ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia researchers are sharing a four-year, $12 million Department of Energy research contract on the long-term geologic sequestration of carbon, considered a key element in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The contract from the department’s Office of Science funds research by the Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES), a joint carbon […]
Author Archives: Sue Holmes
Carbon sequestration research continues at Sandia Labs under Energy Department funds
September 15, 2014 – 8:00 am
3-D codes yield unprecedented physics, engineering insights
August 4, 2014 – 11:30 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entry in 2002, sophisticated computer models were key to determining what happened. A piece of foam flew off at launch and hit a tile, damaging the leading edge of the shuttle wing and exposing the underlying structure. Temperatures soared to thousands of degrees as Columbia […]
Watching neurons fire from a front-row seat
July 28, 2014 – 11:55 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — They are with us every moment of every day, controlling every action we make, from the breath we breathe to the words we speak, and yet there is still a lot we don’t know about the cells that make up our nervous systems. When things go awry and nerve cells don’t communicate […]
Survivor: Sandia ensures US nuclear weapons deterrent can remain effective, credible
July 22, 2014 – 7:47 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It may sound strange to say that nuclear weapons must survive radiation. But as part of its mission of ensuring the nation’s stockpile is safe, secure and effective as a deterrent, Sandia National Laboratories must make sure crucial parts can function if they’re hit by radiation, especially a type called fast neutrons. […]
IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Society Merit Award honors Sandia radiation effects expert
July 17, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia radiation effects researcher Jim Schwank has won the 2014 IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Merit Award, which recognizes outstanding technical contributions to the fields of nuclear and plasma sciences. “I feel highly honored,” said Schwank, who is the second active Sandia employee to win the award and the sixth person […]
Novel nanoparticle production method could lead to better lights, lenses, solar cells
June 17, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has come up with an inexpensive way to synthesize titanium-dioxide nanoparticles and is seeking partners who can demonstrate the process at industrial scale for everything from solar cells to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Titanium-dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles show great promise as fillers to tune the refractive index of anti-reflective coatings on […]
Get ready for the computers of the future
May 27, 2014 – 2:10 pm
Sandia National Laboratories launches push to innovate next-generation machines ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Computing experts at Sandia National Laboratories have launched an effort to help discover what computers of the future might look like, from next-generation supercomputers to systems that learn on their own — new machines that do more while using less energy. “We think […]
The brain: key to a better computer
May 15, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Your brain is incredibly well-suited to handling whatever comes along, plus it’s tough and operates on little energy. Those attributes — dealing with real-world situations, resiliency and energy efficiency — are precisely what might be possible with neuro-inspired computing. “Today’s computers are wonderful at bookkeeping and solving scientific problems often described by […]
Engineering better machines and buildings by understanding mechanics of materials
May 5, 2014 – 5:00 am
Sandia project to fill gaps by linking atomic structure with how parts perform ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Humans have used metals for thousands of years, but there’s still a lot about them that isn’t fully understood. Just how much stretching, bending or compression a particular metal will take is determined by mechanical properties that can vary […]
Wind tunnel tests support improved aerodynamic design of B61-12 bomb
April 14, 2014 – 1:30 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has finished eight days of testing a full-scale mock unit representing the aerodynamic characteristics of the B61-12 gravity bomb in a wind tunnel. The tests on the mock-up were done to establish the configuration that will deliver the necessary spin motion of the bomb during freefall and are an […]
Magnetically stimulated flow patterns offer strategy for heat transfer problems
March 6, 2014 – 8:30 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers Jim Martin and Kyle Solis have what Martin calls “a devil of a problem.” They’ve discovered how to harness magnetic fields to create vigorous, organized fluid flows in particle suspensions. The magnetically stimulated flows offer an alternative when heat transfer is difficult because they overcome natural convection limits. Martin […]
Sandia’s Greg White chosen as a New Face of Engineering 2014
February 20, 2014 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia engineer Greg White has been chosen as one of the 2014 New Faces of Engineering, a recognition program that highlights the work of engineers ages 30 and younger. The award is sponsored by the National Engineers Week Foundation, now the DiscoverE Foundation, a coalition of engineering societies, major corporations and government […]
Sandia conducts first impact test in years of B61 nonnuclear components
January 14, 2014 – 10:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A ground-penetrating bomb, minus its nuclear components, rammed through a target at the remote Coyote Canyon test range last month in Sandia National Laboratories’ first such rocket-driven impact test in seven years. Engineers said the Sandia components on the weapon performed as expected. “Really nice work,” said Engineering Sciences Director Justine Johannes, […]
Study could help improve nuclear waste repositories
September 19, 2013 – 12:59 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Here’s the question faced by a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers: How fast will iodine-129 released from spent nuclear fuel move through a deep, clay-based geological repository? Understanding that process is crucial as countries worldwide consider underground clay formations for nuclear waste disposal, because clay offers low permeability and high radionuclide […]
Researching new detectors for chemical, biological threats
September 5, 2013 – 7:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories scientists are thinking small, building on decades of sensor work to invent tiny detectors that can sniff out everything from explosives and biotoxins to smuggled humans. Their potential seems unlimited. The military needs to find low concentrations of chemicals, such as those used in roadside bombs or chemical warfare […]