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Setting gold and platinum standards where few have gone before

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Like two superheroes finally joining forces, Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine — generator of the world’s most powerful electrical pulses — and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility — the planet’s most energetic laser source — in a series of 10 experiments have detailed the responses of gold and platinum at […]

Cleared for takeoff

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A 30-year program that made flying safer through continued innovations in airplane inspection, maintenance and airworthiness research has ended its tenure at Sandia National Laboratories. The Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Assurance Center, or AANC, operated by Sandia for the FAA, is moving to the National Institute of Aviation Research at Wichita State […]

Using a mineral ‘sponge’ to catch uranium

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A team of researchers from Sandia, Lawrence Berkeley and Pacific Northwest national laboratories tested a “sponge-like” mineral that can “soak up” uranium at a former uranium mill near Rifle, Colorado. The researchers found that the mineral, calcium apatite, soaks up and binds uranium from the groundwater, reducing it by more than ten-thousandfold. […]

Sandia gives awards, mentoring to local young women

LIVERMORE, Calif. — A three-decade tradition connecting young Bay Area and northern California high school students with accomplished scientists at Sandia National Laboratories was not stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic. This spring, more than 70 students, parents, mentors and educators virtually attended the 30th Sandia Women’s Connection Math & Science Awards. Honorees were nominated by […]

World’s smallest, best acoustic amplifier emerges from 50-year-old hypothesis

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 […]

Largest aerospace society names Sandia researcher ‘Engineer of the Year’

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Humberto “Tito” Silva III, a Sandia National Laboratories researcher, has been named Engineer of the Year by the world’s largest aerospace technical society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Selected by a committee of his peers, Silva was cited for improving failure-rate predictions of aerospace flight systems as they reenter Earth’s […]

Experimental Impact Mechanics Lab at Sandia bars none

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There’s a tiny hidden gem at Sandia National Laboratories that tests the strength and evaluates the impact properties of any solid natural or manmade material on the planet. From its humble beginnings as a small storage room, mechanical engineer Bo Song has built a singular Experimental Impact Mechanics Lab that packs a […]

Sandia app assesses value of energy storage for businesses, utilities

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Utility companies and corporate project developers now have help assessing how much money adding an energy storage system will save them thanks to new Sandia National Laboratories software. The software, called Quest, can also be used by energy researchers to evaluate different energy storage scenarios and model the potential of new solutions. […]

After 40 years, Sandia’s Combustion Research Facility still driving toward the future

LIVERMORE, Calif. — The weather on March 6, 1981, was nothing too remarkable for the San Francisco Bay Area — a little drizzle with temperatures in the 50s and fairly calm wind. The remarkable event that day was taking place on Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus, but even those who participated in the opening of […]

Planting seeds and growing hope

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, on behalf of Sandia National Laboratories, recently gave more than $538,000 in grants that focus on families and education as part of its corporate contributions program. “Sandia’s grants focus on improving family stability and educational success by supporting nonprofits that address the greatest challenges in […]

Simulating sneezes and coughs to show how COVID-19 spreads

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two groups of researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have published papers on the droplets of liquid sprayed by coughs or sneezes and how far they can travel under different conditions. Both teams used Sandia’s decades of experience with advanced computer simulations studying how liquids and gases move for its nuclear stockpile stewardship […]

Prehistoric humans first traversed Australia by ‘superhighways’

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 […]

Legendary licenses

Licensing expert Bob Westervelt, who has worked to transfer Sandia National Laboratories technologies in the medical, solar and hydrogen production fields, received the 2021 Outstanding Technology Transfer Professional Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium. The consortium, a network that honors significant technology transfer accomplishments among more than 300 federal laboratories and research centers, recognized Westervelt […]

Here comes the sun: Tethered-balloon tests ensure safety of new solar-power technology

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What do tiny dust particles, 22-foot-wide red balloons and “concentrated” sunlight have in common? Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories recently used 22-foot-wide tethered balloons to collect samples of airborne dust particles to ensure the safety of an emerging solar-power technology. The study determined that the dust created by the new technology is […]

CRADAs, licenses lead to billions in economic impact since 2000

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and patent license agreements between Sandia National Laboratories and outside partners led to billions in economic impact and supported tens of thousands of high-paying jobs every year for the last two decades, according to a recent study on national economic contributions. CRADAs and licenses signed with 223 […]