ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you’ve ever asked a car mechanic how long a part will last until it breaks, odds are they shrugged their shoulders. They know how long parts last on average, and they can see when one is close to breaking. But knowing how many miles are left is extremely difficult, even using […]
Author Archives: Troy Rummler
What if the secret to your brain’s elusive computing power is its randomness?
September 7, 2021 – 5:00 am
Imaging tool under development exposes concealed detonators — and their charge
July 22, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Behold the neutron, the middle child of subatomic particles. At times overshadowed by its electrically charged siblings the proton and the electron, neutrons quietly play important roles in national security. They start nuclear reactions for weapons and power plants. They bombard materials for nuclear safety tests. And now they have a new […]
World’s smallest, best acoustic amplifier emerges from 50-year-old hypothesis
June 2, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories have built the world’s smallest and best acoustic amplifier. And they did it using a concept that was all but abandoned for almost 50 years. According to a paper published May 13 in Nature Communications, the device is more than 10 times more effective than the earlier […]
Prehistoric humans first traversed Australia by ‘superhighways’
May 3, 2021 – 10:21 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sometime between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago, prehistoric humans took their first steps into Sahul, an ancient landmass made up of modern Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. But nobody knows which way they went after that. “One of the really big unanswered questions of prehistory is how Australia was populated in the […]
Reusable respirator could ease COVID-19 medical mask shortages
April 1, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Many medical professionals and other essential, front-line workers have struggled for the past year with persistent shortages of N95 masks. Soon, they might get relief from a Sandia National Laboratories invention — a comfortable, reusable, sterilizable respirator that could ease demand during current or future health crises. Sandia has filed for patent […]
Rare open-access quantum computer now operational
March 15, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new Department of Energy open-access quantum computing testbed is ready for the public. Scientists from Indiana University recently became the first team to begin using Sandia National Laboratories’ Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed, or QSCOUT. Quantum computers are poised to become major technological drivers over the coming decades. But to […]
Advanced materials in a snap
January 5, 2021 – 10:03 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If everything moved 40,000 times faster, you could eat a fresh tomato three minutes after planting a seed. You could fly from New York to L.A. in half a second. And you’d have waited in line at airport security for that flight for 30 milliseconds. Thanks to machine learning, designing materials for […]
Students of nuclear security have a problem. Here’s how to help them.
November 12, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Radioactive materials are attractive targets to thieves and other bad actors. These are rare finds, valuable on the black market and relatively easy to weaponize. New security professionals rarely learn practical skills for protecting these targets until they are on the job at nuclear power plants, research reactors, processing plants and other […]
‘Iconic’ Sandia researcher wins Indigenous Excellence Award
October 28, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Her peers know her as an exceptional engineer. But to some Indigenous people, Sandra Begay is legendary. “Like many Native American students in STEM, I knew of Sandra before I met her,” said Suzanne Singer, who is Navajo and interned under Begay at Sandia National Laboratories in 2008. “She was the ‘iconic’ […]
Fellow at Sandia Labs appointed to national quantum computing advisory committee
October 13, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories Fellow Gil Herrera has been appointed to the newly established U.S. National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee. Herrera is one of two committee members representing the Department of Energy national laboratories. He joins 20 others from government, industry and academia tasked with advising the nation’s highest offices on matters concerning […]
Sandia joins national center for quantum computing research
August 26, 2020 – 7:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories will serve as the leading partner in one of five national research centers for quantum information science established by the Department of Energy today. The Quantum Systems Accelerator is a multidisciplinary team comprising dozens of researchers from 15 labs and universities. Together, they will collaborate to transform rudimentary quantum […]
Cybersecurity researchers at Sandia Labs take spotlight at national showcase
July 20, 2020 – 7:48 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Sandia National Laboratories computer scientists are earning national recognition for cybersecurity platforms they conceived. Adrian Chavez and Vince Urias were invited to pitch their software to investors, entrepreneurs and prospective customers at a special virtual event sponsored by the Department of Energy to accelerate the commercialization of federally developed technologies. Combined, […]
Expanding access to cyber research tools
June 25, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Faculty and students at Purdue University now have access to cybersecurity research software developed at Sandia National Laboratories. This marks the first time Sandia has collaborated with an academic community to make its cyber software widely available. Sandia has previously invited academic collaborators to use cyber research software at the labs or […]
Hospitals, manufacturers partner with Sandia amid high demand for medical-grade masks
June 22, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is teaming with local hospitals and medical device manufacturers to increase the availability of respirator masks for health care workers. “We’re helping local medical device manufacturers test materials they are using to make medical-grade masks, and we’re helping local hospitals by evaluating methods they’ve developed to clean N95 masks […]