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We have heard many positive
comments about the most recent Community Leaders Breakfast held in Los Alamos. I
am pleased with the large attendance and people's willingness to participate in
the tours.
These meetings were begun
to provide an opportunity for Lab and community leaders to exchange information.
The briefing format was designed to meet the request that LANL provide more
information about the direction the Lab is heading and also provide an
opportunity for us to hear your thoughts and ideas. The opening poster session
and the tours on June 18th provided an extended time to hear from many of you.
Thank you for your active participation.
We are part of the
community and the community is part of us, and we need to make sure that the
relationships are beneficial to both parties. The breakfasts aren't the only way
that we seek public input. Every year we, as an office, participate in outreach
activities such as regional fairs and events, like the July 4th Pancakes on the
Plaza (see article below), where we get to interact with community members and
hear their questions and concerns. We also have a third-party research
organization conduct a survey each year to gauge satisfaction with the
Laboratory's performance in various areas, the results of which are available on
our website. In addition, I'm also about to embark on a "listening tour" where
I'll be getting together with small groups of people in the community to learn
even more about what people are thinking. One of my roles as head of this office
is to serve as a conduit to Lab management on community issues as we define our
course for the future. The better informed I am, the better I can perform that
role. I look forward to listening to many of you.
Kurt A.
Steinhaus
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Roadrunner fastest
supercomputer in the world |
A new LANL supercomputer
designed to play a role in nuclear deterrence, global energy research, and basic
science, has demonstrated its ability to operate at the "petaflop" level. It is
the first such computer in the world to break this speed barrier of a thousand
trillion operations per second.
The computer, developed in
partnership with IBM, LANL, and the National Nuclear Security Administration,
uses commercially available hardware that helped cut the cost of the
one-of-a-kind, $120 million machine. It is expected to begin its first computing
applications in January 2009 once all integrative testing is complete. Click here
to view a video clip regarding the computer.
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Join us for Pancakes on the
Plaza July 4 |
The Laboratory and the
United Way of Santa Fe County, along with several other sponsors, will
participate in the 33rd Annual Pancakes on the Plaza event. The fundraiser,
which runs from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., gives the community an opportunity to get
together for some breakfast and fun on the Santa Fe plaza while helping the
Santa Fe Children's Project, an effort that seeks to improve children's success
at school and life.
Advance tickets can be
purchased for $6 and are on sale at most banks and credit unions in Santa Fe,
the United Way of Santa Fe County office, PNM Customer Service, Beaver Toyota,
and the Lab's Community Programs Office. Tickets may also be purchased at the
event for $7. For more information, visit the United Way's website.
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August LANL Foundation
Fundraising Banquet |
Los Alamos National
Laboratory Foundation will hold its 12th Annual Banquet on Friday, August 15, at
6:30 p.m. at the Ohkay Casino Resort Hotel just north of Espanola. The banquet
raises funds for the Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund.
This year, in honor of
Senator Pete Domenici and his wide-ranging contributions to northern New Mexico,
the Foundation is establishing an endowed scholarship fund in his name. The fund
will create seven new, yearly scholarships, one for each of the counties the
Foundations serves. Individual tickets are $150. For more information about the
event or to learn about other sponsorship opportunities, go to the LANL
Foundation website.
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Los Alamos Middle School at
National Science Bowl |
A team from Los Alamos
Middle School advanced to the Department of Energy's National Science Bowl after
winning the regional competition back in January. Held June 19-22 in Golden,
Colorado, the National Middle School Science Bowl consists of both a fuel cell
car race as well as an academic competition that requires knowledge in math,
physics, geology, and other scientific fields.
The Los Alamos team won its
division in the academic competition and came in 10th in the fuel cell
presentation competition while the Challenger School from Newark, California,
won the overall Science Bowl. The Treasure Valle Math and Science Center from
Boise, Idaho, won the overall fuel cell competition. To obtain more information
about this year's science bowl, or learn about entering a team next year,
contact the Community Programs Office at 665-4400 or toll free at (888)
841-8256.
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Lab, Valles Caldera host
tribal students |
On June 17, 41 students in
grades seven through 11 from five local Pueblos, attended a day-long session at
the Valles Caldera National Preserve. They worked with Lab, Pueblo, and Caldera
personnel to learn more about scientific work, including electronic tracking of
wildlife, insect populations, watershed and groundwater monitoring, atmospheric
conditions, and cultural resources. This is the sixth year LANL has sponsored
the tribal student workshops.
Not only did the students
have an opportunity to learn more about what it's like to work as a scientist,
one student even identified an insect not previously categorized and will have
his name forever associated with its discovery. The Lab's Tribal Relations Team
coordinates the program with help from the Pueblos, the Valles Caldera, the
Department of Energy, and a number of organizations within LANL. For more
information about the program, contact the Tribal Relations Team at (888)
691-0598.
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Community leaders tour the
Lab |
Over 100 community regional
leaders had an opportunity to tour the Lab on June 18 to learn more about the
work that takes place at several Laboratory facilities. The half-day event
started with poster sessions, and upper management briefings prior to
participants embarking on one of several tours. The tour subjects included
nanotechnology, supercomputing, our national security mission, experimental
science, and environmental science. The meeting was one of our ongoing
informational meetings for regional leaders that take place quarterly. For more
information, contact the Community Programs Office at
665-4400.
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Students begin summer jobs
at LANL |
The beginning of summer
also means employment for an additional 360 students who join LANL's workforce
for a few months. The current total number of students involved in LANL's
various student programs is approximately 1,100 and includes students from high
school coops all the way through graduate research assistants.
This employment provides
students with relevant experience while they pursue undergraduate or graduate
degrees and is designed to complement the students' education direction with
work experience related to their chosen field of study. Many of the students who
begin as students eventually become full-time Laboratory
staff.
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Springboard assists
technology advances |
Several technologies
recently got a boost from feedback received via Springboard, a Northern New
Mexico Connect program sponsored by Los Alamos National Security, LANL, and the
Regional Development Corporation. One of the firms, currently located in
Colorado, but looking at potentially moving to the area, works with
nanotechnology and received information on weaknesses in its business plan that
it should correct before it seeks to acquire additional capital. In the other
case, a licensing executive with the Lab presented two technologies: one that
uses solar energy and another that provides corrosion protection. The panel was
able to provide suggestions and connections to help him further the
technologies' commercialization.
The Springboard process
brings together high-tech companies that need assistance in reaching their next
level of performance with a team of experts who have both the knowledge and
connections to assist the businesses. This assistance is free to the
organizations and ultimately helps build a diverse economic base in northern New
Mexico.
To learn more about the
services provided by Northern New Mexico Connect, visit their website.
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KUDOS!
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- Kudos to all the 2007 Tech Transfer award
winners.
- Kudos to Savvas Koushiappas, who is the 14th recipient of the Leon
Heller Postdoctoral Publication Prize in Theoretical Physics.
- Kudos to Big Jo True Value Hardware that won the City of Santa Fe's
Small Business of the Year Award.
- Kudos to Eldon Reyer, President of the Northern New Mexico Horsemen's
Association, who is the recipient of the American Horse Council's 2008 Van Ness
Award.
- Kudos to David Loaiza, a LANL technical staff member who was selected
by President Bush as a White House Fellow.
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Community Calendar
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July 4: Pancakes on the Plaza,
Santa Fe
July 9-10, 15-16: Astronomy
Days Lectures, Los Alamos
July
11-13: Espanola Valley Fiestas
July 16: Art, Optics,
and Human Vision Lecture, Santa Fe
July
17: Customer Service Workshop, Los Alamos
July
19: The Next Big Idea, Los Alamos
Aug.
12: Santa Clara Pueblo Feast Day
Aug. 13: The Geometry
of Consonance, Lecture, Santa Fe
Aug.
15: Annual LANL Foundation Banquet, Ohkay
Owingeh
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