US conducts non-nuclear underground explosive experiment
Scientists successfully completed an underground experiment that detonated high explosives around plutonium to test the effectiveness of the nation's nuclear weapons, an official with the National Nuclear Security Administration said Friday.
There was no nuclear reaction and no radioactivity wasreleased with the subcritical experiment, dubbed Pollux, site spokesman Darwin Morgan said.
The detonation was conducted Wednesday in a vault about 1,000 feet beneath the Nevada National Security Site by researchers from the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories in New Mexico, Morgan said. (Full Story)
Video of the experiment available here.
New Mexico small businesses helped by Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists Harshini Mukundan of the Physical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy group and Mark E. Smith of the Chemical Diagnostics and Engineering group received Principal Investigator Excellence (PIE) Awards from the New MexicoSmall Business Assistance program (NMSBA) for assisting several New Mexico small businesses. Los Alamos National Security, LLC, the NMSBA and Northern New Mexico Connect sponsored the recognition event. (Full Story)
LANL’s Piotr Zelenay wins research sward
Piotr Zelenay of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Sensors and Electrochemical Devices group has won the 2012 Research Award presented by the Energy Technology Division of The Electrochemical Society.
The award recognizes Zelenay’s “outstanding and original contributions to the science and technology of energy-related research areas that include scientific and technological aspects of fossil fuels and alternative energy sources, energy management and environmental consequences of energy utilization.” (Full Story)
Students Can Get Tuition From LANL
Northern New Mexico students aiming to pursue four-year college degrees are eligible for tuition help ranging from$1,000 to $30,000 from the Los Alamos Employees’ Scholarship Fund.
The fund, which has awarded $3.3 million since 1998, is administered by the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation. Funding comes from donations by LANL employees, contractors and a matching amount from Los Alamos National Security, LLC, which is contracted to run the lab. (Full Story)
County, NNSA modify fire protection agreement
The National Nuclear Security Administration and the Los Alamos Fire Department have come to terms on a modified Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement to ensure emergency responsecapabilities for Los Alamos National Laboratory and Los Alamos County.
County Administrator Harry Burgess and Kevin Smith, manager of NNSA’s Los Alamos Site Office, signed the agreement last Thursday afternoon. The modifications will be in effect for the next nine months. (Full Story)
DOE, national labs reveal sweeping cloud strategy
The Department of Energy and its national laboratories released a wide-ranging cloud computing strategy and overview that for the first time pulls together the disparate cloud computing efforts of the agency's 22 national laboratories.
Based as it is on Los Alamos National Lab’s Infrastructure on Demand platform, YOURcloud shows that the agency will likely lean on itsnational labs to execute any centralized elements to its cloud strategy. (Full Story)
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