ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Running a model of the global atmosphere with unprecedentedly high resolution on the world’s first exascale supercomputer, a team led by Sandia National Laboratories has won the Gordon Bell Prize for Climate Modeling presented by the Association for Computing Machinery. The award, announced Nov. 16 at the SC23 convention in Denver, recognizes […]
Category Archives: Energy / Environment / Water
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Two researchers elected associate fellows for aerospace contributions
November 15, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Sandia National Laboratories employees will soon join the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics class of 2024 as associate fellows. “This distinguished group of professionals has made significant and lasting contributions to the aerospace profession,” said AIAA President and Sandia Deputy Laboratories Director Laura McGill. “They exemplify expertise and dedication to […]
New tool models viability of closed-loop geothermal systems
November 14, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Geothermal power has a lot of promise as a renewable energy source that is not dependent on the sun shining or the wind blowing, but it has some challenges to wide adoption. One of these challenges is that there are a limited number of locations in the U.S. that naturally have the right […]
Rocks may hold key to storing intermittent renewable energy, expanding its use
October 24, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is collaborating with New Mexico-based CSolPower LLC to develop an affordable method of storing energy from renewable sources. The primary goal of the partnership is to transition to zero-carbon solar and wind energy for generating electricity. “You need to have energy storage and dispatchable power when renewable energy is […]
Sandia employee named Scientist of the Year
September 13, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — “I was the only farm worker who had a calculus book in his car,” joked Sal Rodriguez when I asked him about his upbringing. But it was no joke. The son of immigrants, who grew up in the tiny town of Calexico, California, worked in the fields to put himself through college. […]
Sandia successfully tests heat-powered system
August 21, 2023 – 7:24 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Capturing carbon dioxide and pumping it deep underground could be an important part of mitigating the effects of climate change. However, ensuring the carbon dioxide stays trapped away from the atmosphere, where it serves as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, is critical. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories recently designed, built and lab-tested a […]
Cutting-edge complex
August 11, 2023 – 9:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories opened the doors August 7 to its new, cutting-edge Emergency Operations Center aimed at enhancing emergency incident management coordination and communications for the workforce and the community in the event of an emergency, disaster or crisis. The $42.5 million, 25,000-square-foot facility, located on Kirtland Air Force Base, is scheduled […]
Sandia scientists achieve breakthrough in tackling PFAS contamination
June 1, 2023 – 11:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A team at Sandia National Laboratories is developing materials to tackle what has become one of the biggest problems in the world: human exposure to a group of chemicals known as PFAS through contaminated water and other products. Sandia is now investing more money to take their research to the next level. […]
Sandia switches to hydrogen weather balloons
May 9, 2023 – 10:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, Sandia National Laboratories researchers ensure the collection of important weather and climate data. By switching the gas used in their weather balloons, they have reduced their metaphorical footprint on the fragile Arctic ecosystem. More than three years ago, the Sandia-operated atmospheric measurement facility in […]
Testing coatings to conserve canisters against corrosion
April 17, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As anyone who has lived near the ocean can attest, metal and sea mist are a recipe for corrosion. A nuisance of coastal life, the consequences of these common chemical reactions become far more serious when it is taking aim at the stainless-steel canisters that contain spent nuclear fuel. To shield steel […]
Students to visit Sandia for firsthand look at STEM careers
March 23, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A group of students from Gallup, Miyamura and Grants high schools will visit Sandia National Laboratories on March 30 to see firsthand some of the Labs’ research and technology that career paths in science, technology, engineering and math can lead to. The students will tour Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility, Structural […]
Sandia scientists help enhance advanced nuclear reactor analysis
March 14, 2023 – 7:47 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nuclear power is a significant source of steady carbon-neutral electricity, and advanced reactors can add more of it to the U.S. grid, which is vital for the environment and economy. For decades, Sandia National Laboratories has supported the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in its role of regulating and licensing nuclear reactors. With many […]
A fresh look at restoring power to the grid
January 31, 2023 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Climate change can alter extreme weather events, and these events have the potential to strain, disrupt or damage the nation’s grid. Sandia National Laboratories computer scientists have been working on an innovative computer model to help grid operators quickly restore power to the grid after a complete disruption, a process called “black […]
Surveilling carbon sequestration: A smart collar to sense leaks
December 13, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories engineers are working on a device that would help ensure captured carbon dioxide stays deep underground — a critical component of carbon sequestration as part of a climate solution. Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 — a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the Earth’s atmosphere — […]
Sandia studies vulnerabilities of electric vehicle charging infrastructure
November 15, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With electric vehicles becoming more common, the risks and hazards of a cyberattack on electric vehicle charging equipment and systems also increases. Jay Johnson, an electrical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, has been studying the varied vulnerabilities of electric vehicle charging infrastructure for the past four years. Johnson and his team recently […]