The Sandia Corp. board of directors announced the appointment of Paul J. Hommert as its president and as director of Sandia National Laboratories, effective July 9, 2010. Currently the executive vice president and deputy laboratories director for the nuclear weapons program, Hommert will succeed Thomas O. Hunter, who announced his decision to retire. He began his career at the company in 1976. Currently he manages over 3000 staff members and is responsible for the oversight of engineering support and design for the US nuclear weapons stockpile. Previously, he served as vice president of Sandia’s California Laboratory and led the company’s homeland security and defense strategies. Prior to Sandia, he worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at the UK’s Atomic Weapons Establishment, which provides and maintains that nation’s nuclear deterrent. After working 43 years at Sandia, Hunter will retire. He was recently asked by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to assist in coordinating the Department of Energy’s national laboratories to support BP’s response to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. He has been a key member in assisting with those efforts and will continue to advise the federal and industry scientists and engineers engaged in the clean up efforts. Sandia National Laboratory is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. It is responsible for R&D efforts in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness. For more information, visit: www.sandia.gov