Future hypersonics could be artificially intelligent
A test launch for a hypersonic weapon — a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster — takes weeks of planning, and it's uncertain how useful test systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats. But Sandia's hypersonics developers think artificial intelligence and autonomy could slash these weeks to minutes for deployed systems.
B61-12 team reaches milestones in nuclear deterrence mission
Sandia’s B61-12 nuclear weapons team has accomplished several milestones, including the gravity bomb’s final design review and the first production completion of several components for the life extension program. Sandia and LANL presented the B61-12 design for final review to an independent peer-review panel of 12 military and civilian experts last fall.
Annual Sandia simulation strengthens emergency response
Scores of Labs employees in Albuquerque, joined by outside emergency response personnel, were immersed in a simulated crisis April 17 as part of the annual emergency management full-scale exercise.
W80-4 Life Extension Program achieves major milestone
The W80-4 Life Extension Program achieved a major milestone last month when the joint DOE and Department of Defense Nuclear Weapons Council approved the program to enter Phase 6.3, development engineering. The approval follows multiple briefings by the W80-4 leadership team to program stakeholders at NNSA headquarters and the Pentagon.
Process modernization
Modernizing the nuclear deterrent also means modernizing the weapon development process. To this end, Sandia and the Kansas City National Security Campus have established the New Product Introduction initiative. By integrating lessons learned from past weapons programs and industry best practices into the existing process, NPI can help enhance the security, reliability and performance of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
CALLING GAMERS: Future nuclear security experts train with Sandia-designed game
The next generation of nuclear security experts is being trained in an exciting new way — by playing a first-of-its-kind war game Sandia helped design. The game, Signal, which goes online this spring after its launch as a board game last year, offers players a chance to make strategic decisions using modern political, economic and military tools.
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.
Digesting hydrocarbons
Volatile organic compounds can be found in the air — everywhere. Sources such as plants, cooking fuels and household cleaners emit these compounds directly, and they're also formed in the atmosphere. Sandia researchers and colleagues from other institutions have investigated the reactions of hydrocarbons to understand their impact on the atmosphere’s ability to process pollutants.
Tamara Kolda named editor-in-chief of new SIAM Journal on Mathematics of Data Science
Tamara Kolda has been named founding editor-in-chief of the new SIAM Journal on Mathematics of Data Science (SIMODS), published by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM). The new journal brings foundational mathematical and statistical advances in data science to the center stage.