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Fast Facts
Total employees: 11,738
Los Alamos National Security, LLC: 8,324
Centerra Group, LLC Los Alamos (Guard Force): 268
Compa, Staff and support contractors: 516
Students: 1,191
Unionized craft workers: 1,047
Post doctoral researchers: 392
Located 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 34.7 square miles of DOE-owned property.
1,280 individual facilities, including 47 technical areas with 9 million square feet under roof.
Replacement value of $14.2 billion
63% Weapons programs
10% Nonproliferation programs
4% Safeguards and Security
7% Environmental Management
4% DOE Office of Science
3% Energy and other programs
9% Work for Others
39% of employees live in Los Alamos, the remainder commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos and Albuquerque.
Average Age: 45
67% male, 33% female
47% minorities
64% university degrees
28% hold undergraduate degrees
17% hold master’s degrees
19% have earned a PhD
145 R&D100 awards
34 E.O. Lawrence Awards
9 Presidential Early Career Awards
3 Glenn Seaborg Medals
Edward Teller Medal
Nobel Prize in Physics, Frederick Reines
Albuquerque to Los Alamos, NM
98 miles; 1 hr, 51 min.
Driving directions
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As of April 18, 2018
Weathering the worst solar storms
When the last really big solar storm hit in 1921, Earth’s magnetic field funneled a wave of electrically charged particles toward the ground, where they induced a current along telegraph lines and railroad tracks, setting to telegraph offices and train stations—and the fledgling electric grid went dark. Almost a century later, today’s grid is bigger, more interconnected, and even more susceptible to a solar storm disaster. Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing a scientific analysis about how frequently a major geomagnetic storm might strike, which regions of the country are most vulnerable, and how bad it might be. This analysis is part of a plan to support electric utility companies and government regulators in taking the necessary steps to spare us all from the nightmare of days, weeks, or even months without power.
