A National Academies of Science committee will convene at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory next month to gather information relevant to the upcoming contract bid competitions for the lab and its sister facility, Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico.

The 13-member panel's aim is to develop standards for evaluating the capability of bidders to manage science and technology at the labs, said Richard Rowberg, associate executive director of the National Academies' Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences. These standards will be incorporated into an official request for bids that will be released by the federal Department of Energy.

The April 5 meeting will be part of the committee's charge to provide advice to the National Nuclear Security Administration about the science and technology aspects of the competition to run the nation's two primary nuclear weapons laboratories.

Rowberg said the goal is "to ensure the continuation of world-class science and technology at both (labs)."

The University of California has run both labs unchallenged for more than a half-century. But with UC's contracts to operate both facilities due to expire in 2005, it was announced last year that they would be the subject of a competitive bidding process.

Los Alamos' competition was spurred by business problems, which prompted the federal Department of Energy to put its contract up for bid.

That decision was followed by a congressional amendment executed last year that requires all lab contracts that have not faced competition for 50 years or more to be subject to competitive bidding. Congress' action brought Lawrence Livermore, managed by UC since it was founded in 1952, into the mix.

The National Academies of Science committee will be provided an overview of the laboratory and will meet with various lab officials and employees. The opening overview, slated for 10 a.m. to noon April 5, is open to the public. In addition, the public will be allowed to address the committee at a two-hour session beginning at 3:30 p.m.

"Speakers at the public meeting should give their views on the important characteristics in a LLNL contract manager that concern the management of science and technology at the lab," Rowberg said. "Suggestions are also welcome about how these characteristics can be turned into evaluation criteria and how they might be measured for a given bidder."

Lab officials ask that members of the public wishing to attend either public session pre-register with the lab's community relations office by calling 925-423-3125.

Each speaker will be allowed three minutes to address the committee, and will be preregistered on a first-come, first-served basis. If time permits, speakers also may be able to register at the public sessions. Those wishing to provide comments will be asked to present a written synopsis of their comments for the record.