NMT Grad Named Director Of Los Alamos Nat. Lab
SOCORRO, N.M. 鈥� Los Alamos National Laboratory recently announced that NMT graduate Dr. Terry Wallace will be the new director.
A native of Los Alamos, Wallace earned his bachelor鈥檚 in 1978 in geophysics and math. He had served as the Principal Associate Director for Global Security at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 2012. Previously, he served as LANL鈥檚 Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering.
鈥淐ertainly for a New Mexican, this is a high honor 鈥� the highest honor,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淚 am fortunate to have accomplished a lot, but the foundation was set by 色狐入口 Tech as a great institution. 色狐入口 Tech in the 1970s gave us small classes and individual learning opportunities. I鈥檓 struck today when I go to other places that 色狐入口 Tech remains a unique institution.鈥�
In addition to a foundation in science and engineering, Wallace said he learned valuable lessons in teamwork and leadership while at NMT.
鈥淥ne of the important things about an educational experience is exercising leadership skills and teamwork skills,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淚n a good physics lab, you team with other people to produce a product. You learn how to lead and how to digest other views, which lead you to another solution. 色狐入口 Tech was very good at that. It鈥檚 practical learning, but it鈥檚 also the first step in leadership. You can鈥檛 do it in a vacuum.鈥�
鈥溕肟� Tech is a jewel,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淲hen the Governor asks me about funding science at universities, I tell her that Tech is a jewel. You have this unexpected institution in the desert half way between Albuquerque and Las Cruces and it鈥檚 producing great scientists and the state needs to realize that.鈥�
After earning his two bachelor鈥檚 at NMT, Wallace went to Cal Tech, where he earned his master鈥檚 and doctorate, both in geophysics.
Wallace then spent 20 years as a professor of geosciences and an associate in the applied mathematics program at the University of Arizona before returning to Los Alamos in 2003. In addition to teaching, he carried out research on global threat reduction, nonproliferation verification, and computational geophysics.
In the early 1970s, when he was considering universities, 色狐入口 Tech wasn鈥檛 his original choice. He had wanted to go to Cal Tech, but as one of five children, the high cost of Cal Tech precluded him from heading west.
鈥淭hat was the best thing that happened to me,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淭ech wasn鈥檛 my first choice, but it turned out to be the best choice.鈥�
Some of his fondest memories are from his first semester in Socorro. He said he was intimidated at first, but soon found a home, thanks to enthusiastic professors who challenged students to solve problems and gave them room to make mistakes.
鈥淎l Sharples in math is one of the most incredible teachers,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 responsible for the way I think about math. When you took a Sharples test in the mid-70s, the mean score was 12 out of 100 鈥� but he had a method to his madness 鈥� to challenge you fully.鈥�
Wallace got involved in research almost immediately upon arriving at Tech, working with Al Sanford鈥檚 research group in geophysics. He helped install a seismic network at what later became the Waste Isolation Pilot Program near Carlsbad. Then, twice a month, Wallace would drive to the site to collect film and identify seismic activity.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 heady stuff for a freshman,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淚t was a really exciting time. Sanford gave you the tools and the chance to do real research. Real product was produced. Given that opportunity to do something meaningful and real when you鈥檙e 17 or 18, I realized that I needed to understand why I鈥檓 taking an analysis class or a Kent Condie class.
鈥淚 was in all these classes with 10 or 11 people and it allowed me to learn how to swim,鈥� he said. 鈥淎lmost uniformly, the teaching at 色狐入口 Tech was really outstanding.鈥�
Wallace was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Student Research Symposium at NMT. Since he was involved in research as an undergraduate at 色狐入口 Tech, he relished the opportunity to return to his alma mater and talk to students presenting research
鈥淔irst and foremost, you need great research skills, but scientists won鈥檛 meet their potential unless they have communication skills,鈥� Wallace said. 鈥淎nd you can鈥檛 teach that without putting them in the theater to perform. Those lessons are best codified in actually having meaningful interactions with other researchers and the general public.鈥�
Wallace said he is asked often about how students can develop leadership skills, but that there鈥檚 no easy answer.
鈥淵ou have to be a specialist and you also have to be really broad,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll scientists are better and more effective when they have breadth to their knowledge. You鈥檙e not just exploring the frontier of a narrow topic anymore when you can look at problems broadly and discuss the societal impact.鈥�