LIVERMORE, Calif. — The Department of Energy has awarded $5 million to create tools to increase the nation’s level of preparedness for biological threats — including an infection rate tracking program for COVID-19 developed by a Sandia National Laboratories team in 2020. Jaideep Ray and Cosmin Safta developed an approach using publicly available data from states […]
Tag Archives: COVID-19
Neutralizing antibodies for emerging viruses
December 14, 2021 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have created a platform for discovering, designing and engineering novel antibody countermeasures for emerging viruses. This new process of screening for nanobodies that “neutralize” or disable the virus represents a faster, more effective approach to developing nanobody therapies that prevent or treat viral infection. Traditionally used to […]
Simulating sneezes and coughs to show how COVID-19 spreads
May 11, 2021 – 5:00 am
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 […]
Reusable respirator could ease COVID-19 medical mask shortages
April 1, 2021 – 5:00 am
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 […]
Sandia secures six regional technology transfer awards
November 18, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For responding with innovative solutions during the pandemic, developing solar cell and hydrogen research technology, and creatively working with companies, Sandia National Laboratories won six prestigious regional 2020 Federal Laboratory Consortium awards. The awards for the Mid-Continent and Far West regions put a spotlight on Sandia successes in transferring technology, partnerships and […]
Virtual support from Sandia enabled B61-12 flight test on F-35A jet fighter
November 9, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Overcoming COVID-19 pandemic challenges through virtual means, teams from Sandia National Laboratories and the U.S. Air Force under the guidance of the National Nuclear Security Administration performed a critical B61-12 flight test aboard the F-35A Lightning II jet fighter. The flight test at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert took […]
Successful crash test meets major milestone for nuclear deterrence program
October 8, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A full-scale crash test involving a semitruck impacting the side of the first prototype of a new weapons transporter successfully took place at Sandia National Laboratories this summer. Using the labs’ sled track, rockets propelled the semitractor-trailer at highway speeds into the prototype, an over-the-road Mobile Guardian Transporter conceptualized and built from […]
Sandia helps safeguard biological data threatened during COVID-19 pandemic
October 6, 2020 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — A partnership between Sandia National Laboratories and the Boston firm BioBright LLC to improve the security of synthetic biology equipment has become more relevant after the United States and others issued warnings that hackers were using the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their activities. “In the past decade, genomics and synthetic biology have […]
Helping protect medical professionals
August 5, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A media comprised of a sandwich of materials, tested by Sandia National Laboratories, is being manufactured into N95-like respirators that could be used in local medical facilities. The project originated from the urgent need for personal protective equipment when the COVID-19 outbreak began. “I can almost assure you that no one else […]
Finding COVID-19 needles in a coronavirus haystack
July 14, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — COVID-19 researchers the world over face a daunting task of sifting through tens of thousands of existing coronavirus studies, looking for commonalities or data that might help in their urgent biomedical investigations. To accelerate the filtering of relevant information, Sandia National Laboratories has assembled a combination of data mining, machine-learning algorithms and […]
Keeping medical workers safe while collecting patient samples during COVID-19
July 6, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is offering free-of-charge the design and complete instruction manual for building a low-cost, drive-up outdoor shelter that shields healthcare workers conducting COVID-19 testing on its licensing and technology transfer website. Learn more about the outdoor testing shelters and download instructions here. Dr. Cody Saxton of Sandia’s medical team said […]
Sandia researchers use public data to forecast new coronavirus cases
June 30, 2020 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Global data networks that connect people through their devices have made it possible to create accurate short-term forecasts of new COVID-19 cases, using a method pioneered by two researchers at Sandia National Laboratories. Jaideep Ray and Cosmin Safta used a model developed by Ray more than a decade ago to track plague […]
Hospitals, manufacturers partner with Sandia amid high demand for medical-grade masks
June 22, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is teaming with local hospitals and medical device manufacturers to increase the availability of respirator masks for health care workers. “We’re helping local medical device manufacturers test materials they are using to make medical-grade masks, and we’re helping local hospitals by evaluating methods they’ve developed to clean N95 masks […]
Teens pay it forward, use 3D printers built at Sandia to make face shields
May 15, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Teens who built 3D printers during a weeklong robotics camp at Sandia National Laboratories last year have used them to make more than 3,000 face shields that have been donated to medical professionals and first responders in New Mexico. The camp was hosted by Sandia in collaboration with R4 Creating, a nonprofit […]
Sandia Labs collects $245,000 for Native American neighbors
May 11, 2020 – 8:14 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As COVID-19 began ravaging Native American communities in the Southwest last month, a sense of urgency was mounting for Sandia National Laboratories tribal government relations program manager Laurence Brown. As the virus spread rapidly in parts of the Navajo Nation and New Mexico pueblos, a groundswell of Sandia employees — including many […]