Sandia recently completed an updated strategic plan, the essence of which is presented in chapter 4. Sandia`s Strategic Plan 1994 takes its direction from DOE`s Fueling a Competitive Economy: Strategic Plan and provides tangible guidance for Sandia`s programs and operations. Although it is impossible to foresee precisely what activities Sandia will pursue many years from now, the strategic plan makes one point clear: the application of our scientific and engineering skills to the stewardship of the nation`s nuclear deterrent will be central to our service to the nation. We will provide the necessary institutional memory and continuity, experience base, and technical expertise to ensure the continued safety, security, and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile. As a multiprogram laboratory, Sandia will also continue to focus maximum effort on a broad spectrum of other topics consistent with DOE`s enduring core mission responsibilities: Defense (related to nuclear weapons), Energy, Environment (related to waste management and environmental remediation), and Basic Science.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory`s core mission is to deliver environmental science and technology in the service of the nation and humanity. Through basic research the lab creates fundamental knowledge of natural, engineered, and social systems that is the basis for both effective environmental technology and sound public policy. They solve legacy environmental problems by delivering technologies that remedy existing environmental hazards, they address today`s environmental needs with technologies that prevent pollution and minimize waste, and they are laying the technical foundation for tomorrow`s inherently clean energy and industrial processes. The lab also applies their capabilities to meet selected national security, energy, and human health needs; strengthen the US economy; and support the education of future scientists and engineers. The paper summarizes individual research activities under each of these areas.