Longtime National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE official to retire

Dona Crawford
Dona Crawford | Courtesy of the NNSA

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said recently that Dona Crawford, associate director for computation at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), will retire after 15 years with the lab.

The NNSA said Crawford was one of the first company leaders to work on the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) and has served as an expert witness before Congress to explain the importance of developing supercomputers.

“Dona has successfully led a multidisciplinary 1,000-person team that develops and deploys world-class supercomputers, computational science and information technology expertise that enable the laboratory’s national security programs,” LLNL Director Bill Goldstein said. “Dona’s leadership in high-performance computing has been instrumental in bringing a series of world-class machines to the laboratory.”

Crawford's career spans 40 years with the NNSA and Department of Energy (DOE). Crawford also worked for Sandia National Laboratories for 25 years. Crawford has participated in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) community outreach efforts, especially to attract girls and women to STEM fields.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to lead this world-class organization for nearly 15 years,” Crawford said. “I have the utmost confidence I am leaving an organization and people I care deeply about in the hands of experienced, extremely capable leaders who will continue to move Comp forward as a vital element of the Laboratory.”