The Link Volume 6, Issue 4 -- Winter 2006
Where Are They Now? Bob Skaggs
Bob Skaggs came to work at PSL in May of 1954, right after graduating from Las Cruces High School. He worked for Mrs. Anna Gardiner and Ray Chavez in the Data Reduction Section, which was located in the Physics Annex behind the Physics Building on Stewart Street. In the fall of 1954, Bob enrolled in NM A&MA's Mechanical Engineering Department.
In his senior year, Bob was put in charge of the Doppler Velocity Measurements Team (in those days, it was not unusual for students to be given supervisory responsibility, as those who traveled around the world for PSL to the satellite tracking stations can attest). At the time he graduated in August of 1958, Bob was the highest paid student on campus, at the wage of $1.90/hour.
Bob graduated from college in August of 1958. He went to Argonne National Laboratory and enrolled in the International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. At the completion of that course in January of 1960, he moved to Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, where he worked for 7 years. During that time, Bob completed a Master's degree in Nuclear Engineering through UNM's Los Alamos Graduate Center.
In 1967, Bob left Los Alamos to attend UNM full-time so that he could pursue his Ph.D. and his wife Barbara could complete her B.S. in Chemistry.
In April of 1971, Bob was called to active duty in the U.S. Army Artillery. He completed Officer Basic training at Ft. Sill, OK and shortly thereafter transferred to the Defense Atomic Support Agency at what is now Kirtland Air Force Base. This was coincidental with U.S.'s restarting of the above ground nuclear test program at the Nevada Test Site, and Bob participated in and witnessed about 15 above ground tests that the U.S. performed in the final AGT program. He wrote the summary report for the first major underground weapons effects test conducted by the U.S.
In 1972, Bob returned to Los Alamos, when the U.S. was engaged in a major underground test program to modernize the nuclear weapon arsenal. Bob participated in about 15 underground effects tests. In 1978 (during the Carter presidency), he undertook some solar energy research, even using PSL's solar furnaces for some of his tests.
Bob temporarily served at the Dept. of Energy in Germantown, MD from 1981-1982. When he returned to Los Alamos, he managed the Fossil Energy Program for four years. As the energy emphasis declined under President Reagan, Bob became the Armor Program Manager for Los Alamos. In this capacity, he worked for the Laboratory and as the Principal Technical Advisor to the DARPA Armor Program Manager in Washington.
Bob retired in late 1993 and has served as a consultant in armor ever since. He is heavily involved in the Mechanical Engineering Academy and serves as the Executive Secretary to the Dean's Advisory Council of the NMSU College of Engineering. Bob and Barbara live in Nambe, NM (about 15 miles north of Santa Fe). They have 5 children, 17 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.
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