At the National Security Research Center, there are quite literally millions of materials that date back to the 1940s, from the start of the nuclear enterprise to today, including the handwritten notebooks of a dozen Nobel laureates who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Thanks to these notebooks, it’s possible to unequivocally read the thoughts of some of the greatest minds in history as they tackled the scientific and engineering challenges related to our national security. And, I have to say, they were indeed brilliant. These notebooks are just one small part of the NSRC’s collections. I have perused the various collections countless times, each new discovery just as fascinating as the next. The NSRC is LANL’s classified library and a major research center where our scientists, engineers, and researchers find the information they need to help secure our nation. We’re celebrating our first anniversary this summer. After opening our doors in June 2019, the Center had a truly extraordinary year. Our overall focus this first year was to transform a stagnant archive into a dynamic, thriving research library with expert staff. Thanks to the NSRC’s dedicated teams, our accomplishments are too numerous to list, but include:
- The digitization of the entire physical card catalog (hundreds of thousands of cards), making it accessible online to researchers.
- The implementiation of a process to exchange documents with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s archives.
- The increase in partnerships among LANL’s divisions, reaching new groups of scientists, engineers, and researchers.
- The creation of six new digitization labs to increase productivity, while preserving one-of-a-kind media that is rapidly deteriorating.
- The implementation of certification and continuing professional education programs that signify the NSRC staff meet the highest levels of expertise in their fields.
I couldn’t be more proud of our opening year, and I am honored to be the first director of this remarkable national research facility.
Rizwan Ali
Director, National Security Research Center