Tarter, UC Regents appoint Glenn Mara as AD for Engineering

Glenn Mara, a long-term employee with more than 30 years of engineering, national security and defense program experience, has been selected as the Lab’s new associate director for Engineering.

The appointment was made by Director Bruce Tarter and confirmed by the UC Regents and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

"I am extremely pleased Glenn has accepted this position," Tarter said. "His expertise as a scientist and engineer, and his demonstrated leadership ability are well-known at this Lab. He will be a wonderful addition to our senior management team."

In his new position, Mara will lead more than 2,200 engineers, designers, technicians, machinists and other personnel in Engineering. The directorate is responsible for the design, fabrication and operation of most of the Lab’s unique experimental facilities. This engineering work often involves the simultaneous integration of multiple technologies — from large-scale, complex applied physics systems to micro-scale engineering.

"I am honored to have been selected," Mara said. "I have the highest respect for the talent in this organization and fully appreciate the critical role Engineering plays at this Laboratory. Our programmatic partnerships and our Engineering research and development projects represent a challenging and exciting scope of work, and I look forward to helping our directorate meet the Laboratory’s challenges for the future."

Following his announcement of the new AD, Tarter also took the opportunity to thank Jens Mahler, who served as acting associate director for Engineering following the departure of former AD Spiros Dimolitsas in November to take a position at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

"On very short notice, Jens has done an excellent job of keeping the directorate running smoothly and ensuring the programmatic needs of the Laboratory are met. I want to thank him for his leadership and his continuing commitment both to the directorate and the Laboratory." Mahler also served on the selection committee to find the new Engineering AD.

Mara joined LLNL in 1971 as a materials scientist/welding engineer in the Chemistry Department. In 1980, he became the Metals and Ceramics Division leader. In 1983, Mara joined Engineering and the Materials Fabrication Division, where he served as deputy division leader, helping to direct 450 scientific and technical staff members in support of the Lab’s fabrication efforts.

He joined the Lab’s Nuclear Test Engineering Division in 1985 as division leader and two years later he was named the Test Engineering Program leader for R Program. In 1989, Mara was selected as the Nevada Program Leader — directing the field and engineering resources to support the execution of underground nuclear tests and experiments at the Nevada Test Site.

In 1998, Mara led both the Weaponization Program and Defense Technologies Engineering Division. In this position, he was directly responsible for the engineering elements of the Lab’s role in NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship Program. Since March 2001, Mara has been working in the National Ignition Facility Program Directorate as NIF principal deputy project manager.

Mara graduated from Ohio State University with bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in welding engineering. A registered professional engineer, Mara is also the author of several publications and patents.

A resident of Fremont since 1980, Mara is married to Beth Bayert Mara, an elementary school teacher. They have three children, Nathan, Andrew and Kathryn.