Livermore Laboratory Retirees Association

The speakers at our September 8 luncheon will be Becky Failor & Hugh Gregg

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Canals and Locks: Enduring Engineering

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After transiting over 5000 km of canals through over 1000 locks, Hugh and Becky have become fascinated with these enduring engineering systems to ‘tame the raging waters’. We will explore where and why canals exist and the almost endless variety of locks that allow boats to avoid waterfalls and even go up steep hillsides. We will take you through beautiful waterways from Canada to many countries in Europe and hopefully, you too will become enamored by canals and locks.

 

Hugh Gregg retired from LLNL in December 2018 after 33 years as a chemist working on a wide variety of projects. From 2010 to 2017 he was on a government service leave to serve as the Head of the Laboratory for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Netherlands. During this time, he led the laboratory efforts to uncover the devasting uses of chemical weapons during the war in Syria. These efforts contributed to the OPCW being awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. Hugh has been boating since he was in junior high school. He has chartered sailboats and canal boats in over 25 countries.  

 

Becky Failor, after 31 years, retired from LLNL in September 2010 when she moved to The Netherlands to join Hugh when he worked to the OPCW. She worked as a nuclear chemist with variety of Lab organizations. Prior to the 2007 contract transition she was the Hazards Control Department head. Becky began sailing in the 1980s and like Hugh has chartered sailboats and canal boats around the world.

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