Expanding testing capacity for Sandia weapons modernization programs

The Sandia Programs Engineering and Assembly Research facility, or SPEAR, is the newest facility in nuclear weapons systems engineering at Sandia’s California site, expanding the Labs’ capacity to assemble and electrically test nuclear weapons components and systems.

Experiments at solar thermal test facility break new ground

Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility will host a number of “firsts” in 2020, including testing a particle-to-supercritical carbon dioxide heat-exchanger system, and the world’s first on-sun falling particle receiver connected to a supercritical CO2 loop.

A year of change

Lab News sat down for a conversation with Associate Labs Director Andy McIlroy, head of the Integrated Security Solutions Division, as he starts his second year in that role following a year permanently marked by a new reality for Sandia and the nation.

California site expands footprint

To accommodate Sandia's significant increase in hiring to meet mission needs coupled with the need to ensure workforce safety amid the pandemic, leaders at the Livermore site are taking a multipronged approach, including accomodating continued telecommuting, creating flexible “kiosk hubs,” constructing new facilities and temporarily leasing office space near the campus.

Confronting COVID-19 and getting back to work — together

The novel approach of Integrated Service Delivery being practiced in several centers within Sandia’s Integrated Security Solutions Division was tested to its utmost this year, as departments had to suddenly figure out how to accommodate a remote workforce and then just as suddenly overcome dozens of challenges to bring people back to work safely on site.

Marshaling resources to fight COVID-19

As Sandia and the nation came to terms with a new, socially distanced reality, researchers within the Labs’ Integrated Security Solutions Division were working to understand the biology of the novel coronavirus, learn how the human body responds to infection by SARS CoV-2 and model how COVID-19 spreads in a population.

‘Confounding’ pandemic brings California doctor to the fore

One of the most consistent voices heard this year during our new reality shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic has been that of Dr. Dan Azar, Sandia’s California site physician. Dan has contributed to the workforce's understanding of COVID-19 and has continued to provide guidance to management and workers on how to safely resume operations.

Town hall presents options for working parents

The Integrated Security Solutions division held a town hall on Aug. 11 for parents who are balancing work and childcare responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event covered several topics affecting working parents, including schedule flexibility, the vacation donation program, expanded open enrollment options and support for caregivers.

California students win 2020 DOE National Science Bowl

A team of students from Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, California, won the 2020 DOE National Science Bowl in June. The National Science Bowl, a Jeopardy-like competition for U.S. high school and middle school students, tests their knowledge and academic ability in all areas of science and mathematics.