Over 400 earthquakes have hit Southern California in the past few days
Micro-quake data, LANL image.
In the period between 2008 and 2017, scientists found that Southern California was hit by 1.8 million more tiny earthquakes than had previously been recorded, according to a study recently published in the journal Science, highlighting the significant levels of geological activity in the region. Again, most of these were imperceptible on the surface.
"You don't feel them happening all the time, but they're happening all the time," Daniel Trugman, a seismologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and co-author of the study, told National Public Radio. (Full story)
Podcast: Irene Qualters from LANL shares life lessons on HPC and diversity
Qualters, LANL photo.
In this Big Compute Podcast, Gabriel Broner interviews Irene Qualters from Los Alamos National Lab about her career and the evolution of HPC. Irene, an HPC pioneer, went from being a young, inexperienced female engineer working with Seymour Cray to becoming president of Cray Research. After 20 years at Cray Research, she decided it was time for a change and went into the pharma space and eventually the National Science Foundation. She was awarded the 2018 HPCwire Readers’ Award for Outstanding Leadership in HPC. (Full story)
You can’t see it, but it’s 200+ times stronger than steel
Hisato Yamaguchi examines a material for
night vision goggles that is coated with
atomic armor, LANL photo.
The evolution of armor has been a constant struggle between protection and performance.
It was this struggle between keeping some things (bullets) out, while letting others (heat and perspiration) out that inspired scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop a radical new type of coating dubbed “atomic armor.” Made from two-dimensional, ultrathin crystal materials, atomic armor can be applied in a skin-like layer to a particularly sensitive device without hindering its performance. So, for instance, night-vision goggles can be coated with atomic armor to protect against corrosive gases without hindering their ability to turn darkness into light. (Full story)
Community leaders briefed on safety, workforce development
Director Mason, LANL photo.
LANL Director Thom Mason and DOE/NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Manager Steve Goodrum discuss safety and workforce development during the LANL Community Conversation event Thursday morning at Buffalo Thunder Resort.
Director Mason told the audience that the TA55 Division will add 1,500 employees in the near future. In answer to a question from Los Alamos Public Schools Superintendent Kurt Steinhaus about diverse careers at LANL, Mason said, “The Lab is a broad enough place that anyone can match their skills and passion to a career at LANL”. (Full story)
LANL Faces of Innovation: Katie Mussack, physicist
Mussack, LANL photo.
In 1945, the U.S. Navy had a question: Could its ships survive a nuclear blast? It turned to Los Alamos, which provided an answer after the 1946 Crossroads test series in the Pacific. In 2018, the Navy had another question—a classified one—this time about nuclear weapons. Once again, it turned to Los Alamos for an answer.
“To answer the question, we started brainstorming,” says physicist Katie Mussack, who partnered with colleagues Omar Wooten and Guillermo Terrones on what she calls “thought experiments.” (Full story)
