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Tag Archives: chemistry

Dedication, curiosity earn chemist DOE Early Career Research Award

LIVERMORE, Calif. — After earning a Department of Energy Early Career Research Award, Krupa Ramasesha plans to launch an in-depth study of how interactions of nanoparticles with light drive chemistry — possibly the first step in helping the nation end its dependence on fossil fuels. “The goal of my work under the early career award […]

Truman and Hruby 2022 fellows explore their positions

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 […]

Program in fusion energy attracted interns’ eyes

 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A bold plan paid off this past summer when Sandia National Laboratories staff members LaRico Treadwell and Khalid Hattar combined their passions for increasing inclusion of people of color with developing materials to eventually derive energy from nuclear fusion. Standing to benefit from the pilot project were three undergraduate interns from North Carolina […]

Portable gas detection shrinks to new dimensions

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A sensor for detecting toxic gases is now smaller, faster and more reliable. Its performance sets it up for integration in a highly sensitive portable system for detecting chemical weapons. Better miniature sensors can also rapidly detect airborne toxins where they occur, providing key information to help emergency personnel respond safely and […]

New chemical mechanisms identified on road to cleaner, more efficient combustion

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers have identified key chemical mechanisms for the first time that add to the fundamental knowledge of combustion chemistry and might lead to cleaner combustion in engines. Sandia researcher Nils Hansen and former postdoctoral appointee Kai Moshammer focused on low-temperature oxidation of hydrocarbons and other alternative fuels. They identified […]

Paving the way: Sandia researchers earn top Hispanic science and engineering honors

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The technical achievements of two Sandia National Laboratories innovators will be recognized with 2016 Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) Awards from Great Minds in STEM, an organization supporting careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Chemist Bernadette “Bernie” Hernandez-Sanchez won for outstanding technical achievement and is the first woman at Sandia to […]

Cleaning concrete contaminated with chemicals

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In March 1995, members of a Japanese cult released the deadly nerve agent sarin into the Tokyo subway system, killing a dozen people and injuring a thousand more. This leads to the question: What if a U.S. transportation hub was contaminated with a chemical agent? The hub might be shut down for […]

Optical diagnostics researcher at Sandia wins DOE Early Career award

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Sandia National Laboratories researcher Christopher Kliewer has won a $2.5 million, five-year Early Career Research Program award from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science for his fundamental science proposal to develop new optical diagnostic tools to study interfacial combustion interactions that are major sources of pollution and vehicle inefficiency. Kliewer’s […]

Asian American engineering honorees credit families for success

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two scientists at Sandia National Laboratories thought back to their roots when they won Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEOY) awards: Somuri Prasad to a village in India and Patrick Feng to a refuge in America. Prasad’s father helped found the first school in his native Pasumarru in the Krishna District […]

Direct measurement of key molecule will increase accuracy of combustion models

LIVERMORE, Calif. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers are the first to directly measure hydroperoxyalkyl radicals — a class of reactive molecules denoted as “QOOH” — that are key in the chain of reactions that controls the early stages of combustion. This breakthrough has generated data on QOOH reaction rates and outcomes that will improve the […]

Entrepreneur teams with Sandia scientists to bring life-saving vaccines to far reaches of the world

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Getting life-saving vaccines to the most remote parts of the world is no easy feat. Biopharmaceuticals are highly sensitive to heat and cold and can perish if their temperature shifts a few degrees. “The vast majority of the world’s population lives in areas where electricity and refrigeration are not reliable,” said Bruce […]

Magnetically stimulated flow patterns offer strategy for heat transfer problems

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers Jim Martin and Kyle Solis have what Martin calls “a devil of a problem.” They’ve discovered how to harness magnetic fields to create vigorous, organized fluid flows in particle suspensions. The magnetically stimulated flows offer an alternative when heat transfer is difficult because they overcome natural convection limits. Martin […]

Combustion chemist to be awarded Polanyi Medal for pioneering work at Sandia Labs

LIVERMORE, Calif.— Sandia National Laboratories combustion chemist Craig Taatjes, whose groundbreaking work on Criegee intermediates has provided scientific insight into hydrocarbon combustion and atmospheric chemistry, has been selected to receive the prestigious Polanyi Medal by the International Symposium on Gas Kinetics. Taatjes will receive the award and present the Polanyi Lecture at the 23rd International […]

Study could help improve nuclear waste repositories

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Here’s the question faced by a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers: How fast will iodine-129 released from spent nuclear fuel move through a deep, clay-based geological repository? Understanding that process is crucial as countries worldwide consider underground clay formations for nuclear waste disposal, because clay offers low permeability and high radionuclide […]

Sandia’s Nancy Jackson named American Chemical Society Fellow

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A Sandia National Laboratories chemical engineer whose team partners with chemistry labs around the world to ensure chemicals are handled safely and securely has been named a 2013 American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow. The prestigious honor, given by the world’s largest scientific society, is awarded to scientists who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments […]