Sandia’s Bioscience Research Foundation was created in response to emerging national needs in energy security (preserving our nation’s economic well-being and military strength by reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil) and homeland security (protecting our nation and troops from biological threats). Energy and its interplay with the environment are critical to the nation’s economic and military strength. In addition, the potential for biological attacks against our troops and homeland has created an urgent need for biodefense technologies.
We believe that a deep understanding of biological systems and the ability to predict their behaviors will play key roles in energy security, the protection of our environment, and our nation’s ability to defend against biothreats. Consequently, our biological scientists are conducting research in two strategic thrust areas—biofuels and biodefense—so that we can provide biological solutions to important problems in energy and homeland security.