National Laboratory

Exploring Mars with Curiosity Subject of Next LANL Frontiers in Science Lectures

by

LANL scientist Roger Wiens. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Roger Wiens talks about the NASA Mars Curiosity rover, its journey to Mars and some of its discoveries on the Red Planet thus far in a series of Frontiers in Science presentations beginning May 7 in the Duane Smith Auditorium at Los Alamos High School.

Wiens repeats his talk:

  • May 9 at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, 1801 Mountain Road N.W., Albuquerque
  • May 14 in the James A. Little Theater of the New Mexico School for the Deaf, 1060 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe
  • May 16 in the Taoseño Room
Read More

New Guide Details Steps for Preserving Biological Evidence

by

A forensic technician collects biological material from a pipe bomb. Courtesy/Forensic Science Program, PSU

NIST News:

A new handbook by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) provides forensic laboratories, law enforcement agencies and the judicial system with state-of-the-art guidelines and recommended best practices for preserving biological evidence so that it is available at any time to solve “cold cases,” confirm the guilt of criminals or exonerate the innocent.

Biological evidence refers Read More

‘Science on Screen’ Shows ‘Sneakers’ with Commentary by Simon DeDeo

by

Simon DeDeo. Courtesy photo
Staff Report
The popular Science On Screen series returns to Santa Fe  at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 with Simon DeDeo and the 1992 cult hacker film Sneakers.
The event will be held at the Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail in Santa Fe.
Science On Screen is a collaboration of Santa Fe Institute (SFI) and the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Santa Fe. During each showing, an SFI scientist presents a favorite film, offering personal perspectives and insights from the world of science. It’s an idea-rich spin on the movies.
Robert Redford, Sidney
Read More

Los Alamos Improves Biomass-To-Fuel Process

by

Los Alamos improves biomass-to-fuLos Alamos research better converts energy from fields into fuel tanks. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

One of the more promising roads to energy independence leads away from crude oil and into the forests and fields.

For years, scientists have been seeking efficient means to convert non-food based biomass into fuels and chemical feedstocks, reducing fossil-fuel dependence and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

To that end, Los Alamos scientists and collaborators from The University of Guelph in Canada published an article in the scientific journal Nature Read More

SFI Seminar: Inferring the Past for Traits that Alter Speciation and Extinction

by

SFI News:

Sarah “Sally” Otto, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, will present a seminar at the Santa Fe Institute, “Inferring the Past for Traits that Alter Speciation and Extinction” Tuesday, April 30 • 3:30 p.m. • Noyce Conference Room at 1399 Hyde Park Road in Santa Fe.

Abstract: I will describe BiSSE, a likelihood-based approach to infer how speciation and extinction rates depend on the state of a particular character. The phylogenetic tree of a group of species contains information about character transitions and about diversification: Read More

LANL’s LAESF Reception Honors Students

by

LANL Director Charlie McMillan speaking during LAESF event Thursday. Photo by Richard Robinson

LANL Director Charlie McMillan with Sam Baty, left, and Dalton Smith. Photo by Richard Robinson

LANL News:

Direstor Charlie McMillan spoke at a Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund reception thursday evening.

The event recognized students from seven Northern New Mexico counties who are recipients of this year’s scholarships through the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund.

Funding for the scholarships comes from $411,500 in donations from Los Alamos National Laboratory employees Read More

Innovation Shines at 23rd New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge

by

Justin Sanchez of Albuquerque’s La Cueva High School during the finalist team judging at the New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge expo and awards ceremony at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The styrofoam balls represent a word while the sticks that connect them represent a correlation between the words. Courtesy photo
 
LANL News:
 
Los Alamos High School freshman Cole Kendrick took second place in the 23rd New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge for his computer simulation project of Saturn’s ring structure.
 
Kendrick, who won the New Mexico Supercomputing Challenge’s
Read More

LANL: Seventy Three New Mexico Students Receive Scholarships

by

Gold Scholarship Winners Kevin Gao, Danielle Harrier and Micaela Lucero. Courtesy/LANL

LANL FOUNDATION News:

Seventy-three students from seven Northern New Mexico counties are recipients of this year’s scholarships through the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund.

Funding for the scholarships comes from $411,500 in donations from Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and Los Alamos National Security, LLC.

Los Alamos High School senior Kevin Gao, Micaela Lucero of St. Michael’s High and Danielle Harrier of Pojoaque High School share this year’s gold scholarship, which provide Read More