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Sandia Labs News Releases

Author Archives: Stephanie Holinka

Sandia researchers named IEEE fellows

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Sandia National Laboratories researchers have been named fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, known as IEEE. Bryan Oliver, senior manager of the Radiation Effects Sciences and Applications Department, was named for his contributions to the theory and simulation of intense particle beams and plasmas, and electrical engineer Ray […]

Sandia receives ENERGISE award to study how to help utilities better manage power systems

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sandia National Laboratories has been awarded a three-year, $2.5 million award to help utility companies better visualize, manage and protect power systems as they include increasing numbers of distributed energy resources (DER) such as wind and solar. The project creates open-source advanced distribution management system (ADMS) algorithms that help grid operators better […]

Lessons from Fukushima

Sandia helps industry learn from Japanese reactor accident ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –When you’re an operator or engineer at a nuclear power plant, there are things you want to know long before you’re faced with an emergency. Reactor safety experts from Sandia National Laboratories and elsewhere are sharing lessons learned in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident and […]

Smaller. Cheaper. Better.

Iron nitride transformers developed at Sandia could boost energy storage options ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Sandia-led team has developed a way to make a magnetic material that could lead to lighter and smaller, cheaper and better-performing high-frequency transformers, needed for more flexible energy storage systems and widespread adoption of renewable energy. The work is part […]

Enormous blades could lead to more offshore energy in U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new design for gigantic blades longer than two football fields could help bring offshore 50-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to the United States and the world. Sandia National Laboratories’ research on the extreme-scale Segmented Ultralight Morphing Rotor (SUMR) is funded by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program. The […]

Sandia Labs playing key role in grid modernization

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is leading the Security and Resilience area of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium (GMLC) and bringing its strong research capability in grid modernization to help the nation modernize its power grid. The consortium includes scientists and engineers from across 14 DOE national labs and dozens […]

An ‘apatite’ for radionuclides

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories geochemist Mark Rigali and his colleagues are developing and deploying apatite-based technologies to protect groundwater at sites contaminated by radionuclides and heavy metals. Apatite is currently being used at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State and the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, “and, there are […]

Getting bot responders into shape

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is tackling one of the biggest barriers to the use of robots in emergency response: energy efficiency. Through a project supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Sandia is developing technology that will dramatically improve the endurance of legged robots, helping them operate for long periods while […]

Evaluating powerful batteries for modular grid energy storage

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has begun lab-based characterization of TransPower’s GridSaver, the largest grid energy storage system analyzed at Sandia’s Energy Storage Test Pad in Albuquerque, N.M. Project lead David Rosewater said Sandia will evaluate the 1 megawatt, lithium-ion grid energy storage system for capacity, power, safety and reliability. The lab also will investigate […]

Sandia pioneers software for smart and sustainable institutions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories’ Institutional Transformation (IX) model helps the federal laboratory reduce its energy consumption and could help other large institutions do the same. The IX model allows planners to experiment with energy conservation measures, such as adding cool roofs or replacing old heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, before making […]

American-made wind turbine blades

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is helping makers of wind turbine blades improve the labor productivity associated with blade fabrication and finishing. This improved productivity makes domestic blades more cost competitive with blades from countries that pay workers lower wages. The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (AMII), a three-year $6.3 million project, brought together researchers […]

New project is the ACME of computer science to address climate change

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — High performance computing researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working with the Department of Energy (DOE) and other national laboratories and institutions to develop and apply the most complete climate and Earth system model, to address the most challenging and demanding climate change issues. Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy, or ACME, is […]

Pocket-sized anthrax detector aids global agriculture

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A credit-card-sized anthrax detection cartridge developed at Sandia National Laboratories and recently licensed to a small business makes testing safer, easier, faster and cheaper. Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, is commonly found in soils all over the world and can cause serious, and often fatal, illness in both humans and […]

Physicist’s journey reveals smaller asteroids could cause bigger problems

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Once in a lifetime, a physicist may get a chance to test his theories and simulations in a real-life event that changes the course of his scientific life. But rarely does that opportunity literally fall from the sky. That’s the impact of the Feb. 15 asteroid that burst over the Russian city […]

Sandia recognized for sustainable greenhouse gas management

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) awarded Sandia National Laboratories a Best in Class Sustainability Award for improvements in the labs’ Saturn and High Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source (HERMES) III pulsed power facilities. Sandia was recognized for reducing the use of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) with an award in the Greenhouse Gas […]