Topic areas

Speakers

Example talk

HIV

Vaccines

Immune system

Bette Korber

Researcher for the Lab's Theoretical Biology and Biophyics group

AIDS: A History of a Global Pandemic

The considerable diversity of HIV worldwide represents a critical challenge for designing an effective HIV vaccine.

But it now appears that a vaccine bioinformatically optimized for immunologic coverage of global HIV diversity—called a mosaic vaccine and designed by Korber and her LANL team—may confer protection from infection.

Epigenetics

Stem cells

Reprogramming DNA, junk DNA  RNA world

Molecular biology

Atomistic-level biology

Developmental disease

Structural biology

Molecular effects on early childhood development

Computational biology and high-performance computing

Karissa Sanbonmatsu

Researcher for the Lab's Biology and Genetics group

Nature, Nurture or Neither: The New Science of Epigenetics

Is our behavior and physical appearance hardwired by our DNA, or a product of our environment?

New advances in molecular biology are providing a third option to the age-old debate of “Nature versus Nurture.”

While DNA is often considered the blueprint of life, environmental factors can affect genes for more than three generations (mother, child, grandchild, and great-grandchild) as well.

This talk includes information on how you can alter your genetics.

Dark matter

Physics at the Large Hadron Collider

High-energy physics

Elementary particle physics

Michael Graesser

Researcher in areas of dark matter and theoretical subatomic physics for the Lab's Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology group

Higgs Boson and Beyond—The Quest for New Laws of Physics

It’s looking more and more like what was discovered at the Large Hadron Collider is the Higgs Boson.

This talk can tell you what the researchers were looking for and bring you up-to-date on the latest research on this important scientific breakthrough in physics.

Smart grid energy

Granular materials--A descrete state of matter

Turbulence and mixing in nature

Nonlinear science (chaos, nonlinear dynamics)

Robert Ecke

Director of the Lab's Center for Nonlinear Studies

Nonlinear Dynamics: Chaos and Patterns to Turbulence and Mixing

Nonlinearity in science is ubiquitous, influencing everything from population dynamics and the patterns of clouds or sand dunes to the nature of fluid turbulence. Turbulence has a distinct meaning when applied to the highly fluctuating motion of a fluid. Examples include the swirling water in river rapids, the motion of air past a moving car, and the billowing clouds of an impending thunderstorm on a summer afternoon.

An understanding of fluid turbulence and its application in the real world is critical to airplane flight, car fuel economy, urban air pollution and even predicting future global climate evolution.

Black holes

Nuclear measurement and detection

Role of Lab in world-class science

Bill Priedhorsky

Program director for the Lab's Science Resource Office

Black Holes and Collapsed Starts: Our Galaxy and its Neighbors

When astronomers use satellites to study X-rays from the stars and galaxies, they see directly into the most extreme places in our Universe: the black holes and neutron stars that mark the death of stars.

This talk explains black holes and where the current science has led us.

Superconductivity

Electric transmission and storage

Dean Peterson

Researcher with the Lab's Sensors and Electrochemical group

Lost in Transmission—Saving Energy with Superconductivity

Superconductors are special materials with zero electrical resistance and the potential to significantly enhance our ability to generate, transmit, use and store energy.

This talk explores the science of high-temperature superconductivity. Peterson discusses applications ranging from high-speed trains levitated by superconducting magnets to underground cables that can virtually eliminate the ten percent of transmitted energy that is now lost to resistive heating.

Space exploration

Mars exploration

Mars Rover Curiosity

Roger Wiens

Project lead for the ChemCam laser instrument currently operating on the Mars rover Curiosity

Exploring Mars with Curiosity and its Laser

On August 6, 2012, the Curiosity rover was lowered to the Martian soil by a “sky crane,” settling on its own six wheels.

It sports 10 instruments, an arm that weighs as much as a whole previous generation Mars rover and a laser that vaporizes bits of rock up to 25 feet away to determine their compositions.

This talk describes the rover, its journey to Mars and Curiosity’s new discoveries.

Structural genomics

Proteins

Tom Terwilliger

Researcher for the Lab's Biosecurity and Public Health group

The Shapes of Proteins: A Look Inside the Molecular Machines of Life

Proteins are tiny molecular machines that can speed up chemical reactions.

Structural genomics is a new field that aims to create 3-D pictures of proteins to help better understand how these microscopic factories work inside cells with the aim to develop better therapeutic drugs.

Radiography

X-rays

Christopher Morris

Researcher for the Lab's Subatomic Phyics group

Looking Inside Explosions and Other Things

The ability to see within objects advances science and medicine and provides a better understanding of the forces unleashed by high explosives during detonation.

During his presentation, Dr. Morris talks about the history and science of radiography and how X-rays, protons and naturally-occurring cosmic rays can be used to see through opaque objects.

From assisting surgeons with pictures of what’s inside a human body to helping border agents find nuclear contraband inside freight containers, a wide range of applications can be discussed.

Quantum cryptography

Codebreaking

Codemaking

Richard Hughes

Researcher for the Lab's Applied Modern Physics Group

Quantum Cryptography—Using Physics to Keep Secrets Safe

Anyone who uses a credit card, computer, or smartphone relies on cryptography—the science of secret communications—many times a day.

The story of cryptography is a centuries-long struggle between code-makers and code-breakers, but the new technology of quantum cryptography is poised to tip the scales in favor of the codemakers by harnessing the quantum properties of single particles of light (photons).

LANL history

Cold War

Stockpile

Norris Bradbury

Manhattan Project

Alan Carr

Lab historian with the Lab's Record Management Services

LANL history

The Story of Los Alamos, 1943-1992

History of Los Alamos National Laboratory

A Brief History of Los Alamos National Laboratory

Introduction to the Laboratory Archives:

• An Overview of the Second World War
• The British Mission to Los Alamos
• Norris E. Bradbury, Mister Los Alamos: the life, times, and Laboratory of Norris E. Bradbury

The Role of Los Alamos in World War II

The Role of Los Alamos in World War II, The Historian’s Cut—a more in-depth version of the lecture presented in two parts: The Road to Trinity, Trinity to Tokyo Bay

Los Alamos, 1970-1992: The Story of the Stockpile

Los Alamos Weather

Meteorological monitoring

Jean Dewart

Meteorologist with the Lab's Environmental Compliance Program

Meteorology and Weather at Los Alamos

While weather systems are complex, every day the Lab records thousands of weather data points to better understand conditions on Lab property. This information is used for everything from satisfying Department of Energy reporting requirements to determining if the Lab should be on a delayed schedule due to winter weather.