Slocomb's appointment was effective Monday.
"After a comprehensive national search and intense competition, we found we had the right person here at Los Alamos," said Warren "Pete" Miller, acting deputy director for Science and Technology, who chaired the CIC Division Director Search Committee.
"Rapid technological innovation is changing the way we approach Laboratory scientific and business functions," said Slocomb, "and responding to these challenges makes CIC Division an exciting and challenging place to work. I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to lead CIC Division as we enter a new era of dependence on computing solutions."
"I am pleased with the committee's selection," said Los Alamos Director John Browne. "CIC, with its diverse resources, plays a crucial role in the Lab's central mission of reducing the nuclear danger. Charlie's breadth of experience and his commitment to the Laboratory's role in national security will serve the division and the nation well."
Slocomb, who has served as acting CIC Division director since May, joined the Laboratory in 1972. His management career at Los Alamos began in 1984 when he became group leader for Computer Systems. He later served as deputy division director for the former Computing Division. In this position, Slocomb led the development of a collaborative research and development agreement with Cray Research Inc., Thinking Machines Corp., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and 15 industrial partners to move industrial applications to massively parallel computer systems.
When CIC Division was formed in 1994, Slocomb was named deputy division director, taking on management of one of the largest divisions in the Laboratory. CIC has 947 employees and a budget of about $188 million. It includes numerous resources and services, such as the Central Computing Facility; Advanced Computing Laboratory; technical and administrative software support; data and telecommunications support; local area network administration services; visualization and video laboratory; Research Library and Library without Walls; document and records management; writing, editing, and photocomposition; illustration and design; printing, photocopying, and binding; and photography and video production.
A graduate of Regis College in Denver, Slocomb holds a master's degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in computer science from the University of New Mexico.
Slocumb succeeds Hassan Dayem, who left the Laboratory earlier this year to take a position with Merck Research Laboratories in New Jersey.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.