Science

Rotary Hosts Dr. Sandy Farmer Of Pfizer Pharmaceutical

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By LINDA HULL
Vice President
Rotary Club of Los Alamos

Dr. Sandy Farmer of Pfizer Pharmaceutical was the featured speaker via Zoom at the Jan. 5 meeting of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos. 

In his presentation, How the COVID-19 Vaccine Came to Be: A Confluence of Innovation Along Many Dimensions, Farmer outlined the evolution of vaccine development. He explained that although the world’s first vaccine was administered in 1798 to reduce the spread of smallpox, it wasn’t until the late 1960s and into the 1970s that purified forms were steadily developed to eliminate use of live viruses which can generate Read More

Air Force Research Laboratory Engineer Award Winner Dr. Odell Reynolds Proclaims A First For U.S. Space Force

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Air Force Research Laboratory engineer Dr. Odell Reynolds speaks at the ceremony where Air Force Chief Scientist Dr. Richard Joseph presented him the 2019 Harold Brown Award. The ceremony was Dec. 16, 2020 at AFRL’s Starfire Optical Range on Kirtland AFB. U.S. Air Force photo by A1C Ireland R. Summers

AFRL News:

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE — Air Force Research Laboratory Senior Engineer Dr. Odell Reynolds received the 2019 Harold Brown Award from Chief Scientist of the Air Force Dr. Richard Joseph, in a ceremony Dec. 16, 2020 at AFRL’s Starfire Optical Range (SOR) on Kirtland Air Force Base.

The Harold Read More

Learn About The Sunrise Movement Of Northern New Mexico With PEEC’s Young Adult Advisory Group Sunday Jan. 10

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Join Zoe Hemez from the Sunrise Movement of Northern New Mexico and PEEC’s Young Adult Advisory Group for an introduction to the local chapter of the Sunrise Movement, 4 p.m. Sunday. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

Join the Pajarito Environmental Education Center’s (PEEC) Young Adult Advisory Group at 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10, to learn about the local chapter of the Sunrise Movement.

Zoe Hemez from the Sunrise Movement of Northern New Mexico will give a brief overview of the Sunrise Movement’s mission and share some examples of work that has been done by the Northern New Mexico chapter at this event.

After Read More

Deepfakes: How They Deceive Us … How We Detect Them

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Science on Tap: Can you tell if a photo or video is generated by artificial intelligence? The Bradbury Science Museum invites the community to join Juston Moore virtually at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11 to learn about potential approaches to reduce the risks of AI-generated misinformation. To register, click here. Courtesy/BSM

Read More

Ghost Town In Playas Provides High-Tech Testing For AFRL

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AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate researchers setting up test equipment overlooking the Playas Research and Training Center in southern New Mexico. Courtesy/AFRL

AFRL NEWS:

KIRTLAND AFB — In a dusty ghost town in southern New Mexico, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is conducting some of its most important testing.

Located in Hidalgo County, Playas was once a bustling “corporate town” built by the Phelps Dodge Corporation to house the workforce of a copper smelter built in 1971.

The boom town was all but abandoned when copper prices fell in 1999, the smelter was closed, and most of its Read More

AI World Society History Of AI 2020 Awards Recognizes People; Achievements That Are Pioneering, Influential

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As a champion of democratic values and trained scientist who places humanity at the center of AI innovation, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen – president of the European Commission is recognized for HAI 2020. Courtesy/AIWS

AIWS News:

BOSTON, MA — The AI World Society Thursday announced the History of AI 2020 Awards. The HAI Awards recognize people and achievements in the AI world that are pioneering, meaningful, and influential.

The History of AI 2020 Awards for Achievement go to:

AlphaFold – the solution to a 50-year-old grand challenge in biology, developed by DeepMind. “This breakthrough Read More

Glimpse Of What’s New In COVID-19 Research At LANL

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LANL continues working to better understand and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory continues its work to better understand and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic.

Here’s a brief look at some of the research underway:

Infrastructure analysis and decision support

Los Alamos developed the Modeling Epidemics for Decision Support with Infrastructure Analysis (MEDIAN) to understand interdependencies between critical infrastructures and public health measures such as contact tracing and diagnostics as it relates to pandemic Read More

LANL: ‘Garbage To Gas … Using Biodigesters To Create Energy’ Wins 2020 New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge

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Los Alamos National Laboratory awards a $4,500 cash prize to the winning students in the New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Student scientists at Monte del Sol Charter School earned a $4,500 cash prize awarded by Los Alamos National Laboratory judges in the New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge with their project, “Garbage to Gas: Using Biodigesters to Create Energy”.

“The STEM Challenge’s team-based approach of applying science, technology, engineering and math to address real needs is a microcosm of what we do at the Laboratory every day,” Laboratory Director Read More

Los Lunas Public Library Partners In National Project On Gender Equitable, Culturally Responsive Science Learning

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LLPL News:

LOS LUNAS — Los Lunas Public Library has been selected as one of 12 libraries to participate in the STAR Net STEAM Equity Project, a competitive grant program that will enable the library and its collaborators to offer special programs, educational products, and exhibitions.

Through this project, Los Lunas and surrounding area residents are invited to join this effort to empower tweens and their families in equitable STEAM learning and career paths by building off of their existing strengths, interests, and diverse cultures.

The STEAM Equity project — where STEAM stands for Science, Read More

AFRL Spacecraft Collects Never Before Seen Data

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A diagram of the Air Force Research Laboratory DSX and Japanese Space Agency Arase experiment in which the first space-to-space very low frequency transmission was conducted. The locations and directions of the spacecraft at the time of the experiment are shown, DSX in yellow and Arase in cyan, when they were 436 kilometers apart. Direct VLF wave paths from DSX are in blue, while the paths of waves reflected by magnetospheric plasma are in red. White dotted lines show magnetic field lines from the Earth’s magnetic field, which tends to guide the low-density plasma and, as a result, the VLF waves. Read More