National Laboratory

NNSA Partners with Russia to Recover Material Possible in Dirty Bombs

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NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), in partnership with the Russian Federation, has successfully completed the removal of 14 Russian radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) from the Northern Sea Route.

These devices, which contain high-activity radioactive sources, powered navigational beacons along Russia’s northern coastline. With this removal, the Department has completed its efforts to recover RTGs along the Northern Sea Route.

RTGs were used for many years in Russia to generate electrical Read More

NIST’s New Compact Atomic Clock Design Uses Cold Atoms to Boost Precision

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NIST physicist Elizabeth Donley with a compact atomic clock design that could help improve precision in ultraportable clocks. About 1 million cold rubidium atoms are held in a vacuum chamber in the lower left of the photo. On the screen is a close-up of the atom trapping region of the apparatus. Photo by vonDauster/NIST

NIST News:

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a compact atomic clock design that relies on cold rubidium atoms instead of the usual hot atoms, a switch that promises improved precision and stability.

Described in a new paper,* Read More

Obama Announces Key DOE Administration Posts

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WHITE HOUSE News:

WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:

Madelyn Creedon – Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy

Madelyn Creedon is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, a position she has held since 2011. From 2001 to 2011, Creedon was counsel for the Democratic staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and was responsible for the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear Read More

Former LANL Scientist Discusses Cold War Perspective

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John C. Hopkins speaks in LANL’s 70th Anniversary Lecture Series Nov. 13. Courtesy/LANL

Hopkins Discusses his Perspective on the Cold War

  • Next-to-last presentation in yearlong 70th Anniversary Series at Bradbury Science Museum

John C. Hopkins, former associate director for Los Alamos National Laboratory’s nuclear weapons program, will give his perspective on the Laboratory during the Cold War years in the next 70th anniversary lecture at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Bradbury Science Museum.

“I believe that the teams at Los Alamos, Livermore and Sandia and the entire nuclear Read More

Not Just a Pretty Face: Bodies Provide Important Cues for Recognizing People

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The recognition study used three types of images for comparison: a subject’s face and upper body; only the face and the upper body with the face masked. Results suggest that automatic recognition systems could be improved by adding body information beyond the face. Courtesy/Psychological Science

NIST News:

Computer recognition of people has focused almost exclusively on faces, but a new study suggests it may be time to take additional information into consideration. A study* published online Sept. 25, 2013 in the journal Psychological Science by researchers at the University of Texas Read More

Lab Supports Multi-ethnic Science Careers

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LANL’s Community Connections for November is out. Below is an article found in this month’s edition:

Lab supports multi-ethnic science careers

  • Pilot program prepares regional students for national conference

Each year the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) holds an annual conference for several thousand students and professionals from across the country. Figuring out which sessions to attend from a 140-page program might be daunting for anyone but particularly if you’re still in college and have never attended such an event before. Read More

Author Will Speak on New Mexico’s Contributions to Space Travel

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Author Loretta Hall

HISTORICAL SOCIETY News:

New Mexico has the longest continuous record in the nation of research to make space travel possible. In a Los Alamos Historical Society Lecture, author Loretta Hall will describe crucial contributions to manned spaceflight made by scientists, engineers and assorted adventurers, beginning with Robert Goddard’s arrival in Roswell in 1930. The free lecture is 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.12 at Fuller Lodge.

In subsequent decades, creative and courageous researchers working in this state refined rocketry and resolved other potential impediments Read More

Omega Laser Facility Completes Record 25,000 Experiments

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NNSA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Tuesday, that the Omega Laser Facility, a national user facility for NNSA that is located at and operated by the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Rochester, N.Y., recently conducted its 25,000th experiment to create and study extreme states of matter.

“The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics plays an important role in advancing NNSA’s national security missions. It has made significant contributions to the Stockpile Stewardship Program,” Read More

Geoengineering The Climate Would Reduce Vital Rains

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Monsoon rainfall wets Beijing streets and passersby in 2011. New research indicates geoengineering to reduce global warming would also reduce average global precipitation. Photo by Sierra F

AGU News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Although a significant build-up in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would alter worldwide precipitation patterns, a widely discussed technological approach to reducing future global warming would also interfere with rainfall and snowfall, new research shows.

The international study finds that a massive increase in greenhouse gases and warming of the planet would Read More

Handgun Missing From SOC’s Inventory

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LAPD News:

Los Alamos Police Commander Preston Ballew has issued a press release related to a handgun missing from SOC’s inventory. SOC is the contracted physical security force for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

According to Ballew, an officer from his department took a report at approximately 6:35 p.m., Nov. 1 from SOC. The weapon was discovered missing during an inventory check earlier in the day, Ballew stated in the release. The Los Alamos Police Department is investigating this incident and working closely with LANL, DOE and SOC to locate and identify how this weapon became missing. Read More