LANS was formed during a period of doubt about whether the University of California would be awarded the management contract, after it was forced to compete for the contract for the first time since it had first began to manage LANL during the Manhattan Project as a result of numerous scandals and dissatisfaction with its management.[citation needed] LANS eventually was pitted against the University of Texas System partnered with Lockheed Martin, and was awarded the LANL contract in December 2005.