Our Leadership

Dr. Antoun is the Program Manager of the Energy and Homeland Security Program (E Program) in the Global Security Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He has held this position since June 1, 2020.
The E Program develops innovative multidisciplinary science and technology solutions for reliable clean energy supply, resilient infrastructure, domestic and cyber security, and defense systems.

Dr. Antoun’s prior position was as Division Leader of the Atmospheric, Earth and Energy Division (AEED) in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate. Researchers in AEED utilize world-class scientific capabilities and modern high-performance computing facilities to engage in multidisciplinary research across a broad spectrum of atmospheric and Earth sciences supporting Laboratory programs in mission areas ranging from energy to national security.

Before becoming Division Leader in 2013, Dr. Antoun was the Computational Geosciences Group Leader in AEED, where research efforts focus on developing and using computational tools to understand the response of geologic materials in diverse environments and under varied loading conditions. He has extensive experience using high-performance computing to study the response of frictional materials (ceramics, glass, concrete, and geologic materials) to strong shock waves, and the interaction of those waves with underground structures.
He led the effort to maintain a world-class computational geomechanics capability for the laboratory, with applications to problems in national security, homeland defense, and energy and environment.

He joined the laboratory in 1998 after a six-year tenure with the Stanford Research Institute (SRI International), during which he performed numerical and experimental investigations aimed at understanding dynamic fracture and fragmentation in geologic materials.
Dr. Antoun, along with SRI and international colleagues, published the book Spall Fracture, representing the state of the art in analytical, experimental, and computational investigations of dynamic fracture.
He is also the author of over 100 technical publications and holds a patent for a high-strain-rate method of producing optimized fracture networks in the subsurface for geothermal and other energy applications.

Dr. Antoun received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Dayton (1991), following a B.S. in Civil Engineering (1983) and an M.S. in Structural Engineering (1986).
He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and the recipient of numerous awards, including several achievement awards from SRI, LLNL, and DOE.

Steve Bohlen has served science and society as a researcher, professor, senior manager in U.S. Federal and California State governments, CEO of a systems-engineering and naval-architecture firm, and member of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, he earned a Ph.D. in Geochemistry from The University of Michigan. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA, he became a tenured professor at Stony Brook University.

From 1995 to 2000, Steve served as Associate Chief Geologist for Science at the U.S. Geological Survey, where he oversaw scientific priorities and funding across programs including the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction, Climate Change, Global Energy, and Minerals Resource initiatives.

As President and CEO of Joint Oceanographic Institutions (2000–2009), he led the global effort in scientific ocean drilling (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program) and the systems engineering and deployment of the NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative.

In May 2014, he was appointed by Governor Brown to lead the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, rebuilding the Division around its regulatory mission and the state’s future energy needs.

At LLNL, Steve led the Energy and Homeland Security Program (2016–2020), focusing on advanced energy technologies and the security of energy delivery.
After two years on assignment as Acting State Geologist, he became Senior Director for Government and External Affairs (2022–2025).