Introduction
Los Alamos national laboratory is a multidisciplinary research institution of the United States. As a part of the Manhattan project, the lab was essentially established for the design of nuclear weapons during world war II. Having operated in secrecy for a long time, the facility was ultimately made public after the United States successfully silenced its enemies in the world war. Based on its earlier, success, Los Alamos lab has been recognized as the main research hub in the whole world. Currently, the facility is known for its excellence in the research fields of nanotechnology, supercomputing, national security, and space exploration. With this knowledge, Los Alamos national lab is an important institution since it promotes the security and economy of the United States.
History
Los Alamos national laboratory was established in 1943 with a sole purpose of building and designing an atomic bomb ( Carr, 2013) . Due to the need of keeping the lab’s existence a secret, it was located in Los Alamos which is on the southern parts of the US. Originally, this location was labeled as site Y of the Manhattan project. The location was purposefully chosen to keep the lab safe from any attack and also to reduce damage in the event of nuclear accidents. Since its establishment, the facility has been reported to harbor more than five hundred scientists, technicians, and engineers ( Shen, 2013) . It is through this diversity that the once sparsely populated area finally became vibrant. After being in operation for twenty-seven months, the lab finally realized its mission in 1945 when the first atomic bomb was detonated ( Carr, 2013) . Even though the launched plutonium bomb was just a trinity test, it manifested a major breakthrough in the nation’s military power. Through the leadership of general Leslie and Oppenheimer, the lab was able to launch a uranium bomb which heavily hit Hiroshima in the same year ( Carr, 2013) . The project also produced a plutonium bomb that was dropped in the Nagasaki city of Japan. It is through the heavy defeats inflicted on the Japanese insurgents that the United States finally gained its superpower status on the global domain. Having defeated Hitler earlier on, the defeat of an aggressive Japanese empire served as a relief since the nation ultimately silenced its enemies. Since the facility’s world war II heroics, Los Alamos national laboratory has continued to design and manufacture atomic bombs for national safety. Unlike in the 1950s, the lab has embraced new safety guidelines in the handling of nuclear weapons and resources ( Masco, 2013) . It is through these advancements that Los Alamos lab has been recognized as the largest and the best scientific research center on the global domain. With the past success serving as the footprints for the future, the lab is currently mandated to ensure national security by establishing proper nuclear countermeasure infrastructures.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The Lab’s Significance
Also, Los Alamos national lab plays a fundamental role in stimulating the nation’s economy. Besides promoting new business entities, it boosts other originally established companies and creates new job opportunities. Through the expansion and diversifications of the lab’s operations, many Los Alamos locals have been absorbed in the facility. For instance, 41% of employees in this laboratory are native members of the New Mexico region ( Shen, 2013) . With this knowledge, the employment status provided to the locals serves to inject a substantial revenue to the nation which as a result stimulates the economy. Apart from the job opportunities offered by the laboratory, it also empowers the locals through other support programs. For instance, Venture Acceleration Fund empowers entrepreneurs in New Mexico with resources to start and manage their businesses. Since the launch of this program in 2006, about 4.2 million grants have been offered to the locals ( Shen, 2013) . Through this program, the lab serves to stimulate the economy since the supported individuals can be able to employ others which as a result reduces the nation’s unemployment rates. For instance, in 2013, a total of $262 million has been used by the laboratory to fund women-owned businesses in the region (Shen, 2013) . Also, Los Alamos laboratory is important to the United States economic prosperity since it supports the already existing companies with new technological know-how. Besides spearheading major innovations in nuclear infrastructure, the lab has also become a major hub for the innovation of commercial technologies geared towards changing the production, marketing, and designing of new products. With this technological ability, the lab has served purposefully to stimulate the general US economy by supporting the already existing companies with new and cheaper ways of operating.
Lastly, as a multidisciplinary research institute, Los Alamos is important to the security of the United States. Even though the US is not facing major military threats at the moment, the continuous inventions and innovations of this laboratory keep the nation prepared for any possible nuclear threats in the future. As much as the lab is spearheading innovations in nuclear weaponry, it is also striving to solve other problems associated with mass destruction. Based on this concern the laboratory has pledged its support on improving the environment, infrastructure, and overall global security concerns. It is through these concepts that Los Alamos lab has established itself as a vital cog in the United States security structures.
Analysis of A Primary Source
As an institution with a greater multidisciplinary capability, Integration Information, Science and Technology (IS&T) is one of the primary sources that exist on the lab’s website. This is a major element in the lab’s four main pillars of providing security solutions to the nation. The main aim of this primary source is to address societal prosperity, fundamental science and emerging challenges in the national security structures. As the main pillar of the lab’s mission, IS&T is geared towards diversifying high-level computing algorithms for the design and quantified prediction of complexities in engineering systems. With the changing technological environment, there is a need for society to focus on computational algorithms and general software engineering. This primary source was essentially established to solve problems associated with the emerging trends in cybersecurity and espionage. For instance, an aging nuclear deterrent has paved the way for more sophisticated threats which can only be mitigated through employing proper advanced computing architecture. Therefore, IS&T focuses on analyzing large scientific data associated with cybersecurity, climate modeling, and energy. Also, this source provides better ways of designing proper components of integrated circuits which serves to revolutionize the whole computer domain. Based on this concept, Monte Carlo is one of the modern computational science that harbors its roots from IS&T which is a primary source on the Los Alamos website (Haigh, Priestley & Rope, 2014). IS&T has continuously played a major role in promoting the mission of the lab since it has been at the forefront of designing and creating integrated circuits tasked with the mandate of alleviating the current espionage threats faced by the nation.
Problems
Safety lapses have proved to be a major problem for Los Alamos lab to achieve its mandate. According to the report released by the Department of Energy, Los Alamos national laboratory has failed to keep track of the dangerous beryllium leakages (Masco, 2013). Considering that beryllium is a major cause of lung diseases and cancer, it is evident that the lab violates the overexposure regulations stipulated by law. For instance, in 2011, the lab was found unable to quickly respond to emergencies due to the existing flaws in problem response structures (Masco, 2013). As mentioned by Shen (2013), many lives of New Mexico residents have been lost through the deadly emissions released from the lab. As much as Los Alamos lab has proved an important hub of research and innovation, its mission in the society has been hampered by lack of proper measures of containing the risks associated with the handling of radioactive materials. It is through this safety lapses that the factory has remained closed since 2013, which has consequently affected the nation’s ability to amass major nuclear arsenals (Masco, 2013). Even though the facility has seen its operations limited over the past year, it is understood that the lab is still violating safety rules of handling plutonium materials. Also, the problems faced by this facility are instigated by malicious private contractors who are more focused on getting government bonuses rather keeping an eye on the required safety measures. Lastly, the Los Alamos national lab facility is also facing problems associated with low employee morale. Since the identification of safety issues in the facility, there has been a major managerial change which has played a vital role in introducing uncertainties in the workplace. For instance, employee morale has been shot down by the changes in benefits, and concerns of whether the management will support certain scientific programs. Failure of the management to approve certain programs means that some employees are likely to lose their jobs.
Rationale and Final Argument
The rationale for government-sponsored scientific research programs resonates with the lab's overall mission of making the world a safer place. Based on this concept, the government-sponsored programs are prioritized based on their biosecurity, counterterrorism, defense, and intelligence traits. For instance, programs that are created to advance counterterrorism are given the highest priority since they are geared towards preventing the nation from experiencing major catastrophic threats. Therefore, the government-sponsored scientific programs are determined by how they are inclined towards ensuring the overall national security. However, the innovations of this facility are structured to have the strongest bearing toward governmental goals. This argument is reinforced by the fact that most of the scientific tests carried out by the lab are geared towards promoting national security and the economy. For instance, Los Alamos was purposefully established to design and produce nuclear weapons. Even after the lab had successfully neutralized japan in 1945, it has remained a major research center for the production of the nation’s arsenals (Carr, 2013). Since its closure in 2013, the United States government has experienced reduced nuclear weapon capacity (Masco, 2013). It is through this assertion, that conclusions can be made that the facility’s scientific programs are inclined towards achieving governmental obligations. Lastly, considering the environmental harm associated with nuclear materials, it is worth for the government to prioritize its goals in any activity carried out in the facility.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Los Alamos national laboratory is an important institution of the United States because it boosts the nation’s security and economy. Since its establishment, the facility has been at the forefront of alleviating nuclear threats received by the state. Besides the security obligations, the lab has also played a significant role in the US economy. Through the creation of employment opportunities, the release of commercial technologies, and funding of local businesses, the facility has made the originally sparsely populated New Mexico a business hub. As much as Los Alamos national lab has excelled in its mandates, it is still hampered by safety issues. Considering that many lives have been lost through the beryllium leakages, the lab has been unable to establish proper measures of mitigating this problem. Following these concerns, the lab has experienced major managerial changes geared toward restoring its former glory. As much as the facility is supporting the private sector, its scientific innovations are strongly focused on achieving governmental goals.
References
Carr, A. B. (2013). The Story of Los Alamos, 1943 to 1970 (No. LA-UR-13-20054). Los Alamos National Lab.(LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States).
Haigh, T., Priestley, M., & Rope, C. (2014). Los alamos bets on eniac: Nuclear monte carlo simulations, 1947-1948. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing , 36 (3).
Masco, J. (2013). The nuclear borderlands: The Manhattan project in post-cold war New Mexico . Princeton University Press.
Shen, J. A. (2013). FLC Nomination: The Los Alamos National Security Venture Acceleration Fund (No. LA-UR-13-25918). Los Alamos National Lab.(LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States).
