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Lighting up the study of low-density materials

Sandia Labs develops way to spot defects inside hard-to-image materials ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s hard to get an X-ray image of low-density material like tissue between bones because X-rays just pass right through like sunlight through a window. But what if you need to see the area that isn’t bone? Sandia National Laboratories studies myriads […]

Optimizing hydrogen-powered passenger ferries focus of Sandia Labs study

LIVERMORE, California — Maritime transportation has emerged as one solution to the traffic gridlock that plagues coastal cities. But with urban passenger ferries operating in sensitive environments and tourist areas, hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger ferries offer a quiet, zero-emission alternative to conventional diesel vessels. In its San Francisco Bay Renewable Energy Electric Vessel with Zero […]

Clean water that’s ‘just right’ with Sandia sensor solution

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Water utilities have a Goldilocks problem: If they don’t add enough chlorine, nasty bacteria that cause typhoid and cholera survive the purification process. Too much chlorine produces disinfection byproducts such as chloroform, which increase cancer risks. The amount of chlorine needs to be “just right” for safe drinking water. The Environmental Protection […]

New Mexico firm uses motion of the ocean to bring fresh water to coastal communities

Sandia Labs provides a fourth year of technical help ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Hurricane Katrina whipped up huge, powerful waves that caused severe destruction in 2005 along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Their size and strength convinced Phil Kithil of Santa Fe, New Mexico, there had to be a way to harness that energy. His first thought […]

Scintillating discovery at Sandia Labs

Bright thinking leads to breakthrough in nuclear threat detection science LIVERMORE, Calif. — Taking inspiration from an unusual source, a Sandia National Laboratories team has dramatically improved the science of scintillators — objects that detect nuclear threats. According to the team, using organic glass scintillators could soon make it even harder to smuggle nuclear materials […]

Sandia researchers named IEEE fellows

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Sandia National Laboratories researchers have been named fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, known as IEEE. Bryan Oliver, senior manager of the Radiation Effects Sciences and Applications Department, was named for his contributions to the theory and simulation of intense particle beams and plasmas, and electrical engineer Ray […]

Finding a molecular needle in a haystack

Sandia Labs creates better ‘fingerprints’ to detect elusive, valuable chemical compounds LIVERMORE, Calif. — Imagine being able to see the entire Statue of Liberty and a small ant on its nose simultaneously. The drastic difference in size between the two objects would seem to render this task impossible. On a molecular level, this is exactly […]

Upgrades at Sandia’s Tonopah Test Range help weapons testing

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A former test director at Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range has described its combination of old and new tracking and data-collection equipment as like a mix of horseless carriages and horses — you can’t feed oats to the horseless carriages and you can’t gas up the horses. It’s been a challenge […]

Sandia’s California site recognizes innovative Livermore teachers

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Teachers are no strangers to surprising their students, but in late April, the tables were turned on Livermore teachers Fenna Gatty and Gretchen Reynolds. In front of their students and colleagues, they were surprised as the winners of the Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the Livermore Valley Education Foundation and Sandia […]

Mechanical engineering society elects four fellows from Sandia Labs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers make up only 3.1 percent of ASME’s 107,895 members. Sandia National Laboratories engineers Cliff Ho, Alexander Brown, Hy Tran and Kevin Dowding now are members of that elite group. Election as a fellow “recognizes exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession,” according […]

Overcoming the trust barrier in nuclear weapons verification measurements

Sandia method supports real-time warhead verification without revealing design data LIVERMORE, Calif. — Trust but verify. The catchphrase for arms control popularized by President Ronald Reagan sounds simple. However, verification involving sensitive data is a very complex endeavor. Verifying that a nuclear warhead actually is a warhead may include confirming key attributes. But the act […]

History of Sandia Labs rocketry told in award-winning film, ‘It Really Is Rocket Science!’

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The history of rocket testing and aerospace work at Sandia National Laboratories is the history of aero everything. “There was aeroheating and aeroballistics and aerodynamics and all things aero,” said Myra Buteau, a Sandia Labs video producer whose latest half-hour documentary, “It Really is Rocket Science!” tells the story of the laboratories’ […]

NM construction companies awarded $135 million in Sandia contracts

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fourteen New Mexico companies, most of them small businesses, have been chosen to provide about $135 million in general, electrical, mechanical and civil construction work at Sandia National Laboratories. The companies are subcontractors for the labs and will compete for individual construction projects as they occur, said Krista Smith, senior manager of […]

Annual Robot Rodeo offers bomb squads an unbeatable experience

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is hosting the 11th annual Western National Robot Rodeo, a thrilling four-day event where civilian and military bomb squad teams get practice using robots to defuse diverse, dangerous situations. Robots are life-saving tools for these emergency response teams, providing them a buffer from danger. Ten teams from around the […]

Sandia recognizes top female high school students in math, science in northern California

Mentorship emerged as theme for this year’s program LIVERMORE, Calif. – Female scholars from the junior class from San Francisco Bay Area high schools recently gathered at Sandia’s California site for the 26th annual Sandia Math and Science Awards. The Sandia Math and Science Awards program recognizes high-achieving young women for their accomplishments in STEM […]