Principal Associate Director - Weapons Programs

Bret E. Knapp
Principal Associate Director for Weapons Programs

As Principal Associate Director for the Weapons Program, Knapp leads the programs to assure the safety, security, and effectiveness of the systems in the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

Knapp joined the Laboratory in 2006 and the executive leadership team in 2011. 

Under his leadership, the LANL Weapons Program integrates planning and execution of the Stockpile Stewardship program, a critical mission of the Laboratory.

Stockpile stewardship encompasses the activities necessary to assure the stockpile without underground nuclear testing.

This mission includes physics and engineering design, small-scale research and development programs, plutonium sustainment activities, pit manufacturing, and leadership and oversight of multi-million dollar programs including Advanced Simulation and Computing, science campaigns, and directed stockpile Work.

Key Facts:

• From 2006-2011, Knapp was LANL’s Associate Director for the Weapons Program.  
• Before coming to LANL, Knapp served for more than 25 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in nuclear weapons program design and testing, where he led programs in defense and nuclear technologies and advanced conventional weapons.  
• Knapp has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic Institute, and an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Davis.