The amazing growth of renewable energy from solar cells: A lesson for how we fund research?
Since 2004, the rate at which solar cell power is installed has doubled every 22 months and is now in excess of 0.1 terawatts per year. Research driving some of this expansion began right here at Sandia more than 40 years ago.
Dry casks take the heat
Sandia researchers have built a scaled test assembly that mimics a dry cask storage container for spent nuclear fuel to study how fuel temperatures change during storage and how the fuel’s peak temperatures affect the integrity of the metal cladding surrounding the spent fuel.
Cooking composites in the sun
Sandia’s solar tower is helping to assess how extreme temperature changes affect materials. The tests for the Air Force take advantage of the ability of Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility to simulate a very rapid increase in temperature followed by an equally rapid decrease.
Smarter, safer bridges with Sandia sensors
Sandia and UK-based Structural Monitoring Systems PLC have been working together for 15 years to create transportation systems that can send a signal when they're damaged. They've outfitted a U.S. bridge with a network of sensors that will alert maintenance engineers when they detect a crack large enough to require repair.
NNSA Administrator Gordon-Hagerty touts mission, teamwork at all-hands meeting
Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, DOE under secretary for nuclear security, signaled strong federal support for Sandia’s mission and infrastructure improvements in her all-hands presentation in Albuquerque on June 12. The meeting was part of an all-day tour of the Labs.
DOE to deploy Arm-based supercomputer prototype at Sandia
Arm microprocessors have been used in numerous applications from vehicle computers to cell phones, but until recently, have not been practical for use in high-performance computing. Astra — one of the first supercomputers to use Arm processors in a large-scale high-performance computing platform — is expected to be deployed at Sandia later this summer.
DOE classifies Winalee Carter as ‘excellent’
In recognition of her exceptional service, Winalee Carter last month received the Department of Energy’s 2018 Classification Award of Excellence at the 53rd annual Classification Officers Technical Program Review meeting in Germantown, Maryland.
‘Keep the pedal down’ for mission work: Nuclear Deterrence all hands
At the annual Nuclear Deterrence portfolio-wide all hands meeting at Sandia, Associate Lab Director Steve Girrens acknowledged the incredible job everyone is doing Labs-wide to successfully deliver on the record amount of mission work, and indicated that the next few years will be even busier than initially predicted.
40th anniversary International Training Course
This spring marked the 40th anniversary of the International Training Course on the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities. This year's session provided training on international best practices for physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities to 50 participants from 38 countries, as well as two observers from Taiwan.
Exploring Arctic clues to secure future with new Sandia, university partnership
The Arctic is undergoing rapid change, with sea ice melting and temperatures rising at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. Understanding these changes is crucial for shaping and safeguarding U.S. security in the future, say Sandia scientists.