Bret Knapp, the former acting Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Director and head of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s weapons program, died earlier this week, Los Alamos Director Charlie McMillan said yesterday in a message to employees. Knapp served as the acting LLNL director for nearly five months from November of 2013 to March of 2014 before announcing his resignation and pulling out of the search for a permanent Livermore director because he was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. McMillan said he passed away from the disease this week.
Knapp had previously been the head of Los Alamos’ weapons program, reaching the position after moving from Livermore to Los Alamos in 2006 as LANL’s associate director for Weapons Engineering. “Bret was a leader in national nuclear security and his unparalleled expertise in the weapons program was invaluable in shaping the contributions of both Los Alamos and Livermore to this critical mission,” McMillan said. “He had a far reaching impact not only in the stockpile stewardship program, but in cost efficiencies, programmatic excellence, selection of leaders, and open and honest communication that fostered collaboration across the Laboratories.”
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