to building and expanding relationships with partners in the fight against terrorism, such as industry, universities, and federal, state and local government.

"It is important to get out the best tools to the first responders as soon as possible, and we will need to be in close cooperation with our partners in universities, industry and government to do that," Shotts said.

Betsy Cantwell, a section leader in the Laboratory’s Microtechnology Center, has been selected as acting leader for Industry Relations in the HSO. Cantwell is completing work in the Wharton MBA for Executives Program.

Laura Gilliom, who currently manages the LLNL University Relations Program, will oversee the HSO’s university relations effort on an acting basis. In her new post, she will work to develop new homeland security-related collaborations with universities and colleges.

The HSO will also include administrative, business and financial management that will help define the relationships among the Laboratory, the University of California, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Named to interim assignments in these areas are Sarita May, for program planning, Bonnie Zucca for financial management, and Ed Cunniffe, for business operations, who is also department head for Procurement and Materiel.

As part of LLNL’s continuing support to the new Department of Homeland Security, two LLNL employees — Mike Carter and Greg Suski — have been working in the nation’s capital since the fall, providing assistance to the department’s transition planning office.

The new appointments by Shotts represent a second phase in the building of Laboratory’s new HSO. In December, Shotts was named acting director of the Homeland Security Organization by Laboratory Director Michael Anastasio. At that time, Shotts named two acting deputies — Prosnitz, for Strategic Plans; and Vantine, for Programs.

Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a national security laboratory, with a mission to ensure national security and apply science and technology to the important issues of our time. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Laboratory news releases and photos are also available electronically on the World Wide Web of the Internet at URL http://www.llnl.gov/PAO and on UC Newswire.