ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are launching a research center that combines hardware design and software development to improve artificial intelligence technologies that will ultimately benefit the public. AI is an emerging field with eventual applications ranging from autonomous […]
Category Archives: Science / Technology / Engineering
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Advanced microscopy reveals unusual DNA structure
October 30, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An advanced imaging technique reveals new structural details of S-DNA, ladder-like DNA that forms when the molecule experiences extreme tension. This work conducted at Sandia National Laboratories and Vrije University in the Netherlands provides the first experimental evidence that S-DNA contains highly tilted base pairs. The predictable pairing and stacking of the […]
National Hispanic science and engineering organization honors two Sandia researchers
October 22, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Materials scientist Nic Argibay and health and safety senior manager Rafael Gonzalez were honored at the 31st annual Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference by Great Minds in STEM, a nonprofit organization that recognizes Hispanic leadership and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math. Argibay received a Most Promising Scientist or Engineer […]
Armoring satellites to survive and operate through attacks
October 21, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Satellites do a lot of things — they help people navigate from one place to another, they deliver television programming, they search for new stars and exo-planets and they enable the U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy. But until recently, one thing they haven’t done — or needed to do — is defend themselves. […]
Engineering success by predicting failure
October 16, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Since people started forging and working with metal, they’ve arguably been interested in how it breaks. But only since the 1950s have scientists and engineers had a mathematical framework for using laboratory measurements of material failure to predict a structure’s resistance to cracking. “These tools work well for brittle materials, such as […]
Wrangling big data into real-time, actionable intelligence
October 14, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Social media, cameras, sensors and more generate huge amounts of data that can overwhelm analysts sifting through it all for meaningful, actionable information to provide decision-makers such as political leaders and field commanders responding to security threats. Sandia National Laboratories researchers are working to lessen that burden by developing the science to […]
Sandia research focuses on ‘switching on’ iron in clay minerals
October 11, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers have discovered the mechanism to “switch on” iron residing in clay mineral structures, leading to the understanding of how to make iron reactive under oxygen-free conditions. This research will help scientists understand and predict how contaminants, such as arsenic, selenium and chromium, move through the environment and enter […]
Security in a heartbeat
October 7, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A thumbprint to unlock a door. An eye scan to unlatch a vault. Both were once ideas of the future that may become things of the past if current research is successful. Sandia National Laboratories is collaborating with a New Mexico small business to test and develop a biometric security system based […]
National security chip plant gets an upgrade
October 3, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has completed phase one of an anticipated three-year upgrade at its plant responsible for making integrated circuits, similar to computer chips. The facility is now fully compatible with industry-standard, 8-inch silicon wafers — thin, round starting materials used for making chips. Previously, Sandia used 6-inch wafers. Supporting the new […]
Containing a nuclear accident with ground-up minerals
September 30, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are developing a promising new way to prevent the spread of radioactive contamination and contain the hot molten mass that develops within a nuclear reactor during a catastrophic accident. During a three-year Laboratory Directed Research and Development project, a team of scientists discovered and patented a process […]
Autonomy New Mexico interns build drones to test hypersonic tech
September 27, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is developing autonomy and artificial intelligence for flight systems soaring at more than 3,800 mph. The technologies to get there will initially be tested on drones that shuffle around at about 5 mph. “We want to ensure success before we test technologies on hypersonic flights,” said Sandia manager Jay […]
Asian American conference selects Sandia researcher ‘most promising engineer’
September 24, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researcher Stanley Chou was recently selected one of three Most Promising Engineers of the Year at the 2019 Asian American Engineer of the Year Conference in Dallas. The AAEOY Award, first introduced in 2002, honors outstanding Asian American professionals in science and engineering for their technical achievements, leadership and […]
Seeing infrared: Sandia’s nanoantennas help detectors see more heat, less noise
September 16, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed tiny, gold antennas to help cameras and sensors that “see” heat deliver clearer pictures of thermal infrared radiation for everything from stars and galaxies to people, buildings and items requiring security. In a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project, a team of researchers developed a nanoantenna-enabled […]
Sandia experiments at temperature of sun offer solutions to solar model problems
September 10, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Experimenting at 4.1 million degrees Fahrenheit, physicists at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine have found that an astronomical model — used for 40 years to predict the sun’s behavior as well as the life and death of stars — underestimates the energy blockage caused by free-floating iron atoms, a major player in […]
HOT SHOT findings could save defense tech developers time and money
August 30, 2019 – 10:55 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An early milestone for developing missile technologies is to show they can work in computer-simulations or large-scale field tests that shake and spin components without falling to pieces. “Screws can back out; things can break,” said Greg Tipton, a structural dynamics engineer at Sandia National Laboratories. Similar tests are performed in the […]