National Laboratory

‘New Mexico in Focus’ Tackles Future of National Labs

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PBS News:

“New Mexico in Focus,” New Mexico PBS’ prime-time news magazine show covering the events, issues and people shaping life in New Mexico and the Southwest will take on an issue of special interest to Los Alamos this week.

One of the three topics to be discussed on the show is the Implications of a reduced nuclear stockpile and the future of New Mexico’s National Laboratories.

Does their mission need to change? How can the labs Influence that role?

The program will also focus on the latest New Mexico legislative efforts on education and water issues.

Hosted by Gene Grant, “New Mexico in Focus” Read More

Quantum Cryptography Put to Work for Electric Grid Security

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The miniature transmitter communicates with a trusted authority to generate random cryptographic keys to encode and decode information. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Recently, a Los Alamos National Laboratory quantum cryptography (QC) team successfully completed the first-ever demonstration of securing control data for electric grids using quantum cryptography.

The demonstration was performed in the electric grid test bed that is part of the Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power Grid (TCIPG) project at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) that was set up under Read More

Scientist Will Discuss Naval Nuclear Terrorism

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HIVE News:

Scientist Liviu Popa-Simil will present a talk on “Naval Nuclear Terrorism – Non-Conventional Nuclear Devices – Their Early Detection and Suppression” at a Brown Bag Lunch event today, Feb. 14 at The Hive, 134 N.M. 4 in White Rock.

The event is open to the public and free of charge. Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m. and the presentation starts at noon.

This is a subject of interest for homeland security and non-proliferation, bringing focus to the possibility of obtaining nuclear materials, types of non-conventional explosive devices, nuclear improvised explosive devices (IED), and the Read More

‘Slow Light’ Advance Could Speed Optical Computing, Telecommunications

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Schematic of active optical control of terahertz waves in electromagnetically induced transparency metamaterials. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Metamaterials provide active control of slow-light devices

Wireless communications and optical computing could soon get a significant boost in speed, thanks to “slow light” and specialized metamaterials through which it travels.

Researchers have made the first demonstration of rapidly switching on and off “slow light” in specially designed materials at room temperature.

This work opens the possibility to design novel, chip-scale, ultrafast Read More

Register Now for ‘Expanding Your Horizons’ Conference

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LANL News:
  • Explore the wonders of science, math
Los Alamos National Laboaratory is partnering with the New Mexico Network for Women in Science and Engineering, Los Alamos Women in Science, Los Alamos National Security, LLC, the LANL Foundation, Santa Fe Institute and Flow Science Inc., in Santa Fe, on EYH to increase awareness of, and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities and careers.
 
The Santa Fe City Council also is a co-sponsor.
 
Up to 300 students from middle and high schools in Northern New Mexico will explore the wonders of science and math
Read More

Udall Meets With Secretary of Defense Nominee

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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall meets with Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel Feb. 11. Courtesy/Udall’s Office

U.S. SENATE News:

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., Monday issued the following statement after a meeting with Secretary of Defense nominee, Sen. Chuck Hagel:
 
“My meeting today with Senator Chuck Hagel was very useful. We had the opportunity to touch on a variety of issues facing our country and how New Mexico contributes to the strength of our national security.
 
“Senator Hagel conveyed that if confirmed, he will be committed to keeping safe, reliable
Read More

Column: A Sensible Organization Is Not A Perfect Organization – Part II

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A Sensible Organization Is Not A Perfect Organization: Drawing Boundary, Yes; Generating Unlimited Rules, Not So Much – Part II

By Elena Yang

Let me try to recap and explain the third law of thermodynamics (maybe I should say regurgitate?): To drive all imperfections out of a system requires an infinite amount of work. 

Scientists can remove thermal energy from a system and lower the temperature to close to zero absolute. However, the process is nonlinear in the sense that as the temperature drops, the effort required to remove the remaining thermal energy from the system increases.  Read More

Lawmakers Request Strong New NNSA Administrator

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CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION News:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, Sen. Tom Udall, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Rep. Ben Ray Luján and Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, are asking President Obama to nominate a candidate to lead the Nuclear National Security Administration (NNSA) who will work with Congress to reform the agency and maintain the highest scientific and technical capabilities at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.

In a letter to President Obama, the federal lawmakers who represent the two labs say, “The NNSA has recently suffered from
Read More

LANL Scientists Make Major Step Toward Transforming Biomass-Derived Molecules into Fuels

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Artist’s conception of the process: Researchers open up a component of the biofuel molecule, called a furan ring, to make it easier to chemically alter. Opening these rings into linear chains is a necessary step in the production of energy-dense fuels, so these linear chains can then be converted into alkanes used in gasoline and diesel fuel. Image by Josh Smith/LANL

LANL News:

  • Fuels synthesis insight can reduce costs and greenhouse gases

Scientists made a major step forward recently towards transforming biomass-derived molecules into fuels.

The team led by Los Alamos National Laboratory Read More

LANL’s Long-Term Strategy for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability

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Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Long-Term Strategy is to be the sound environmental stewards required for accomplishing our national security mission.

The strategy is to protect human and environmental health by:

  • Cleaning up or stabilizing historical releases to the environment
  • Controlling current programs to ensure an impact to the environment which is as low as reasonably achievable and
  • Creating a sustainable future through pollution prevention, waste elimination, energy and water conservation, and fostering resilient ecosystems.

The strategy Read More