Sandia National Laboratories

Moving up the ladder 👩💼 In a 1958 Sandia Lab News story about women in supervisor roles, the first sentence read: “Blond or brunette, single or grandmother, high school graduate or holder of a college degree, the women pictured here have one thing in common — they’re among Sandia Corporation’s 20 women supervisors.” In the last 66 years, Sandia has made progress. First, the publication no longer refers to women’s hair color or marital status when focusing on their professional accomplishments. Second, the number of women in the workforce and in management has increased significantly. Today, 32% of Labs managers are women. Read more about groundbreaking women leaders at Sandia: https://bit.ly/3VaNIYz #Sandias75th #WomenLeaders #WomenInSTEM

New centrifuge speeds up testing ⏱️ Sandia’s Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory in Amarillo, TX, is now the only U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) lab with two centrifuges that support full system-level testing. WETL is responsible for the testing and evaluation of every weapon system in the U.S. nuclear stockpile. “If it’s a nuclear weapon, it has to be tested and there is no shortage of work. We’re expanding our workload to prepare for new systems, further necessitating two working centrifuges at all times,” said WETL manager Larry Kuykendall. Read more about WETL’s work: https://bit.ly/4foEXlf

Preparing for Mars missions 🚀 Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility, which includes a 200-foot-tall power tower and a field of 212 mirrored heliostats, is replicating atmospheric reentry to help NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration ensure their spacecraft’s heat shields are strong enough to protect the rest of the vehicle. “We have figured out a way to adjust our ability to focus heliostats to mimic real-world flight conditions,” said Sandia’s Ken Armijo. “Because we can dial in the profiles, we have more confidence that it’s going to survive and function well during a mission. Having confidence that it will make it to Mars, land and pick up the rocks safely is important.” Read more about the tests and upcoming missions: https://bit.ly/3URICQ9

An appetite for AI 🍽️ In partnership with Cerebras Systems, Sandia installed the first round of CS-3 systems, named Kingfisher. The systems’ wafer-scale engine, which is about the size of a dinner plate, will expand AI capabilities and allow for exploration into emerging technologies to evaluate their viability in the national security space. “The Cerebras CS-3 system positions us to be able to develop large-scale trusted AI models on secure internal Tri-lab (Sandia, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory) data without many of the memory and power challenges that GPU systems face,” said Sandia’s Justin Newcomer. “We are excited to push the boundaries on what is possible with AI systems through this partnership with Cerebras.” Read more about Kingfisher’s capabilities: https://bit.ly/3YMqoB2

Women in solar ☀️ Native American women are getting hands-on training in photovoltaic panel installation from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded training program. “This program will provide participants with new employment opportunities and a better understanding of where we’re headed with clean energy,” said Sandra Begay, a Sandia engineer and member of the Navajo Nation serving as a mentor in the program. Read more: https://bit.ly/4fR9zf8 #NativeAmericanHistoryMonth

Sandia’s Tonopah Test Range 🚀 Since 1957, Sandia employees have helped ensure the reliability and safety of weapon designs and delivery systems through their work at the test range. “The primary mission out here has always been to do flight testing in support of the nuclear deterrence mission,” range manager Brian Adkins said. “Tonopah remains relevant today because it’s the only test range where we do full end-to-end testing on air-delivered mock weapons and their components. Without our team, the president would have no idea whether his nuclear weapons stockpile for the air-delivered weapons is reliable.” #Sandias75th Read more about why Sandia established Tonopah: https://bit.ly/3UPLj4b

A drop in the ocean 🌊 Sandia researchers are testing 3D-printed torpedo anchors by dropping them into a culvert of sand and water, mimicking the seafloor. The anchors, 3D-printed with concrete and patented by clean-tech company Sperra, could be a less expensive way to secure offshore wind turbines and wave energy converters. ➡️ https://bit.ly/3Azw753

Celebrating 30 years of “science diplomacy” 🧑🔬 Sandia’s Cooperative Monitoring Center draws on the Labs’ scientific and technological expertise to build bridges between countries and inform regional and international policymaking on global security, a practice recently dubbed “science diplomacy.” “Thirty years ago, the visionaries who founded the CMC recognized the profound potential of cooperative monitoring to address some of the world’s most pressing security challenges,” Managing Director Amir Mohagheghi said. “They understood that through technical collaboration and transparency, we could build a safer and more secure world.” Read more about the work happening at the CMC: https://bit.ly/3YyWmR8

Honoring the past, partnering for the future 🤝 From renewable energy projects and intern programs to youth STEM events, Sandia is proud to partner with tribal communities. Recently, Sandia developed a pump system to help ranchers water their cattle in remote areas on the Navajo Nation: https://bit.ly/3Nf6IA7 #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth

Making EV batteries safer 🔋 At Sandia’s Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory, scientists are working to detect electric vehicle battery failures early and provide sufficient warning time to the people inside. Right now, EV batteries can fail quickly, sometimes catching fire without much warning. “We’re focused on extending the warning time. Our aim is for the diagnostic system to provide an early warning, allowing time to park safely and exit the vehicle. The ultimate goal is to integrate this warning system into the car’s dashboard,” said Loraine Torres-Castro, Sandia’s battery safety lead. Read more about the testing: https://bit.ly/4fLBRYr