Sonia E. Letant

Portrait of  Sonia E. Letant

  • Title
    Principal Deputy Associate Director
  • Email
    letant1@llnl.gov
  • Phone
    (925) 423-9885
  • Organization
    Not Available

Sonia joined LLNL in 2001 as a Directorate Postdoctoral Researcher focusing on functional materials and methods for chemical, biological, and radiation sensing. She was appointed a Staff Scientist in 2002, became a Group Leader for the Functional Materials Group in 2006, and the Deputy Division Leader for S&T for the Chemical Sciences Division in January 2010. 

She was selected as the Division Leader for the new Nuclear & Chemical Science (NACS) Division in 2015. As the NACS Division Leader, she oversaw approximately 250 staff members, and defined strategic directions for an organization at the core of LLNL’s nuclear science mission. NACS supports key LLNL programs in Global Security, Stockpile Stewardship, and the National Ignition Facility, as well as programs funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and non-DOE sponsors including NASA.

In 2019, Sonia became the Deputy Associate Director for Science & Technology in the Physical & Life Sciences Directorate, an organization of 1,200 scientists leading fundamental and applied research in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Materials Science, Nuclear Science, Climate Science, and Atmospheric Science. In this role, she led the development and sustainment of critical scientific capabilities, LDRD and ISCP investments, technical reviews, as well as workforce and strategic planning activities.

In 2021, Sonia became the Principal Deputy Associate Director for the Physical & Life Sciences Directorate, a newly created position in which she continues to oversee part of the PLS S&T portfolio while focusing on strategic planning in R&D, workforce, DEI, and infrastructure, coordinating activities across all functions and organizations in PLS, and building connections with LLNL programs, the office of science, and the external scientific community.

Lavoisier Fellow, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego

Ph.D. in Condensed Matter Physics, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France

M.S. in Materials Science, Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France