A quarterly research and development magazine
When I came to Sandia in 1990, many wondered how the national labs would fare in a world in which some of the biggest threats to our nation have no geographic locations – threats like energy dependence and flagging U.S. competitiveness. One objective was to tap the intellectual capital amassed at the labs in ways that would boost the U.S. economy.
The labs soon discovered this wasn’t as simple as offering up the technological bounty to all takers. Good ideas don’t go far on their merits alone. Today we know alliances with industry, universities, and government agencies are essential to bringing products to bear on national security.
This month we look at the effects some partnerships are having on our nation’s welfare:
We also describe how a machine turns pollution back into fuel, reconsider an asteroid that visited devastation on Siberia a century ago, recount the first eyewitness account of a buckyball’s birth, and explore whether ancient Pueblo Indians drank beer before Europeans brought wine to the American Southwest. I hope you enjoy the issue.
John German, Sandia Technology Editor
(505) 844-5199, jdgerma@sandia.gov