Sandia News

Global Security


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Sandia is developing advanced R&D sensor technologies to address challenges faced by the nation in the area of nuclear material counter proliferation. Sandia’s research in this area, termed Nonproliferation R&D, has yielded a next-generation sensor system — the Compact Uncooled Thermal Longwave Advanced Staring Spectrometer (CUTLASS). Recently, this multispectral sensor system was successfully deployed at the Nevada Test Site in support of a NNSA NA-22 Test Campaign where it performed data collections in a realistic remote sensing operations scenario. (700, 5700) DS&A

Collections of dangerous pathogens in Iraq and Afghanistan are vulnerable to theft and misuse by terrorists. For this reason, the US Department of State has sought the assistance of Sandia’s International Biological Threat Reduction (IBTR) program to engage Iraqi and Afghan officials and scientists on managing biological risks in those countries. Members of Sandia’s IBTR team have assessed laboratory biorisks, implemented safety and security upgrades, and conducted training events in both countries. IBTR’s work has successfully advanced biorisk management and reduced biothreats in Iraq and Afghanistan.(6800) IHNS

Sandia developed the concept and framework for implementing the Gulf Nuclear Energy Infrastructure Institute (GNEII) to introduce an integrated energy safety, security, safeguards and nonproliferation program in the Middle East. Organizations from the United Arab Emirates and the US formally agreed to establish the GNEII in Abu Dhabi. Sandia developed the academic program and curriculum, the management and financial structure, and the implementation plan for the GNEII. A GNEII pilot course has been developed and was kicked off Feb. 20, 2011. The GNEII was named by the White House as a “Top 5” initiative to meet in President Obama’s Cairo speech objectives. (6800) IHNS

Designed and tested in close collaboration with the US National Data Center, Sandia’s Network Capability Assessment Program (NetCAP) is a simulator that assesses the capability of the US ground-based nuclear explosion monitoring system to detect, locate, and identify nuclear explosions anywhere in the world. NetCAP, the first new simulator for ground-based monitoring developed since the 1990s, improves both the fidelity and extent of the simulations, incorporating important R&D concepts that have emerged from US monitoring researchers in recent years. (5500) DS&A (0040) All SMUs


Each citation is followed by the center numbers of centers that contributed most directly to the effort described. An acronym after each accomplishment indicates which of Sandia’s strategic management units (SMUs) or strategic management groups (SMGs) the work most directly supported.

The SMG/SMU acronyms are:

  • NW: Nuclear Weapons SMG & SMU
  • DS & A: Defense Systems & Assessments SMU
  • IHNS: International, Homeland, and Nuclear Security SMU
  • ECIS: Energy, Climate, and Infrastructure SMU
  • IES: Integrated Enabling Services SMU
  • SPP: Sandia Partnership Projects