Michael Anastasio (born 1948) led two national science laboratories during a time of transition. He was the director of the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

and president of the Los Alamos National Security LLC, the company that operates the laboratory. He is the former director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...

appointed Michael R. Anastasio the director of LLNL on June 4, 2002. He started on July 1, 2002. In 2005 he became the president of the Los Alamos National Security LLC, and became the director of the

on June 1, 2006. During his directorship at Lawrence Livermore, the laboratory won 25 R&D 100 Awards and maintained its world-class leadership position in high-performance computing and its application to

global climate model A general circulation model (GCM) is a type of climate model. It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean. It uses the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms ...

ing. He has a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

and earned

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degrees in

theoretical A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be ...

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His career at LLNL began in 1980 as a physicist in B-Division, one of the two nuclear weapons design divisions. He participated in the development of the

W87 The W87 is an American thermonuclear missile warhead formerly deployed on the LGM-118A Peacekeeper ("MX") ICBM. 50 MX missiles were built, each carrying up to 10 W87 warheads in multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), and were ...

, W84, and B83 warheads and 10

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detona ...

s; he was project physicist on four of these tests. In 1991, he was made B-division leader and program manager responsible for primary weapons design. From 1996 to 2001, he served as associate director for Defense and Nuclear Technologies, responsible for all activities in the laboratory’s nuclear weapons program. In that capacity, he was instrumental in the development and execution of the national Stockpile Stewardship Program. From 2001 to 2002, Anastasio served as LLNL’s deputy director for Strategic Operations. He has 18 publications in intermediate energy theoretical nuclear physics and 800 citations. He received the Department of Energy Weapons Recognition of Excellence Award in 1990 and is a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Sigma Pi Sigma (), founded at Davidson College on December 11, 1921, is the oldest and only American honor society for physics and astronomy. It is an organization within the Society of Physics Students and the American Institute of Physics and ...

, the national physics honor society; U.S. Strategic Command, Strategic Advisory Group; and the Defense Science Board Task Force on Nuclear Capabilities. He retired from his position as Laboratory Director at Los Alamos National Laboratory on June 1, 2011.Michael Anastasio to retire in June as Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
/ref>

References

* "Michael R. Anastasio."

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

TM. Marquis Who's Who, 2009. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan:

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Fairfax County Public Library The Fairfax County Public Library (FCPL) is a public library system headquartered in Suite 324 of The Fairfax County Government Center in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Hennen's American Public Library Ratings ...

External links

Oral history interview of Michael R. Anastasio (18 June 2020)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anastasio, Michael 1948 births Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel 21st-century American physicists Stony Brook University alumni Living people Johns Hopkins University alumni American cellists Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory staff