Los Alamos National Laboratory, NNSA and Northern New Mexico College establish new Center for Information Technology and Cybersecurity

Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Nuclear Security Administration and Northern New Mexico College are joining forces to develop a new cybersecurity training center through the Lab's Mentor-Protégé Program, a business-development initiative designed to support area businesses as they expand their capabilities. The college holds the distinction of being the first minority-serving higher education institution to participate as a protégé in the U.S. Department of Energy program.

As a result of one-time funding provided by the NNSA's Pipeline Development Program, Northern will receive $376,675 to begin work on moving the project forward. The funding will primarily provide resources for a faculty director position as well as software, hardware and outreach activities. The resulting Center for Information Technology and Cybersecurity will train students for in-demand careers nationwide and at the Laboratory. The collaboration's first-year aims are to establish a space, budget and curriculum.

The partners anticipate that courses will be offered at the new center beginning fall 2025, for four-year degrees as well as professional development.

"Northern New Mexico College is evolving to train today's students for the career marketplace of the future," President Hector Balderas said. "Collaborating with the Laboratory and NNSA ensures that our new training center will meet the needs of scientific and technical employers in New Mexico and across the country."

Cybersecurity encompasses every aspect of protecting an organization, its employees and assets from cyberattacks. Cyberthreats are becoming more frequent worldwide as computing networks grow. The U.S. Department of Labor ranks cybersecurity jobs as being in high demand with significant growth potential. The national median salaries for jobs such as forensic analysts and information security engineers are in the range of $98,000 per year.

The Mentor-Protégé agreement is a business-development program administered by the Lab's Small Business Program Office, which resides in the Acquisition Services Management Division. Previous protégés have included the Pueblo Alliance, a joint venture company comprising two tribally owned businesses: Tsay Corporation and San Ildefonso Services; and North Wind, Inc., an engineering and facility-operations company.

"This is the first minority-serving higher education institution to participate as a protégé in the U.S. Department of Energy program," said U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján, co-chair of the Senate National Labs Caucus. "I am pleased to see the Laboratory and NNSA teaming up with Northern New Mexico College to train students for high-paying jobs."

"Partnering with New Mexico educational institutions is one important way that the Laboratory contributes to regional business and workforce development," Laboratory Director Thom Mason said. "Training students for relevant careers ensures robust enrollment for the college and allows the Lab to hire local talent for in-demand jobs."

Mason stated that of the Lab's approximately 17,000 employees, more than 1,200 work in some aspect of computing, including business systems, computer networking and desktop support as well as installing, maintaining and coding its supercomputers. Cybersecurity employees work to protect all these operations - from detecting threats to securing computing infrastructure and processes.

"Our goal is to have an educational partnership with every institution in New Mexico, and we're well on our way," said Laboratory Staff Director Frances Chadwick, citing six other programs already underway, including Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint (hydrogen fuel cell development), San Juan College in Farmington (computer science and information technology), Santa Fe Community College (machining), New Mexico Highlands University (accounting and finance) and University of New Mexico-Los Alamos (mechanical engineering). Additionally, the Laboratory has an existing program with Northern New Mexico College in radiation protection.

Los Alamos National Laboratory also has a history of partnering with New Mexico colleges and universities, including established and enduring relationships with the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Those partnerships include the UNM Anderson School of Management's project management program and UNM engineering programs, the NMSU MBA program and NMT's ongoing energetics research.

Nearly a third (28.8%) of Laboratory employees hold degrees from New Mexico institutions, and 39.2% of employees self-identify as Hispanic or Latinx.

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