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A song of ice and fiber

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers are beginning to analyze the first seafloor dataset from under Arctic sea ice using a novel method. They were able to capture ice quakes and transportation activities on the North Slope of Alaska while also monitoring for other climate signals and marine life. The team, led by Sandia […]

Retaining knowledge of nuclear waste management

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Have you ever started a new job and spent a lot of time figuring out everything from how to get paper for the printer to whether an important customer prefers quick phone calls to emails? Imagine if that important customer was the federal government and the project you were working on was […]

Reusable respirator could ease COVID-19 medical mask shortages

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 […]

Forbes magazine again tags Sandia Labs as top large employer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories again has been recognized by Forbes as one of the 500 Best Large Employers 2021. Sandia also won the distinction in 2017 and again in 2019, shortly after garnering a separate award as one of the magazine’s top workplaces for diversity. Forbes and the market research firm Statista conducted […]

Finding fire and ice: Modeling the probability of methane hydrate deposits on the seafloor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Methane hydrate, an ice-like material made of compressed natural gas, burns when lit and can be found in some regions of the seafloor and in Arctic permafrost. Thought to be the world’s largest source of natural gas, methane hydrate is a potential fuel source, and if it “melts” and methane gas is […]

Catching energy-exploration caused earthquakes before they happen

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Geoscientists at Sandia National Laboratories used 3D-printed rocks and an advanced, large-scale computer model of past earthquakes to understand and prevent earthquakes triggered by energy exploration. Injecting water underground after unconventional oil and gas extraction, commonly known as fracking, geothermal energy stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration all can trigger earthquakes. Of course, […]

Thin explosive films provide snapshot of how detonations start

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Using thin films — no more than a few pieces of notebook paper thick — of a common explosive chemical, researchers from Sandia National Laboratories studied how small-scale explosions start and grow. Sandia is the only lab in the U.S. that can make such detonatable thin films. These experiments advanced fundamental knowledge […]

Black engineer awards expand Sandia Labs spotlight

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Ten Sandia National Laboratories engineers received Black Engineer of the Year Awards, including Most Promising Scientist, Modern Technology Leaders and Science Spectrum Trailblazers. Honorees include Sandia systems, chemical, computer, electrical, petroleum, manufacturing and mechanical engineers who excel in their respective fields, powering innovation while flexing their technological muscles for U.S. national security. […]

Search and rescue volunteers from Sandia respond to wilderness misadventures

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — By day, Craig Tenney is a chemical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. But sometimes as he readies for bed, he gets a call and instead finds himself on an icy trail, mere feet from a cliff high above the city in the Sandia Mountains rescuing a couple of hikers who thought they […]

Small IT business wins Sandia’s largest single subcontract

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories awarded an information technology subcontract of potentially up to $700 million over a possible seven years to a New Mexico small business. This is the largest subcontract Sandia has issued to date. “It’s a big deal and a huge win for the small-business community,” said Sandia subcontract manager Ally […]

Sandia radiation expert to lead national health physics organization

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Charles Potter, a certified health physicist at Sandia National Laboratories, was elected president of the American Academy of Health Physics, an organization that supports certified health physicists and the profession’s certification process. Potter previously served as the organization’s parliamentarian for three years, and as president, he plans to update and streamline the […]

Airplanes to cellphones: New equipment finds the flaws in everything

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Tim Briggs has built a career at Sandia National Laboratories tearing and breaking things apart with his team of collaborators. Now, he’s developed a fracture-testing tool that could help make everything from aircraft structural frames to cellphones stronger. Briggs has filed a patent for a device associated with bonded structural composite materials […]

International research team begins uncovering Arctic mystery

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Something lurks beneath the Arctic Ocean. While it’s not a monster, it has largely remained a mystery. According to 25 international researchers who collaborated on a first-of-its-kind study, frozen land beneath rising sea levels currently traps 60 billion tons of methane and 560 billion tons of organic carbon. Little is known about […]

New tool at Sandia brings some West Texas wind to the Duke City — virtually

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have a new tool that allows them to study wind power and see whether it can be efficiently used to provide power to people living in remote and rural places or even off the grid, through distributed energy. A new, custom-built wind turbine emulator has been installed […]

Tread tester

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Simulating how a tire’s tread, rubber and size respond to a road’s corners, angles and hills, Sandia National Laboratories and The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. have developed a virtual means of showing a tire’s performance before the first prototypes are ever built. Computer simulations test a virtual tire on a virtual […]