Experiments at Z Machine earn Gomez research honors
Sandia physicist Matthew Gomez has been awarded the 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society Early Achievement Award.
Testing solar irradiance
Last year, Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility brought in a helicopter to collect data on the strength and direction of light reflected from the concentrating solar power field at the solar tower.
Sandia, NMSU ink research deal
Sandia signed an MOU with New Mexico State University on April 10 that outlines how the institutions intend to collaborate for the next decade. The agreement seeks to foster research in areas of national security, including water, energy and critical infrastructure.
Sandia lends expertise to hydrogen center
Sandia is building on longstanding partnerships to help found a new global center focused on safety and best practices for the use of hydrogen in the global energy transition. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, recently launched the Center for Hydrogen Safety.
Device in Z machine measures power for nuclear fusion
To better determine energy leaks at Sandia’s powerful Z machine — where remarkable gains in fusion outputs have occurred over the last two and a half decades, including a tripling of output in 2018 — a joint team from Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories has installed an upgraded laser diagnostic system.
New lab offers mobile testing for devices that turn ocean waves into electricity
A new Labs facility — the Sandia Wave Energy Power Take-Off (SWEPT) Lab — offers mobile, specialized testing for systems that produce power from wave energy. Marine and hydrokinetic technologies convert the energy of waves, tides and river and ocean currents into electricity, creating the potential to provide millions with locally sourced, renewable and reliable energy.
Flying from the glass
Bird strikes against windows are an all-too-familiar sound. To birds, the transparent glass looks like open space, and between 500 million and 1 billion birds die each year trying to fly through closed windows. Sandia is solving this problem at one of its high-strike buildings, where ecology program staff partnered with facilities staff to place adhesives featuring a dot pattern on the building's windows.
‘MANOS’ needs a hand
Many of us can thank a teacher or mentor who early in our lives ignited in us a passion for our current professions. Sandia’s Manos — or “hands-on” — program is looking for the next generation of Sandia volunteer mentors to provide that spark for science, technology, engineering and math in local middle school students.
Hear ye, hear ye: open call for algae
To make algae biofuels more competitive with petroleum, growers must increase productivity and keep their ponds from crashing. That’s why Sandia and partners are inviting participants to help in the search for the toughest algae strains and most innovative farming techniques.
Extreme fast-charging batteries
A key roadblock to widespread use of long-range electric vehicles — the longer time needed for a complete recharge compared to a gas station fill-up — may soon be overcome, thanks to DOE support for extreme fast-charging battery research. Fueled by a $1.5 million award from DOE’s Vehicle Technology Office, Sandia and the University of Michigan have teamed up to develop engineered battery materials that can be charged in less than 10 minutes.