ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories employees came together in a big way in 2020, contributing $4.8 million to the annual Sandia Gives campaign, which benefits United Way of Central New Mexico, United Way of the Bay Area and other nonprofits, increasing donations by $324,000 over 2019. A booster from National Technology & Engineering Solutions […]
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Sandia nuclear physicist selected fellow of AAAS
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Susan Seestrom, associate laboratories director for advanced science and technology and chief research officer at Sandia National Laboratories, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The physicist was cited “for her pathbreaking work in nuclear physics, especially using ultra cold neutrons, and her leadership, both […]

Advanced materials in a snap
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If everything moved 40,000 times faster, you could eat a fresh tomato three minutes after planting a seed. You could fly from New York to L.A. in half a second. And you’d have waited in line at airport security for that flight for 30 milliseconds. Thanks to machine learning, designing materials for […]

Sandia to put nuclear waste storage canisters to the test
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is outfitting three 22.5-ton, 16.5-feet-long stainless-steel storage canisters with heaters and instrumentation to simulate nuclear waste so researchers can study their durability. The three canisters, which arrived in mid-November and have never contained any nuclear materials, will be used to study how much salt gathers on canisters over time. […]

Materials developed at Sandia help extinguish solar panel fires before they ignite
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As solar panels become popular and their voltages increase, there is a need to have built-in capabilities to extinguish fires caused by arc-faults, which are high-power discharges of electricity that can create explosions or flash events due to damaged wires. Sandia National Laboratories researcher Kenny Armijo has spent 10 years working alongside […]

Sandia secures six regional technology transfer awards
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 […]

Students of nuclear security have a problem. Here’s how to help them.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Radioactive materials are attractive targets to thieves and other bad actors. These are rare finds, valuable on the black market and relatively easy to weaponize. New security professionals rarely learn practical skills for protecting these targets until they are on the job at nuclear power plants, research reactors, processing plants and other […]

Mechanical engineer at Sandia named Asian American Engineer of the Year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories mechanical engineer Bo Song has been recognized as an Asian American Engineer of the Year by the national DiscoverE Program, which honors outstanding Asian American professionals in science and engineering for their technical achievements, leadership and public service. “This is a big honor for me,” Song said. “It’s highly […]

Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers names Sandia Labs Organization of the Year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has been named 2020 Organization of the Year in the government category by the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. The award, presented during the society’s virtual conference this month, recognizes organizations with a longstanding commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Nominees must demonstrate support, advocacy […]

Record neutron numbers at Sandia Labs’ Z machine fusion experiments
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A relatively new method to control nuclear fusion that combines a massive jolt of electricity with strong magnetic fields and a powerful laser beam has achieved its own record output of neutrons — a key standard by which fusion efforts are judged — at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z pulsed power facility, the most […]

Hispanic organization honors nuclear waste management leader, cyber assurance architect
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two experts at Sandia National Laboratories have been honored for their achievements and leadership as top engineers and scientists from the Hispanic community. Evaristo “Tito” Bonano, nuclear energy fuel cycle senior manager, and cyber assurance architect Angela “Ang” Rivas were recognized at the 32nd annual Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference by […]

Material found in house paint may spur technology revolution
LIVERMORE, Calif. — The development of a new method to make non-volatile computer memory may have unlocked a problem that has been holding back machine learning and has the potential to revolutionize technologies like voice recognition, image processing and autonomous driving. A team from Sandia National Laboratories, working with collaborators from the University of Michigan, […]

Machine-learning technique from Sandia Labs could improve fusion energy outputs
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Machine-learning techniques, best known for teaching self-driving cars to stop at red lights, may soon help researchers around the world improve their control over the most complicated reaction known to science: nuclear fusion. Fusion reactions are typically hydrogen atoms heated to form a gaseous cloud called a plasma that releases energy as […]

Successful crash test meets major milestone for nuclear deterrence program
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 […]