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Sandia Labs News Releases

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2020 News Releases

Canister video
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. […]

Photo of Capt. Justine Wolff
Sandia hosts Education With Industry officer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — With the resiliency and determination that earned her the U.S. Air Force call sign “Fenix,” Capt. Justine Wolff is using her position as an Education With Industry student at Sandia National Laboratories to better herself and the Air Force. “How great of an opportunity this is to understand our lab partners,” she […]

Rodney Wilson
Global security and cooperation leader recognized by NNSA for leadership, service

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Rodney Wilson, former director of Sandia’s Center for Global Security and Cooperation, received the National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator’s Distinguished Service Gold Award in recognition of his leadership and service to advance NNSA programs. The plaque, signed by former Administrator Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, recognized Wilson’s contributions to programs focused on improving the […]

An F-35A drops a B61-12 over Sandia
Flight tests to show B61-12 will work on Air Force’s newest fighter jet

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mock B61-12’s strike in the dusty Nevada desert successfully completed the first in a series of flight tests with the U.S. Air Force’s newest fighter jet, demonstrating the bomb’s first release from an internal bomb bay at greater than the speed of sound. The flight test of the B61-12 with the […]

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 […]

nuclear security education
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 […]

AAEOY Bo Song
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 […]

F-35A fighter jet in flight
Virtual support from Sandia enabled B61-12 flight test on F-35A jet fighter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Overcoming COVID-19 pandemic challenges through virtual means, teams from Sandia National Laboratories and the U.S. Air Force under the guidance of the National Nuclear Security Administration performed a critical B61-12 flight test aboard the F-35A Lightning II jet fighter. The flight test at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert took […]

Sandia diversity
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 […]

Sandra Begay
‘Iconic’ Sandia researcher wins Indigenous Excellence Award

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Her peers know her as an exceptional engineer. But to some Indigenous people, Sandra Begay is legendary. “Like many Native American students in STEM, I knew of Sandra before I met her,” said Suzanne Singer, who is Navajo and interned under Begay at Sandia National Laboratories in 2008. “She was the ‘iconic’ […]

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 […]

small-business program manager Paul Sedillo presenting to small-business representatives and owners during a forum last year
First companies picked for Sandia’s new Mentor-Protégé Program

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has selected three companies as its first protégés in a new partnership program designed to help small businesses develop and build solid foundations when competing for federal and industry opportunities. “Sandia was looking for small businesses that wanted to grow and learn, and we believe we’ve found three great […]

Tito Bonano
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, […]

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