Los Alamos Press Highlights

LANL's mosaic vaccine makes immune cells

The quest for an effective HIV vaccine has foiled scientists for years, in part because the virus comes in many ever-changing forms. One solution may be to design a vaccine that produces sophisticated immune cells that can recognize many kinds of viruses. (Full story)






Japan, New Mexico collaborate on smart grid tech

Two national laboratories, the state of New Mexico and a Japanese agency are developing smart grid technology to give homeowners and businesses more access to renewable energy sources by controlling the supply and demand of electric power. (Full story)





Also from the Associated Press this week:

Los Alamos lab awards $100 million contract

Los Alamos National Laboratory has chosen a Texas-based small business to do up to $100 million in waste transportation and disposal work. (Full story)

Smart grid effort

The Japanese government has launched a four-year, $30-million research program in New Mexico to demonstrate green grid technology. A large share of the work will be done in Los Alamos, involving both county utilities and Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full story)

Also from the Monitor this week:

Light on the landfill: Metal recycling gathers rewards

"Recycling metal from a demolition project reduces costs and cuts the amount of waste that goes to a landfill," said Al Chaloupka, LANL's demolition program director in a press release Tuesday. "We put a lot of effort into getting metal separated from the debris and making sure it isn't contaminated so it can be recycled." (Full story)


LANL awards $100M waste-disposal contract

Los Alamos National Laboratory awarded a $100 million contract to TerranearPMC LLC to haul and dispose of waste produced by stimulus-funded cleanup work. LANL received federal money through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to demolish and remove Cold War-era buildings in Technical Area 21. (Full story)

Also from the New Mexico Business Weekly

Simtable, SW Bio Fuels win LANL funds

Los Alamos National Laboratory selected two companies, Simtable and Southwest Bio Fuels, as awardees for $100,000 grants from the lab's Venture Acceleration Fund. The fund provides seed money to help northern New Mexico businesses with connections to LANL technology or expertise to further develop their products or services for commercialization. (Full story)





"Modular reactors" for energy attract interest

One idea is to create enclosed, small "modular reactors," like the one developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory and now proffered by Santa Fe, N.M.'s Hyperion Power. Its $50-million product would be an enclosed reactor roughly 1.5 meters wide by 2.5 meters tall; generating 25 megawatts, it would be buried underground and good for at least seven years. (Full story)

Ballard to receive DOE funding to advance non-automotive fuel cell

Ballard Power Systems announced today that it has $6.2 million in project funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under contract over a four year period. "We are excited to be working with a technology leader such as Ballard Power Systems," said Dr. Rod Borup, Fuel Cell Program Manager, Institute for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research at Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of Ballard's project partners. (Full story)


Optimization - with a click

Dynadec is currently working with Los Alamos National Laboratory to maximize efficiency in emergency response to hurricanes. While Los Alamos provides possible scenarios and effects on infrastructure, Comet can help determine where to place resources such as water and medical supplies in order to respond as quickly as possible. (Full Story)

'Terminator' asteroids could re-form after nuke

The regenerating liquid-metal robots in the Terminator movies have a cosmic relation: incoming asteroids that quickly reassemble if blasted by a nuclear bomb. (Full story)


Are our asteroid-destroying nukes big enough?

Pop quiz. An asteroid the size of Manhattan is hurtling towards Earth, its impact is sure to result in mass extinction and the destruction of humanity as we know it. What do you do? (Full story)

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