Sandia researchers have developed a sensor that can detect sarin and other chemical warfare agents in milliseconds. The circuit is 1,500 times smaller than a human hair and has a battery that can last nearly a decade. The sensor is designed to protect the public and warfighters by providing a “get out of Dodge” alert and warnings that toxins are present. Learn more at bit.ly/3EvaDIr Photo by Craig Fritz

During an impulse test at the Light Initiated High Explosives facility, a test unit is sprayed with a sensitive explosive and exposed to ultraviolet lights to enhance energy absorption. Sandia’s LIHE facility is entering a new era of weapons testing to meet the nation’s evolving nuclear deterrence needs. Learn more at bit.ly/4iAbIN7 Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia serves a unique role in the nuclear security enterprise: systems integrator. The role spans the entire lifespan of the weapon, including the W87-1, and requires close collaboration with other labs, plants and sites. Learn more at bit.ly/3S5H8QR Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia is helping a tech company test a bright new idea that uses lasers to cool computers. The method uses a photonic cold plate to extract heat in the form of light. This gallium arsenide-based semiconductor is less than a micrometer thick — significantly smaller than the thickness of a human hair. Learn more at bit.ly/3REo8Z7 Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia is testing whether photon lasers can cool computer chips. The research stems from a partnership with the University of New Mexico and tech company Maxwell Labs. In this photo, a Sandia materials scientist gazes into a viewport of a molecular beam epitaxy reactor — a highly specialized piece of equipment to build experimental photonic cooling plates for testing. Learn more at bit.ly/3REo8Z7 Photo by Craig Fritz

Open to the public only once a year, the Trinity Site offers a glimpse into the Manhattan Project and “Ground Zero,” where scientists tested the first atomic bomb in 1945. During a visit, participants in Sandia’s Weapon Intern Program walked through a 214-ton steel container originally built as a failsafe for testing. Learn more at bit.ly/3Raj8ex Photo by Lonnie Anderson

Sandia scientists are tackling pollution by developing plastics that recycle themselves. Tests show that building a catalyst and reagents inside plastics can make the product self-destruct on demand so the material can be recycled into something new. Learn more at bit.ly/4bsNgew Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia and the nuclear security enterprise have completed the last production unit of the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, achieving a major milestone in the Labs’ nuclear deterrence mission. Learn more about Sandia’s work on the B61-12 at bit.ly/3D6Keju Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia scientist Andy Mounce demonstrates quantum sensing for a New Mexico student during the 2025 Thunderbird AI Hackathon and QuanTime event. Nearly 600 students and families attended, where volunteers highlighted technology's real-world applications. Learn more at bit.ly/4krgNJK Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia became the first facility within the nuclear security enterprise to provide employees with a powerful, self-contained AI chat tool that is safe and secure for sensitive unclassified questions. Sandia project manager Mike Vigil led web development for SandiaAI Chat and sits in front of a display of its starting question. Learn more at bit.ly/4gtYKQ1 Photo by Craig Fritz

Labs Director James Peery, right, and Zach Mikelson, Sandia’s supply chain manager, announce Sandia’s 2024 record-breaking economic impact of $5.2 billion during a press conference. Success stories focused on Sandia’s strong partnerships with small businesses, job creation and cutting-edge technologies that benefit the local and national economy. Learn more at bit.ly/4geOVVP Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia’s Eric Neuman displays the NNSA Defense Programs Award of Excellence he accepted on behalf of his teammates at an awards ceremony. Eric and his team received one of seven awards at Sandia for significant achievements supporting stockpile stewardship. Learn more at bit.ly/4hOLdTZ Photo by Craig Fritz

Atoms carrying information inside quantum computers — known as qubits — sometimes vanish, corrupting data and spoiling calculations. Sandia researchers discuss the first practical way to detect atom loss for neutral-atom quantum computing, bringing scientists closer to realizing the technology’s full potential. Learn more at bit.ly/4aqL72D Photo by Craig Fritz

The central part of Sandia’s neutral-atom quantum computing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber. Objective lenses on either side of the vacuum chamber are used to focus laser light into single-atom traps at Sandia. Learn more at bit.ly/4aqL72D Photo by Craig Fritz

Polycrystalline diamond compact bits, like the one pictured here, are made of many diamond cutters embedded into the bit. Despite decades of research at Sandia and elsewhere, only recently have such bits become viable for geothermal well drilling. Learn more at bit.ly/3Dmw11s Photo by Craig Fritz

Senior manager Todd Harrison, facing camera, hugs fellow Marines veteran and technologist John Bailon after John hands him a challenge coin. Labs Director James Peery, right, handed out coins alongside panel participants and veterans John Bailon, Geoff Bacon and Kevin Stielow at the conclusion of Sandia’s Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 11, 2024. Learn more at bit.ly/4asedOX Photo by Craig Fritz

In support of two NASA missions, Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility harnessed the power of the sun to expose aerospace materials to intense heat, replicating the harsh conditions of faster-than-sound flight and atmospheric reentry. NASA materials engineer Milad Mahzari, front, and NASA project lead Keith Peterson examine the gas flow around their heat shield during the test. Learn more at bit.ly/3URICQ9 Photo by Craig Fritz

Sandia geochemist Anastasia Ilgen, pictured, and her team have been pioneering an environmentally friendly method to separate rare-earth elements from watery mixtures. Here she works on a vapor sorption analyzer used for characterizing the chemistry of porous solids such as metal-organic frameworks. The team’s ultimate goal is to design sponges that selectively absorb one rare earth metal while excluding others. Learn more at bit.ly/3UhkXZt Photo by Craig Fritz

Scientist Dan Thrasher looks to his computer monitor while setting up an optical table at Sandia, where he is testing lasers in combination with barium ions to reduce drift in miniature atomic clocks, making them more accurate. Learn more at bit.ly/3ymkZaF Photo by Craig Fritz