Sandia National Laboratories historian Rebecca Ullrich discusses Sandia’s transition from a Los Alamos division to an independent organization.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 6, 2013—Sandia National Laboratories historian Rebecca Ullrich discusses Sandia’s transition from a Los Alamos division to an independent organization during a talk at 5:30 p.m., March 13 at the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos. The talk is part of the Laboratory’s 70th anniversary lecture series.

Sandia Labs’ origins are in Los Alamos’ Z Division, the engineering assembly and test support functions of the Manhattan Project. At the end of World War II, Z Division relocated to a site near Albuquerque where it expanded, evolved and ultimately became a separate national laboratory.

The Hermes II flash X-ray accelerator was built in 1968 to support testing of materials and components. Photo courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories

Ullrich joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1994 and has been Sandia’s corporate historian since 2003. She directs Sandia’s Corporate Archives and History Program, presents and writes about Sandia’s history, supports history exhibit development and provides historic building assessments of Sandia facilities. She has a bachelor’s degree in history from Reed College and did graduate work in history with a specialty in science history at the University of California, Berkeley.

About the 70th anniversary lecture series

Los Alamos National Laboratory celebrates 70 years of service to the nation in 2013. This free lecture series is part of a number of activities planed to mark the anniversary.

All events at the Bradbury Science Museum are free and open to the public. Bradbury Science Museum is located at 1350 Central Ave., in downtown Los Alamos. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday and Monday.