ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology have signed an agreement to conduct and share research of mutual interest.

Areas of immediate importance named in the memorandum of understanding include photovoltaics, nanoelectronics, nanomaterials and computational investigations of the properties of materials. Collaborations are expected to include staff exchanges between the two labs and information-sharing through jointly held workshops.

Rick Stulen, Sandia vice president for Science and Technology and Research Foundations, and Tamotsu Nomakuchi, president of AIST, signed the agreement on May 4 in the Department of Energy’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. Present at the signing were Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai and DOE Secretary Steven Chu.

A tour at Sandia the previous Saturday was led by Sandia’s Bob Hwang and Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Andy Shreve, director and codirector, respectively, of the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a DOE Office of Science project run jointly by the two national laboratories. The tour included Sandia President Tom Hunter along with Namakuchi and Nikai.

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Sandia news media contact: Neal Singer, nsinger@sandia.gov
(505) 845-7078