The Advanced Materials Laboratory (AML) is a unique Sandia facility located on the campus of the University of New Mexico (UNM). Sandia's commitment of research staff, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and program support to the AML provides a novel opportunity for strong partnerships between national laboratory and university research. Sandia's research investment is being leveraged through collaborations with university professors, post-doctoral appointees, and students pursuing graduate and undergraduate degrees. Commissioned in 1992, the AML is the cornerstone of Sandia's strategic intent to partner with universities and it serves as a gateway for interactions with non-US scientists.
Work at the AML is focused on materials and process research in the areas of ceramics, porous materials, catalysts, electronic materials, and materials modeling and synthesis. Specific research projects directly support unclassified Sandia programs in nuclear weapons, energy and environmental research, and industrial partnerships. Home to award-winning research in self-assembly and materials for nano-scale applications, the AML is staffed with approximately 40 Sandia employees (technical staff, technologists, post docs and student interns) and hosts over 30 students, faculty and researchers from UNM, and other academic and industrial institutions.
Among the special capabilities are three parallel computing servers on the UNM open network, including two advanced Linux clusters and a DEC/Compaq Alpha. Advanced materials simulations are carried out through these servers by Sandians collaborating in the worldwide academic community. Another unique capability is the Small-Angle Scattering Lab, a joint Sandia-UNM facility, to study materials by x-ray scattering. The lab has pinhole, Bonse-Hart, Kratky, XRD and reflectivity detectors for studying large-scale structure in complex materials. Many of the Sandia staff at the AML hold joint appointments with the university. Under different formal agreements, Sandians teach classes, direct graduate thesis work, and perform joint research with university faculty. These flexible arrangements create an exciting, productive research atmosphere.