ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Why are scientists setting off small-scale explosions inside 1-foot cubes of plexiglass? They’re watching how fractures form and grow in a rock-like substance to see if explosives or propellants, similar to jet fuel, can connect geothermal wells in a predictable manner. Geothermal energy has a lot of promise as a renewable energy […]
Category Archives: Science / Technology / Engineering
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Build-a-satellite program could fast track national security space missions
June 8, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Satellites equipped with remote sensing technology execute many critical national security missions, from detecting explosions to tracking sea ice, but until now it could take a team years to move from a concept to a deployable space system. Valhalla, a Python-based performance modeling framework developed at Sandia National Laboratories, uses high-performance computing […]
Seashell-inspired Sandia shield protects materials in hostile environments
May 3, 2022 – 11:26 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Word of an extraordinarily inexpensive material, lightweight enough to protect satellites against debris in the cold of outer space, cohesive enough to strengthen the walls of pressurized vessels experiencing average conditions on Earth and yet heat-resistant enough at 1,500 degrees Celsius or 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit to shield instruments against flying debris, raises […]
Cheers to five more years
April 14, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An initiative that helps businesses transform New Mexico national laboratories’ technologies into viable products and services will continue driving innovations to market into 2027. Passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in March, the bill graduates the pilot Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Tax Credit Initiative into a […]
Could quantum technology be New Mexico’s next economic boon?
April 1, 2022 – 9:30 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Science, education and economic development leaders across New Mexico have formed a coalition to bring future quantum computing jobs to the state. Sandia National Laboratories, The University of New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory announced the new coalition today at UNM during the Quantum New Mexico Symposium. “Quantum technology is going […]
Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their positions
March 17, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Postdoctoral researchers who are designated Truman and Hruby fellows experience Sandia National Laboratories differently from their peers. Appointees to the prestigious fellowships are given the latitude to pursue their own ideas, rather than being trained by fitting into the research plans of more experienced researchers. To give wings to this process, the […]
Record-breaking, ultrafast devices step to protecting the grid from EMPs
March 15, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories have announced a tiny, electronic device that can shunt excess electricity within a few billionths of a second while operating at a record-breaking 6,400 volts — a significant step towards protecting the nation’s electric grid from an electromagnetic pulse. The team published the fabrication and testing results […]
Neuromorphic computing widely applicable, Sandia researchers show
March 10, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With the insertion of a little math, Sandia National Laboratories researchers have shown that neuromorphic computers, which synthetically replicate the brain’s logic, can solve more complex problems than those posed by artificial intelligence and may even earn a place in high-performance computing. The findings, detailed in a recent article in the journal […]
Safer, more powerful batteries for electric cars, power grid
March 7, 2022 – 9:21 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Solid-state batteries, currently used in small electronic devices like smart watches, have the potential to be safer and more powerful than lithium-ion batteries for things such as electric cars and storing energy from solar panels for later use. However, several technical challenges remain before solid-state batteries can become widespread. A Sandia National […]
Black engineer awards distinguish Sandia Labs
February 28, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Ten Sandia National Laboratories engineers received Black Engineer of the Year Awards this year, including Most Promising Scientist in Government, Research Leadership, Science Spectrum Trailblazers and Modern-Day Technology Leaders. Honorees include Sandia mechanical, electrical, civil, aerospace and aeronautical engineers who excel in their respective fields. From the abstract to the technical, each […]
Sandia scientist to lead materials science organization
February 21, 2022 – 8:08 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Brad Boyce, a materials scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, was elected president of The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society. Boyce will become vice president of the society on March 3 at its annual meeting, and then serve three consecutive one-year terms as vice president, president and past president. He is the second […]
Algorithm could shorten quality testing, research in many industries by months
February 15, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A machine-learning algorithm developed at Sandia National Laboratories could provide auto manufacturing, aerospace and other industries a faster and more cost-efficient way to test bulk materials. The technique was published recently in the scientific journal Materials Science and Engineering: A. Production stoppages are costly. So, manufacturers screen materials like sheet metal for […]
Great Minds in STEM celebrates two Sandia engineers
January 31, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories systems engineer Kenneth Armijo has been named a 2021 Most Promising Engineer Advanced Degree at the Hispanic Engineering National Achievement Awards Conference. Sandia mechanical engineer Michael Omana was named a 2021 Most Promising Scientist, Masters at the conference. Armijo, who holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, leads molten salt, […]
Powerful Sandia machine-learning model shows diamond melting at high pressure
January 26, 2022 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Sandia National Laboratories supercomputer simulation model called SNAP that rapidly predicts the behavior of billions of interacting atoms has captured the melting of diamond when compressed by extreme pressures and temperatures. At several million atmospheres, the rigid carbon lattice of the hardest known substance on Earth is shown in SNAP (Spectral […]
How Sandia Labs is revealing the inner workings of quantum computers
January 19, 2022 – 9:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A precision diagnostic developed at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories is emerging as a gold standard for detecting and describing problems inside quantum computing hardware. Two papers published today in the scientific journal Nature describe how separate research teams — one including Sandia researchers — used a Sandia technique called […]