Thomas Mason (physicist)
{{short description|Canadian-American physicist (born 1964)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Thomas Mason
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name =
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| image = Mason LANL.jpg
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| caption = Mason in 2018
| order1 = 12th
| title1 = Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory
| term_start1 = 2018
| term_end1 =
| president1 = Donald Trump
Joe Biden
| predecessor1 = Terry Wallace
| successor1 =
| order2 = 14th
| title2 = Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
| term_start2 = 2007
| term_end2 = June 30, 2017
| president2 = George W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
| predecessor2 = Jeff Wadsworth
| successor2 = Thomas Zacharia
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age |1964|08|09}}
| birth_place = Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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| citizenship = Canadian, American
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{{Infobox scientist | embed=yes
| fields = Condensed-matter physics
| workplaces = AT&T Bell Laboratories
Risø National Laboratory
University of Toronto
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Battelle Memorial Institute
Los Alamos National Laboratory
| alma_mater = Dalhousie University
McMaster University
| thesis_title = Critical Behavior of CsMnBr3
| thesis_url = https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/8328
| thesis_year = 1990
| doctoral_advisor = M.F. Collins
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| website = [https://www.lanl.gov/about/leadership-governance/director.php Los Alamos National Laboratory website]
| footnotes =
}}
}}
Thomas Mason is a Canadian-American{{cite web |title=Thom Mason Named Director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory |url=https://www.ornl.gov/news/thom-mason-named-director-oak-ridge-national-laboratory |website=www.ornl.gov |language=en}} condensed-matter physicist who serves as the director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Prior to this appointment, he had been an executive at Battelle Memorial Institute from 2017 to 2018, and the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 2007 to 2017.{{cite news |last1=Cho|first1=Adrian |title=Thom Mason, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to step down |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/thom-mason-director-oak-ridge-national-laboratory-step-down |accessdate=2 December 2018 |work=Science |date=27 February 2017 |language=en}} Mason moved to Oak Ridge in 1998 at the start of construction of the Spallation Neutron Source{{Cite web|url=https://neutrons.ornl.gov/sns|title = Spallation Neutron Source | Neutron Science at ORNL}} which he led from 2001 until project completion in 2006.
Early life
Mason was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. His father was a geophysicist who worked at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, and his mother a biochemist, was working at Dalhousie University in Halifax.{{Cite web|date=April 19, 2018|title=Thomas Mason's Interview {{!}} Manhattan Project Voices|url=https://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org/oral-histories/thomas-masons-interview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118004241/https://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org/oral-histories/thomas-masons-interview|archive-date=January 18, 2021|access-date=February 2, 2022|website=Voices of the Manhattan Project}}
In 1986, Mason received his Bachelor in Science from Dalhousie University. In 1990, Mason received his doctorate in physics from McMaster University.{{Cite web |title=ORCID |url=https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1880-3971 |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=orcid.org}}{{Cite thesis |last=Mason |first=Thomas E. |date=2014-06-18 |title=MacSphere: Critical Behavior of CsMnBr 3 |url=https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/8328 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113213503/https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/handle/11375/8328 |archive-date=2022-01-13 |website=MacSphere: McMaster University Libraries Institutional Repository|type=thesis }} In 1997, Mason was listed on Maclean's 100 Canadians To Watch list for his work in neutron scattering research. At the time, he was an associate professor in physics at the University of Toronto.{{Cite web |title=To Light The Darkness {{!}} Maclean's {{!}} JULY 1, 1997 |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1997/07/01/to-light-the-darkness |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=Maclean's {{!}} The Complete Archive |language=en-US}}
Career
Mason started his career in the United States as the science director of the Spallation Neutron Source project in 1998. In 2007, Mason became the director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, succeeding Dr. Jeffrey Wadsworth as the lab's 14th director.{{Cite web |title=ORNL Directors {{!}} ORNL |url=https://www.ornl.gov/content/ornl-directors |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=www.ornl.gov}} He stepped down from the position in 2017 to serve as the senior vice president for laboratory operations at Battelle Memorial Institute.{{Cite web |title=Thom Mason, director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to step down |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/thom-mason-director-oak-ridge-national-laboratory-step-down |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=www.science.org |language=en}}
Mason became director at Los Alamos as part of the new Triad National Security LLC management team. In June, 2018, the National Nuclear Security Administration,{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nuclear-security|title=Nuclear Security|website=Energy.gov}} headed by Lisa Gordon-Hagerty,{{Cite web|url=https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/contributors/lisa-e-gordon-hagerty|title=Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty}} announced that it had awarded an agency, called Triad National Security LLC,{{Cite web|url=https://triadns.org/|title=TRIAD National Security|first=Ann|last=Rafferty|website=TRIAD National Security, LLC}} the $25 billion contract for security of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Triad replaced the former Los Alamos National Security. The announcement of this action occurred on June 8, with notice to proceed on July 5, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/triad-takes-over-at-los-alamos-on-nov-1-names-mason-director-designate/article_8fe64fcd-85c5-597f-9677-af8486a4ac46.html|title=Triad takes over at Los Alamos on Nov. 1, names Mason director designate|first=Rebecca|last= Moss|website=Santa Fe New Mexican|date=9 July 2018 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.independentnews.com/news/new-senior-managers-named-at-los-alamos/article_277e1bca-853c-11e8-878e-6f9a1f7143b8.html|title=New Senior Managers Named at Los Alamos|website=The Independent|date=12 May 2023 }}[https://www.battelle.org/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-detail/battelle-and-triad-team-partners-awarded-new-contract-to-manage-and-operate-los-alamos-national-laboratory Battelle and Triad Team Partners Awarded New Contract to Manage and Operate Los Alamos National Laboratory] The contract includes a five-year base with five one-year options, for a total of 10 years if all options are exercised. With this contract came the appointment of Mason on November 1, 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanl.gov/about/leadership-governance/director.php|title=Laboratory Director|first=Los Alamos National Laboratory, Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the U. S. Department of|last=Energy|website=www.lanl.gov}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org/oral-histories/thomas-masons-interview|title=Thomas Mason's Interview|website=www.manhattanprojectvoices.org}}{{Cite web|url=https://triadns.org/leadership-team/|title=Leadership Team|first=Ann|last=Rafferty}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.exchangemonitor.com/dont-screw-interview-incoming-los-alamos-lab-director-thomas-mason/|title='Don't Screw Up': An Interview With Incoming Los Alamos Lab Director Thomas Mason|date=July 27, 2018}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/A-M-chancellor-announces-director-for-Los-Alamos-13085477.php|title=Texas A&M chancellor announces director for Los Alamos lab|first=Victoria|last=Cheyne|date=July 19, 2018|website=Houston Chronicle}}
In December 2022, the operating and management contract for Triad National Security LLC was extended from Nov. 1, 2023 through Oct. 30, 2028. {{Cite news |last=O'Neill |first=Maire |date=December 7, 2022 |title=Mason Says Triad LLC Five-Year Contract Extension Is Direct Result of Workforce's Hard Work and Dedication |url=https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/12/07/mason-says-triad-llc-five-year-contract-extension-is-direct-result-of-workforces-hard-work-and-dedication/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607151603/https://losalamosreporter.com/2022/12/07/mason-says-triad-llc-five-year-contract-extension-is-direct-result-of-workforces-hard-work-and-dedication/ |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |work=Los Alamos Reporter}}
References
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Category:21st-century American physicists
Category:Canadian condensed matter physicists
Category:Los Alamos National Laboratory personnel
Category:American people of Canadian descent
Category:Oak Ridge National Laboratory people
Category:McMaster University alumni
Category:Dalhousie University alumni