Rokaya Al-Ayat Appointed Associate Deputy Director for Science and Technology

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Rokaya Al-Ayat has been named associate deputy director for Science and Technology at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The announcement was made by Harold C. Graboske, acting deputy director for Science & Technology.

In this position Al-Ayat will work with the deputy director for Science and Technology to develop the Laboratory’s near-and long-term science and technology investment strategy and the path for implementation. Al-Ayat will continue providing direction for Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (LDRD) and the institutional science and technology assessment, assignments she brings from her continuing role as director of the Laboratory Science and Technology Office (LSTO).

"Rokaya has been an integral part of the Deputy Director for Science and Technology Office" (DDST), said Graboske. "She comes highly qualified for this job and is an excellent choice to help lead the development of our new investment strategy for science and technology."

"I am very excited to take on this new role," said Al-Ayat. "I look forward to working with the new management team to support the Laboratory’s long-term science and technology needs of our core and emerging national missions."

Al-Ayat joined the DDST in 1995, when she became the deputy director of LSTO with the primary responsibility for managing the LDRD Program. In June 2000, she became the LSTO director. The LSTO’s activities include the LDRD Program, the annual University of California Science and Technology Assessment process, Public Interest Work projects, the Laboratory Scienceand Technology Awards System, and the Director’s Distinguished Lecturers Series.

Al-Ayat holds a M.S. and a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and a M.Eng. in industrial engineering and operations research. She began her career as a research engineer at the University of California, Berkeley in 1975. She joined the LLNL Engineering Directorate in 1978, where she assumed various responsibilities, including group leader and associate division leader for Systems Sciences. In 2000, Rokaya joined the director’s office staff. She is a member of several professional societies, has published numerous papers, and has served on many internal and external committees.

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.

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