LANL scientists work on technology for future Mars missions
Nina Lanza, center, during a 2016 expedition
to Antarctica. From KRQE.
Have you ever wondered what Mars would be like? Some New Mexican scientists are trying to find out while staying in the arctic. “One thing this expedition is to test some field methods in a Mars analog environment,” said Nina Lanza, the team lead of the Space and Planetary Exploration Team.
Scientists
from Los Alamos National Laboratory will be heading to the arctic as
part of a mission to help test technologies for future
Mars missions. The goal is to create and test the right technology that
could help future missions including living on their own without being
able to communicate back to Earth. (full story)
Los Alamos National Laboratory deploys HPE Cray EX ‘Chicoma’ supercomputer
Covid-19, NIH image.
“As extensive social and economic impacts from COVID-19 continue to grip the nation, Los Alamos scientists are actively engaged in a number of critical research efforts ranging from therapeutics design to epidemiological modeling,” said Irene Qualters, Associate Laboratory Director for Simulation and Computing at Los Alamos. “High Performance Computing is playing a critical role by allowing scientists to model the complex phenomena involved in viral evolution and propagation.”
“Los
Alamos National Laboratory has been working closely with researchers
through the COVID-19 HPC Computing Consortium as well as
with local researchers to harness the power of the Lab’s HPC compute
capabilities to stop the spread of COVID-19. This newest HPC asset will
be a significant addition to that endeavor,” said Qualters. (Full story)
Also from the Los Alamos Reporter
A New Mexico city hopes carbon-capture technology will save its coal plant
The San Juan generating station near
Farmington, from YCC.
Carbon capture experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory, with funding from the Department of Energy, assessed the proposal and found it “technically viable.” The approach uses an amine-based capture system that’s been shown to capture more than 90% of carbon dioxide emissions.
“I don’t mean to make it sound like it’s simple — you buy it and install it tomorrow and it would work, but it wouldn’t require R&D to make this work,” says George Guthrie, lead author of that assessment.
“The
issue is really getting these projects on the ground and beginning to
get the experience that they need to lower those costs,”
Guthrie says. “There’s no technical barrier.” (Full story)
Mullen, LANL photo.
Evelyn Mullen, chief operating officer for Global Security at Los Alamos National Laboratory, was named a fellow of the American Nuclear Society for her leadership in nuclear national security and ensuring the nation’s experimental capability in nuclear criticality.
Mullen
was instrumental in developing plans for new diagnostic capabilities
for subcritical plutonium-integrated experiments at the
Nevada National Security Site that will become operational in 2025.
Furthermore, she currently leads a major effort for recovery from a
radiation source accident in Seattle, Wash. (Full story)
LANL photo.
Los Alamos National Laboratory was selected as one of the 2020 Top 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work in the U.S. by LATINA Style Inc. The Lab ranked 33 out of 50, based on 2019 data.
“Latinas represent 45 percent of all the women in our 13,000-employee workforce,” said Director Thom Mason. “We expect to hire 1,200 new employees in FY21, and are striving for more Latina representation as we seek to grow a diverse workforce across all areas, particularly management, science, and engineering.” (Full story)
