National Laboratory

WIPP Performs Weekly Shaft Inspections

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WIPP News:

In accordance with Mine Safety and Health Administration requirements, WIPP employees continue to perform inspections of the mine shafts.

Shaft inspections are required on a weekly basis and prior to allowing personnel to ride the conveyances, or elevators, into the underground facility. Currently, both the Salt Handling and Air Intake Shafts are inspected every Monday. Once the Waste Shaft is returned to service it will be added to the weekly inspection schedule.

In addition to the weekly inspections, crews also perform checks of the equipment on a daily basis to ensure the continued Read More

LANL: The Real History of Los Alamos During the Manhattan Project

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LANL Historian and Historic Buildings Manager Ellen McGehee presents a talk here. PrintScreen/LADP

View historic details about the Manhattan Project here. PrintScreen/LADP

LANL News:

Recently there’s been a lot of chatter about the fictionalized history of the Manhattan Project. But what about the real history? What did Los Alamos really look like during the Manhattan Project?

The Manhattan Project laboratory constructed at Los Alamos, New Mexico, beginning in 1943, was intended from the start to be temporary and to go up with amazing speed. Because most of those WWII-era facilities Read More

‘Comb on a Chip’ Powers New NIST/Caltech Atomic Clock Design

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NIST physicists Scott Diddams, left, and Scott Papp with a prototype atomic clock based on a chip-scale frequency comb. Courtesy/ NIST

NIST News:

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have demonstrated a new design for an atomic clock that is based on a chip-scale frequency comb, or a microcomb.

The microcomb clock, featured on the cover of the inaugural issue of the new journal Optica, is the first demonstration of all-optical control of the microcomb, and its accurate conversion of optical frequencies Read More

Entry to WIPP Underground Facility Resumed

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WIPP News:

Entries into the WIPP underground facility have resumed after being suspended for several weeks while workers changed air filters on the WIPP Ventilation System.

The Accident Investigation Board (AIB) has completed their examination in most of the underground facility. However, Room 7 Panel 7 will be inaccessible to recovery workers until the AIB investigation is completed.

Employees entered the underground facility July 18 to conduct radiological surveys and evaluate ground control conditions to ensure the continued safety of future entry teams. They also tested a localized Read More

Locals View Los Alamos Through Hollywood Lens at Sunday Night’s ‘Manhattan’ Premiere

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Local scientists and historians including Los Alamos Historical Society Executive Director Heather McClenahan, right, got a good laugh at some of the artistic license taken in the production of  ‘Manhattan’ during Sunday’s premiere. They said they had been expecting the variences from reality because producers had made it clear that the series was not intended to be true to life. By Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Discussion between local scientists, residents and members of the Los Alamos Historical Society followed Sunday’s premiere of ‘Manhattan’ Read More

SFI: David Storch on General Patterns in Ecology, Invariance & Universality in Macroecology

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David Storch, Center for Theoretical Study

SFI News:

David Storch will speak at 12:15 p.m. today, July 29 in the Noyce Conference Room at the Santa Fe Institute.

Abstract: Looking for invariances proved to be very successful way of scientific inquiry, especially in physics. In ecology, little effort has been devoted to systematic exploration of invariances or to using invariances as a criterion to reveal generality of the patterns. There are several patterns in ecology that are assumed to be universal, namely spatial scaling of biodiversity (the species-area relationship), the frequency Read More

LANL Student Symposium 2014: ‘Championing Scientific Careers’ @ UNM-LA Aug. 5

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LANL News:

The 14th Annual Los Alamos National Laboratory Student Symposium, “Championing Scientific Careers,” will be held for the public 9 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m., Aug. 5 at UNM-LA. 

The Symposium provides an opportunity for students to present their extensive research. The intent of the Symposium is to broaden students’ expertise and prepare them for careers in science and nontechnical fields. This is an excellent forum for students to network and make professional contacts.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Student Programs Office welcomes all community Read More

MSHA Issues 52 Citations At WIPP

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WIPP News:

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently inspected the WIPP facility. Since underground access was not available at the time of the visit, inspectors focused on the surface facilities.

Following their inspection, MSHA issued 52 citations for various conditions including general workplace tidiness, exposed electrical wiring and missing safety guards on equipment.

Currently, 49 of the citations have been addressed and corrective actions completed. A list of citations and dispositions can be found at here.

The three outstanding citations are related to missing Read More

Crowd Joins Los Alamos Historical Society At Time Out Pizzeria For Premiere of ‘Manhattan’

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The private dining room at Time Out Pizzeria on Central Avenue is filling up with community members prepared to watch the premiere of Manhattan this evening. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

The main dining area also is filling up for the big event. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Heather McClenahan, executive director of the Los Alamos Historical Society reminds the crowd that the producers have said repeatedly of this series, ‘This is fiction.’ Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Staff Report:

Tonight starts the television series premiere of “Manhattan” Read More

LANL Employees’ Scholarship Winners Announced

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Los Alamos students picked up thousands of dollars in scholarship awards from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Employees’ Scholarship Fund Thursday at a reception at the LANL Foundation offices in Española. From left, Daniel Ahrens, $4,000 Bronze award, Amanda Mercer, $10,000 Sen. Pete Domenici award; Colin Hemez, $4,000 Bronze award; George Barnum, $4,000 Bronze award, Mohit Dubey, $4,000 Bronze award; Maria McTeigue, $4,000 Bronze award; and Alexandr Wang, $20,000 Gold award. All are Los Alamos High School graduates except Dubey, who is a graduate of New Mexico School for the Arts. Read More