Lance D. Hansen

"People first — mission always."

Lance Hansen is an accomplished senior leader with a distinguished career spanning over four decades in both military and civilian roles. He currently serves as the Senior Director of Engineering Technical Operations at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, where he plays a pivotal role in enhancing the organization’s engineering capabilities.

Previously, Lance served as Manager of Research and Development – Exploratory Systems Technologies, at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, California, where he provided leadership expertise to the development of solutions addressing complex challenges in chemical weapon demilitarization and strategic nuclear deterrence.

His roles and responsibilities prior to that include serving as Director of the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (Senior Executive Service, US Army) from 2018 to 2021; Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory from 2004 to 2018; and Primary Investigator, Team Leader, and Chief of Environmental Engineering and Risk Assessment for the Environmental Laboratory from 1997 to 2004.

Before his U.S. Department of Defense and Department of Energy civilian service, Lance served on active duty in the Army as a combat engineer assigned to the 326th Engineer Battalion of the 101st Airborne Division with overseas duty in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the first Gulf War. He transitioned to the United States Army Reserve and would eventually retire as Lieutenant Colonel in 2010.

After his active-duty service, Lance and his family came to Purdue University where he earned his Master’s in Environmental Engineering in 1995 and a PhD in Civil Engineering in 2002. Lance credits the Purdue CE faculty with launching his civilian career into the technical service of the DOD and ultimately the DOE where he now serves in the Nuclear Security Enterprise of the United States.

Lance received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the United States Military Academy in 1988 and remains committed to advancing the technical and leadership capabilities of all the organizations in which he has had the honor of serving.

Throughout his career — whether in uniform or as a civilian — Lance has sought to exemplify a bridge between technical awareness, operational leadership, and relevant acumen, aspiring to contribute to those who embrace a collective responsibility for our strategic national security. Lance believes we do this together through partnerships with individuals, leaders, and organizations who share a common mission.