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Sandia’s BioWatch Indoor Reachback Center (BIRC) began full 24/7/365 operations in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s BioWatch program, an early warning effort designed to detect trace amounts of biological materials. BIRC’s role is to provide scientific modeling support to decision makers responding to a public release of a hazardous biological agent. BIRC’s extensive database of facility information and analytical capabilities enable team members to rapidly generate information that facilitates emergency response, such as estimates of the size andlocation of the release. (8100) HS&D
After seven years of working in secret, Sandia was released from nondisclosure agreements with the FBI regarding a project in which the Labs applied advanced microanalysis tools, developed for nuclear weapons work, to determine the distribution of elements in anthrax spore materials mailed in 2001 to several news media offices and two US senators. Highly detailed analyses were conducted on hundreds of samples, showing that the spore materials in the letters most likely came from the same source and that no chemical additives were used to make the spores more dispersible. (1800, 5900) DS&A
The Precision Aim Team developed and fielded a system to precisely identify, target, and disable internal components of an improvised explosive device (IED) while dramatically reducing an operator’s time on target and preserving forensics evidence. The system is quicker, easier to use, and less expensive than existing systems and can be used by federal, state, and local emergency responders. It combines Sandia-developed technologies, including visual tracking, pose estimation, stereo X-ray targeting, graphical model building, and model-based collision detection. (6400, 5900) NW
To assess the threat of onboard explosions from terrorist bombs, the Advanced Simulation & Computing program produced visual assessments of airplane damage in response to detonations (see photo on page 2). Computational modeling offers simulation-based confidence for explosive threats and myriad factors affecting structural vulnerability that cannot be determined solely from empirical tests. Hydrodynamic blast models were linked to finite-element structural-response models to generate blast effects. The Transportation Security Administration will use this work to revise requirements for future aviation security explosives detection technology. (6400, 1500, 5400) HS&D
Sandia conducted the first systematic study of wide-area restoration (tens of square miles, hundreds of buildings) following a large bioattack and guided government investment in biorestoration technology and policy. This work, supporting the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security collaborative Interagency Biological Restoration Demonstration program, determined the current state of science, technology, policy, and plans for wide-area biorestoration and identified key capability gaps to inform investment priorities. Sandia’s analyses also helped government agencies reach consensus on changes in biorestoration policy. (8100, 6300, 1500) HS&D
A new “cellular observatory” enables novel imaging of live cells to unravel complex biological processes. Through the development of novel time- and frequency-resolved confocal microscopy, this instrument provides entirely new approaches for distinguishing multiple labeled proteins in cells and for confidently identifying interactions of cellular proteins. Applications range from energy security to homeland defense and include the engineering of enzymes and organisms to produce biofuels and the identification and mitigation of infectious disease pathways. (8300, 8600) HS&D