Science

Three LAHS Students Qualify For Biolympiad Semifinals

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LAHS students from left, Willow Chartrand, Linnhtet Htoon and Mary Couture met or exceeded the score to become semifinalists in the 2023 USA Biolympiad. Courtesy/LAPS

LAPS News:

Three Los Alamos High School (LAHS) students qualified for the semifinals for the 2023 USA Biolympiad (USABO):

  • Senior Mary Couture;
  • Junior Willow Chartrand; and
  • Sophomore Linnhtet Htoon.

It has been eight years since any LAHS students have qualified for the semifinals in the USABO.

The open exam cutoff scores are 24 to 50 for semifinalists; 21 to 23 for Honorable Mention certificates; and 19 to 20 for Certificates Read More

Los Alamos Historical Society Hosts Lecture On Groves And Oppenheimer With Historian James Kunetka March 14

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Historian James Kunetka

Los Alamos Historical Society News:

Historian James Kunetka, a familiar face around the Los Alamos Historical Society and author of The General and the Genius, will present a lecture titled “Groves and Oppenheimer, Friends and Foes?” March 14 in Fuller Lodge.

Kunetka, who grew up in Los Alamos after his father joined the Laboratory in 1948, has authored three popular books on America’s nuclear weapons development. 

The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer – The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atomic Bomb, brought out in 2015, chronicles the extraordinary Read More

LANL: Understanding Plants Can Boost Wildland-Fire Modeling In Uncertain Future

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How a fire burns and whether the vegetation survives or dies depend on how the live fuels — plants — use water and carbon. New research creates a framework for bringing those dynamics into wildland-fire models to more accurately predict wildfire and prescribed-burn behavior and resulting effects. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

A new conceptual framework for incorporating the way plants use carbon and water, or plant dynamics, into fine-scale computer models of wildland fire provides a critical first step toward improved global fire forecasting.

“Understanding the influences of vegetation Read More

LANL: Bringing STEAM To The Roundhouse

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Scene from the 2023 STEAM Day at the Legislature event Feb. 16 in the rotunda at the Roundhouse. Courtesy/LANL

By DAVID MOORE
LANL

The 2023 STEAM Day at the Legislature event Feb. 16 showcased STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) organizations, as well as education and career opportunities for young people in New Mexico. The Laboratory was there to play its part.

Organized by the LANL Foundation, the event took over the rotunda of the Roundhouse in Santa Fe with hands-on activities for all ages from a range of education groups including Chama Valley Arts, CNM Ingenuity, Read More

LANL: How These Entrepreneurs Will Help Grow Innovation In New Mexico

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Yun Li and Scott Ziegler. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

The New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (New Mexico LEEP) has announced the fellows in its 2023 cohort, which launched in February. The program provides a two-year fellowship for entrepreneurs focusing on deep tech for national security.

“New Mexico LEEP presents a unique opportunity for Los Alamos National Laboratory and our community to support deep-tech innovators and entrepreneurs,” Lab Director Thom Mason said. “We look forward to providing the expertise and resources needed to develop new solutions for key national Read More

LANL: Apply For Summer Physics Camp For Young Women

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Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Applications are open for the Laboratory’s Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, which offers a great opportunity for high-school age young women (including transgender women or nonbinary) to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with STEM professionals.

The free camp is June 5-16 at the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe (and Hilo Intermediate School, Hilo for Hawaii residents), exploring topics related to energy and energy Security and offering students a chance to boost their understanding of how STEM improves the world Read More

Los Alamos ScienceFest Announces 2023 Dates, Opens Registration For Discovery Day Booths

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Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District News:

Los Alamos MainStreet and Creative District have announced that Los Alamos ScienceFest 2023: Energy will run July 7-18 around Los Alamos County and feature a variety of workshops, lectures, interactive science activities, and more.

This year’s Discovery Day, featuring hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) demonstrations by local and regional businesses and organizations, along with entertainment, food vendors, and a beer garden, will take place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 8 at Ashley Pond Park.

Each year, Read More

Citizen Scientists Gathering Bird-Window Collision Data

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Public participation in bird window collision surveys in China. Photo by Jiamin Liu

FLAP holds annual event at which all collision casualties of past year are placed together. Courtesy of Nancy Barrett

Cornell Lab of Ornithology News:

ITHACA, NY—Much of the progress made in understanding the scope of bird deaths from building and window collisions has come as the result of citizen science, according to a newly published study. But the study also concludes that such grassroots efforts need more buy-in from government and industry, and better funding so they can keep a foot on the gas in their Read More

March Events At Bradbury Science Musesum

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Courtesy/BSM

BSM News:

This month at the Bradbury Science Museum (BSM):

Read More

Los Alamos National Laboratory Spots Dust Devils On Mars

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When a dust devil — nearly 400 feet tall — passed directly over the Perseverance rover on Mars, a team of researchers on Earth recorded its sound. The eerie whooshing was captured for the first time ever thanks to the microphone on the SuperCam instrument developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. On the new episode of ‘Mars Technica’ , Baptiste Chide discusses what they learned and just how lucky they were to capture this audio. Click to listen to the latest episode. Courtesy/LANL Read More