HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWS RELEASE
The Los Alamos Historical Society will host the final lecture of its season on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Pajarito Room at Fuller Lodge. The evening will feature guest speaker Ralph L. Hollis Jr., author of Countdown to Launch!: Rockets, Computers, and Coming of Age in the Cold War. Following the lecture, Hollis will sign copies of his book. Copies are currently available in the Museum Shop and will also be available for purchase at the event.
Hollis’s talk, “Countdown to Launch! A Cold War Story of Minuteman III,” explores the history and technology behind the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile. Today, nearly 400 Minuteman III missiles remain on strategic alert awaiting launch commands from the President of the United States. While many people are aware of their role in the nation’s nuclear deterrent, few understand their immense destructive power, where they are based, or how they function.
Even less is known about the complex software that guides these missiles from liftoff to their targets. Drawing heavily from his memoir, Hollis will offer an inside perspective on the development of the guidance software and the broader Cold War context in which it was created.
Hollis earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from Kansas State University in 1964 and 1965, and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Colorado in 1975. From 1965 to 1970 he worked on software for the Minuteman III missile at the Autonetics division of North American Aviation. He later served as an NSF/CNRS Exchange Scientist at the University of Paris.
In 1978 Hollis joined IBM at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center as a Research Staff Member, where he conducted research in magnetism, acoustics, and robotics, and later served as Manager of Advanced Robotics. In 1993 he joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where he became founding director of the Microdynamic Systems Laboratory.
Now Professor Emeritus, his research has focused on precision assembly, magnetic levitation haptics, and dynamically stable mobile robots. Hollis is a member of the American Physical Society and a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
The Los Alamos Historical Society extends its sincere appreciation to Enterprise Bank and Trust for their generous sponsorship of the 2025–2026 Lecture Series and for their ongoing commitment to the programs and initiatives of the Historical Society.
We appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you Tuesday, May 12, 2026.