National Laboratory

SFI: Audrey de Nazelle On Health and Sustainability

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Audrey de Nazelle, Imperial College London

SFI News:

Audrey de Nazelle will speak on health and sustainablility at 12:15 p.m., July 23 in the Collins Conference Room at the Santa Fe Institute.

Abstract: There is an increasing interest in tackling multiple social, health and environmental concerns in cities with a comprehensive and holistic approach, including a recent surge in interest in developing complex systems analysis of cities. Some of the greatest public health challenges in particular such as climate change, physical inactivity, traffic injuries, urban air pollution, have Read More

WIPP to Reduce Transportation Contract Drivers

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WIPP News:

Visionary Solutions, a carrier contracted to transport waste to WIPP, will reduce its driver teams as a result of the February events that suspended waste disposal operations at the facility.

In anticipation of the decline in shipments, the Carlsbad Field Office asked Visionary Solutions to propose cost estimates that reflect the reduced need for transportation services. Visionary Solutions has now reduced its qualified two-person driving teams from 11 to three. The number of dedicated tractors or trucks also will be reduced to three.

WIPP will maintain its transportation Read More

DOE: Up to $31 Million for Initial Phases of Enhanced Geothermal Systems Field Observatory

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DOE News:

As part of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department announced up to $31 million to establish the initial phases of the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE), a field laboratory dedicated to cutting-edge research on enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).  

EGS are engineered reservoirs, created beneath the surface of the Earth, where there is hot rock but limited pathways through which fluid can flow. During EGS development, underground fluid pathways are safely created and their size and connectivity increased. Read More

Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee Meets at UNM-LA July 23

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STATE News:

The New Mexico Legislature’s Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee meets 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 23 at the UNM-LA Student Center Lecture Hall (Room 230), 4000 University Dr.

Committee members will discuss Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Waste Drum Characterization Process and LANL’s Legacy Waste Cleanup Status.

They also will speak with Ryan C. Flynn, N.M. Secretary of Environment and receive the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Report from Joe Franco, manager of the DOE Carlsbad Field Office. Chromium Contamination Mitigation also is on the agenda. Read More

SFI: Kim Vy-Tran on Galaxy Clusters July 22

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Kim Vy-Tran

SFI News:

Kim Vy-Tran will speak on Galaxy Clusters at 3:30 p.m., July 22 in the Noyce Conference Room at the Santa Fe Institute.

Abstract: Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound systems in the universe and are extreme laboratories for studying the physics driving galaxy evolution as well as powerful tests of cosmology. Understanding how galaxies form and evolve in clusters continues to be a fundamental question in astronomy. I present results from an ongoing multi-wavelength study of galaxies in clusters at redshifts z>1.5 that (i) tracks how these galaxies Read More

Heinrich on Confirmation of Norman Bay to FERC

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U.S. SENATE News:

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, released the following statement after voting to confirm Norman C. Bay to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Bay was confirmed by a vote of 52 to 45. The president is expected to designate him to be chairman of FERC next year.

Heinrich spoke on the Senate floor in support of Bay’s nomination:

“Norman Bay is an outstanding public servant with extensive experience to address our energy challenges in New Mexico and around the nation. I am Read More

LANL Reminder: Use Official Trails When Biking and Hiking

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Mountain bikers Jeff Treasure, left, and Ben Poff view a kiosk at an official trailhead to ensure they ride on an official trail. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Trails opened last year at TA-70 and TA-71 south of White Rock for recreational purposes may be closed if users continue to stray off of the official trails.

“We want people to use and enjoy these areas, but it’s important to stay on the designated trails to protect wildlife, archaeological sites and other trail users,” said Environmental Planner Dan Pava, chair of the Trails Working Group.

 

Mountain bikers Jeff Treasure and Ben Poff, Read More

LAESF Announces Record $592,849 Raised For Scholarship Fund

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Celebrating a record $592,849 raised for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Employees’ Scholarship Fund (LAESF), from left, Tony Fox, Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation Scholarship Program Officer; Debra Wersonick, Community Giving Specialist for LANL’s Community Programs Office; and Jeff Mousseau, LAESF campaign chair and LANL Director of Environmental Programs, at the beaker that tracked campaign results at the Los Alamos Post Office. Laboratory employees pledged a record $325,246 – up almost 7 percent over last year — and other donors brought total donations to Read More

DOE: Largest Such Project in World Will Capture 1.4 Million Tons of CO2 Annually

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DOE News:

The Department of Energy (DOE) in partnership with NRG Energy Inc. and JX Nippon announced Tuesday that construction has begun on the first commercial-scale, post-combustion carbon-capture retrofit project in the U.S., the largest such project in the world.

The Petra Nova Project will use cutting edge technology to help decrease the power plant’s greenhouse gas emissions. Once completed, the energy technology project will capture about 1.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually from an existing coal-fired power plant in Texas. The captured Read More