Scientific and technological progress has long relied on global cooperation, and Los Alamos National Laboratory exemplifies how such partnerships enhance both national defense and economic resilience. Since its founding, Los Alamos has embraced international engagement as a core component of its mission to address complex security challenges. These efforts span a broad spectrum, from integrating foreign experts into research teams to formal agreements with overseas governments, academic institutions, and private-sector innovators. n nEngaging with global talent has consistently sparked new ideas and strengthened recruitment, bringing diverse perspectives that enrich problem-solving. At the organizational level, joint initiatives have accelerated foundational discoveries by pooling funding, infrastructure, and expertise—maximizing efficiency without duplicating efforts. Additionally, these alliances support strategic objectives such as nuclear nonproliferation by fostering trusted international networks. n nThis report highlights real-world examples where cross-border cooperation directly advanced the Laboratory’s mission. The innovation pipeline—moving from basic research to practical applications—benefits significantly from open exchange during early stages. International collaboration thrives in this phase, where shared data and interdisciplinary insights drive breakthroughs. However, as technologies mature and approach deployment, Los Alamos strictly controls access, limiting dissemination to authorized personnel in alignment with U.S. national security requirements. n nThe advantages observed at Los Alamos echo broader findings on the value of global scientific engagement for national security. By balancing openness with rigorous safeguards, the Laboratory ensures that collaborative efforts remain both productive and secure. n— news from Hoover Institution
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Benefits of International Collaboration to U.S. National and Economic Security: Case Studies from Los Alamos National Laboratory
Science & Technology n nINTRODUCTION n nInternational collaboration has been central to the scientific and engineering success of Los Alamos since its inception. The primary mission of Los Alamos remains focused on providing solutions to tough challenges facing the Nation in the context of national and global security. By their very nature, these challenges are complex, requiring innovations in science and technology that leverage and extend developments in academia and industry. Los Alamos has found success in tackling these challenges with multidisciplinary teams that bring diverse insights and perspectives. n nThis strategy has depended on international collaboration in a variety of forms. At one end of the spectrum, collaboration with international colleagues continues to enrich our teams; these collaborations create new ideas while also serving as effective recruiting opportunities. The other end includes organizational collaborations with international entities (governments, research organizations, and industry); these collaborations help to speed the advancement of fundamental discoveries that are important to our mission, and they do so through an efficient utilization of resources (funding, facilities, etc.). Furthermore, these collaborations can build international networks that are crucial to some aspects of our mission (e.g., nonproliferation). n nBelow we offer examples of the benefits to our mission delivery that have resulted from international collaboration. We begin by laying out a few benefits that have cross-cut many of our mission areas; many of these benefits mirror those observed in other assessments on the benefits to basic research in national security. We then present several Los Alamos case studies from specific mission areas. And we conclude with a discussion of steps we take to ensure our international collaborations maintain a secure environment that is consistent with our mission and role as a United States national laboratory. n nOur assessment is based on the recognition that innovation in science and technology follows a pathway that begins with advances from basic research, some of which are then reduced to practice for a particular application. This pathway is consistent across broad areas in science and technology, both in the national-security space and in the context of commercial applications by the private sector. The early stages of this pathway—basic research—are accelerated through the sharing of information, perspectives, ideas, and resources; and it is this stage where Los Alamos utilizes international collaborations. In the later stages of this pathway where innovations are extended to applications, Los Alamos limits information and collaboration to those with a need-to-know; in other words, information is protected in accordance with United States national-security protocols.