Mark Herrmann of Sandia National Laboratories assumed the position of NIF Director on Oct. 6, replacing Jeff Atherton, who was named Principal Deputy for the NIF & Photon Science Principal Associate Directorate (PAD) in June.

As the NIF Director, Herrmann will work closely with the leadership of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) across the weapons complex including the national Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program, as well as the National Security Applications and Discovery Science communities in the United States and globally, to ensure optimal use of the facility and delivery on program goals. He will have line management responsibility for the operations, facility use plan, and activities of NIF and will develop a strategic plan for the long-term future of the facility.

Reporting to the NIF&PS Principal Associate Director, the NIF Director is a key member of the directorate’s senior leadership team supporting the strategic goals of the PAD and the Laboratory.

NIF&PS physicist Hye-Sook Park discusses NIF Discovery Science research with Mark Herrmann during a poster session following a meeting of the NIF Management Advisory Council in June.

“Mark brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position and has played a recognized leadership role in national efforts to help shape the future of high energy density (HED) science,” said NIF&PS Principal Associate Director Jeff Wisoff. “He has worked closely with all three laboratories (LLNL, Los Alamos, and Sandia) as well as our NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) stakeholders.”

Herrmann has held several key leadership and management roles in the Pulsed Power Sciences Center at Sandia, including director of the Center, senior manager of the HED Science and Radiation and Fusion Physics groups, and manager of the ICF Target Design Department. Under his leadership, Sandia’s Z Facility has delivered key results for the SSP program that have been widely recognized throughout the NNSA complex and by external stakeholders.

After obtaining a Ph.D. in plasma physics from Princeton University, Herrmann began his career at LLNL as postdoc in 1998, and then became a staff physicist in AX division. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and has been recognized with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and the Fusion Power Associates Excellence in Fusion Engineering award.

“We look forward to Mark’s return to LLNL,” Wisoff said. “I would also like to thank Jeff Atherton for his service as NIF Director. He has been instrumental in bringing the HED community together and establishing governance processes that have set the course for NIF as a National User Facility. I look forward to continuing to work with him in his capacity as the Principal Deputy for NIF&PS.”

Orginial Title: Mark Herrmann Named NIF Director