ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — In less than a month, Sandia National Laboratories converted 100 respiratory machines New Mexico hospitals already had on hand into machines that can safely be used as ventilators to help treat patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Non-invasive ventilators that use masks instead of tubes, BiPAP and CPAP machines, cannot normally be […]
Author Archives: Kristen Meub
Sandia-designed kits increase amount, type of breathing machines available for COVID-19
April 23, 2020 – 5:00 am
Armoring satellites to survive and operate through attacks
October 21, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Satellites do a lot of things — they help people navigate from one place to another, they deliver television programming, they search for new stars and exo-planets and they enable the U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy. But until recently, one thing they haven’t done — or needed to do — is defend themselves. […]
Wrangling big data into real-time, actionable intelligence
October 14, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Social media, cameras, sensors and more generate huge amounts of data that can overwhelm analysts sifting through it all for meaningful, actionable information to provide decision-makers such as political leaders and field commanders responding to security threats. Sandia National Laboratories researchers are working to lessen that burden by developing the science to […]
Containing a nuclear accident with ground-up minerals
September 30, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a promising new way to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination and contain the hot molten mass that develops within a nuclear reactor during a catastrophic accident. During a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project, a team of scientists discovered and patented a process […]
Seeing infrared: Sandia’s nanoantennas help detectors see more heat, less noise
September 16, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed tiny, gold antennas to help cameras and sensors that “see” heat deliver clearer pictures of thermal infrared radiation for everything from stars and galaxies to people, buildings and items requiring security. In a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project, a team of researchers developed a nanoantenna-enabled […]
Don’t set it and forget it — scan it and fix it with tech that detects wind blade damage
June 24, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Drones and crawling robots outfitted with special scanning technology could help wind blades stay in service longer, which may help lower the cost of wind energy at a time when blades are getting bigger, pricier and harder to transport, Sandia National Laboratories researchers say. As part of the Department of Energy’s Blade […]
Rooftop solar panels get boost from Sandia tool that previews a year on grid in minutes
June 20, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Homeowners and businesses may now have an easier time getting solar panels on rooftops thanks to software developed at Sandia. The new software can run a detailed, second-by-second simulation, known as quasi-static time series analysis, that shows utility companies how rooftop solar panels at a specific house or business would interact with […]
‘Majority rules’ when looking for earthquakes, explosions
October 29, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A dormant volcano in Antarctica helped researchers at Sandia National Laboratories improve sensor data readings to better detect earthquakes and explosions and tune out everyday sounds such as traffic and footsteps. Finding the ideal settings for each sensor in a network to detect vibrations in the ground, or seismic activity, can be […]
Dry casks take the heat
July 18, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers have built a scaled test assembly that mimics a dry cask storage container for spent nuclear fuel to study how fuel temperatures change during storage and how the fuel’s peak temperatures affect the integrity of the metal cladding surrounding the spent fuel. Regulators could use the data to […]
Solar tower exposes materials to intense heat to test thermal response
June 21, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is using its solar tower to help assess the impact of extreme temperature changes on materials. The tests, now in their second year, take advantage of the ability of Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility to simulate a very rapid increase in temperature followed by an equally rapid decrease. […]
How microgrids could boost resilience in New Orleans
June 14, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — During Hurricane Katrina and other severe storms that have hit New Orleans, power outages, flooding and wind damage combined to cut off people from clean drinking water, food, medical care, shelter, prescriptions and other vital services. In a year-long project, researchers at Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories teamed up with the […]
First 3-D printed wind-blade mold, energy-saving nanoparticles earn Sandia national awards
April 25, 2018 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has won the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer’s national 2018 Technology Focus Award for designing the first wind turbine blades fabricated from a 3-D printed mold, which could dramatically shorten the time and expense of developing new wind energy technology. The labs also won FLC’s Excellence in Technology […]
Exploring Arctic clues to secure future with new Sandia, university partnership
April 23, 2018 – 8:36 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Arctic is undergoing rapid change, with sea ice melting and temperatures rising at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. Its changing environment affects global security, politics, the economy and the climate. Understanding these changes is crucial for shaping and safeguarding U.S. security in the future, Sandia scientists say. […]