Science

2021 Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science & Engineering Fair: Los Alamos County Results

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2021 REGIONAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR News:

This year the science fairs are online rather than in-person posters and presentations. The 2021 Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science and Engineering Fair Results were held Saturday, March 27.

This is a regional event including Los Alamos and Taos schools among others. Top projects from all regions of New Mexico will meet later this year at the State science fair. Turnout this year was down from previous years, but the competition was healthy.

Three students, Robert Strauss (Computer Science) and the Team of Daniel Kim and Andres Interregui Read More

LANL: Fighting The Next Outbreak Before It Starts

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By J. PATRICK FITCH and
KIRSTEN TAYLOR-MCCABE
Los Alamos National Laboratory

COVID-19 is not the first global pandemic and it certainly won’t be the last. As the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic is in sight, now is the time to take stock in what we’ve learned over the last 12 months—and prepare for the future.

Specifically, the last year has taught us that an effective response against a disease outbreak depends on timely integration of expertise and data across academia, industry, and government. As we move forward, we must continue to foster this integration and our capabilities Read More

LANL: Next-Generation Technologies For Biofuels Refining

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Wire diagram of Smart Chutes demonstrating the innovative functionality to actively discard problematic biomass material having high-moisture content. Courtesy/Jenike & Johanson

LANL News:

Helping to strengthen the economic viability of biorefineries in the production of alternative fuels derived from biomass is critical to decreasing the use of fossil fuels and mitigating carbon dioxide emissions.

To that end, a collaboration between Los Alamos National Laboratory and Jenike & Johanson, a bulk solids storage company, and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Read More

Los Alamos High School Graduate Elizabeth Hjelvik Receives Prestigious National Science Foundation Award

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2014 LAHS graduate Elizabeth Hjelvik is a recipient of the 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award. Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY News:

Elizabeth Hjelvik, a 2014 graduate of Los Alamos High School, is a recipient of the 2021 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) award, which will cover all living and academic costs for a three year period.

Hjelvik is a graduate student within the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In addition to her award, the University Read More

LANL: New Mexico Middle And High School Students Encouraged To Apply For Free Summer Physics Camp

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Learn from the women scientists and engineers of LANL at the 2021 Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, a free, virtual experience including hands-on experiments that can be done from home.
LANL News:
  • Application deadline: April 9, 2021

New Mexico students are encouraged to apply for the free, two-week, virtual Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, taught primarily by women scientists and engineers at Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

Campers will receive materials for conducting hands-on experiments at home, as well as a stipend upon completion. With strong engineering and coding components,

Read More

C6 Begins Rocket Testing At Spaceport America

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From left, Spaceport America Ex. Dir. Scott McLaughlin, Sen. Prog. Mgr. Katrina Hornstein of Ursa Major Technologies, C6 VP of Eng. Daniel McCammon and Highland Enterprises Proj. Mgr. Mike Heard. Courtesy/C6 Launch

SPACEPORT AMERICA News:

SIERRA COUNTY—Canadian Corporation C6 Launch Systems has unveiled a new rocket engine test stand at Spaceport America’s vertical launch area. 

At a ribbon cutting ceremony held on site, C6 showed off the static rocket test stand constructed by Highland Enterprises of Las Cruces.

Highland designed, fabricated and installed the stand at Spaceport America. Read More

NIST: Masks Under The Microscope…

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Close up look at a mask. Courtesy/N. Hanacek/NIST (based on images by E.P. Vicenzi)

NIST News:

To understand how something works, it helps to see it up close. A team of researchers took this approach when studying the fabric masks that people wear to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Those masks work by blocking some of the virus-filled droplets and smaller particles, called aerosols, that an infected person exhales, and they also offer some protection to the wearer by filtering incoming air.

The researchers wanted to know how well different fabrics filter out those particles and what makes some fabrics Read More

New Mexico Economic Development Grant Aids ‘Build With Robots’ Expansion Into R&D, Exhibit Space In Albuquerque

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The robotics team builds a robot, to make schools, factories and other work places safer. Courtesy/EDD

A Breezy One robot disinfects the Albuquerque International Sunport. These robots can disinfect 100,000 sq. ft. in less than an hour, often using a fog disinfectant developed at Sandia National Laboratories. Courtesy/EDD

STATE News:

ALBUQUERQUE — “Build with Robots”, an Albuquerque company designing and manufacturing smart robots to disinfect and sanitize large areas, such as schools and airports, has been awarded a State of New Mexico economic development grant to expand its workforce Read More

LANL: SuperCam Sends First Data Back To Earth From The Perseverance Mars Rover

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Photos of ‘Yeehgo’, the second rock target analyzed with SuperCam’s various imaging capabilities. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Following the successful landing of NASA’s Perseverance rover in Jezero Crater on Mars, the SuperCam operational teams at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) received the first results showing that SuperCam is in good health and giving its first impressions of the crater.

“It’s amazing to see SuperCam working so well on Mars,” Roger Wiens said, the lead scientist on SuperCam at Los Alamos. “When we first dreamed

Read More

LANL: Experiment Boosts Evidence For Sterile Neutrinos

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The neutrino detector at Fermilab, MiniBooNE, has confirmed a 1990s Los Alamos National Laboratory experiment that showed the existence of sterile neutrinos. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Analysis of results from an experiment called MiniBooNE at Fermilab has provided yet more evidence that particles called “sterile neutrinos” could indeed exist, supporting results from a 1990s Los Alamos National Laboratory experiment that indicated an update to the Standard Model of physics might be in order.

“We believe that this paper vindicates the Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detector (LSND) results Read More