Los Alamos Medal

Harold Agnew and Hans Bethe are sharing the first Los Alamos Medal, Los Alamos National Laboratory announced on 11 October. Lab director John Browne describes the medal as “the highest honor the laboratory can bestow on an individual or small group.” It recognizes contributions to science and to LANL, but is not limited to lab alumni. The medal carries no cash award.

LANL salutes Agnew for his “leadership during the laboratory’s formative years and [its] ascension to international stature.” Agnew joined the lab in 1943 and, in the capacity of a scientific adviser, witnessed the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Later, he was a New Mexico state senator and then a science adviser to NATO. He returned to LANL in 1964 and from 1970 to 1979 served as its third director. Agnew headed General Atomics in San Diego, California, until he retired in 1984.

Bethe is cited for his role as a “scientific visionary and leader, mentor and role model to the laboratory from its inception.” Bethe headed LANL’s theoretical group from 1943 to 1946. Since World War II, he has been consistently outspoken against the use of nuclear weapons. He is now an emeritus physics professor at Cornell University.

LANL plans to solicit nominations for the medal annually, though it may not always name a winner.