Cathy Dixon, a spokeswoman for the Amarillo National Research Center for Plutonium, called the program critical in keeping the nation at a high state of readiness. As our workforce ages, we need to ensure that we replace this expertise before too many people retire so that this critically important technology transfer can occur.
Officials studying the problem say it is quickly reaching the breaking point.
More than 60 percent of the nuclear designers at weapons labs are between 40 and 65 years old, according to the Commission on Maintaining U.S. Nuclear Weapons Expertise. A lab at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, reported a four-year period in which 1,200 employees departed, but only 60 replacements were hired. While American students are passing up defense internship programs, foreign students appear to be applying for many of the positions. The department will then attempt to recruit the students that do well. New Mexico schools that would be included in the project include the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico Highlands University and Dine College.