Friday, September 26, 2014



LANL teams with HPC groups for advanced climate change understanding

LANL research found that during winter pollution increases over India, affecting cloud formation. LANL image.                

Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy, or ACME, is designed to accelerate the development and application of fully coupled, state-of-the-science Earth system models for scientific and energy applications.

“The ACME partnership will provide new capabilities that improve our ability to project future impacts of energy choices on the Earth’s climate,” said Alan Bishop, principal associate director of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Science, Technology and Engineering directorate. (Full Story)



Developing the most advanced Earth system computer model yet created

LANL's ocean surface temperature model.  LANL image.

The project — which includes Los Alamos and six other national laboratories, four academic institutions, and one private-sector company — will focus initially on three climate-change science drivers and corresponding questions to be answered during the project's initial phase: water cycle, biogeochemistry and cryosphere systems.

Over a planned 10-year span, the project aim is to conduct simulations and modeling on the most sophisticated high-performance computing systems machines as they become available — 100+ petaflop machines and eventually exascale supercomputers. (Full Story)

Also from TMCnet



Researchers uncover properties in nanocomposite oxide ceramics for reactor fuel

Dislocation networks for SrO- and TiO2-terminated SrTiO3/MgO interface.  LANL image.

Nanocomposite oxide ceramics have potential uses as ferroelectrics, fast ion conductors, and nuclear fuels and for storing nuclear waste, generating a great deal of scientific interest on the structure, properties, and applications of these blended materials.

“The interfaces separating the different crystalline regions determine the transport, electrical, and radiation properties of the material as a whole,” said Pratik Dholabhai, principal Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)




LANS OKs $3 million in funding

The Los Alamos National Security, LLC Board of Governors has approved $3 million in funding for the company’s plan to support education, economic development and charitable giving in Northern New Mexico.

“This plan demonstrates our bond with the community and its people and businesses that support our national security mission,” laboratory director Charlie McMillan said. (Full Story)



Energy labs show off high-tech innovation

National Lab Day on the Hill.  LANL photo.      

Directors of the Department of Energy’s 17 national labs joined Senate leaders in Washington, D.C., last week to help recognize National Lab Day, an event to raise awareness of the accomplishments of the labs in high performance computing, energy innovation and other high tech disciplines.

“The national labs continue to advance science, clean energy and nuclear security in this country, as they have for decades,” said Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told the group. (Full Story)



A look back – world-record magnetic field 100T threshold broken

Video: At approximately 3:30 p.m. on March 22, 2012, scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory campus of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory successfully produced the world's first 100 Tesla non-destructive magnetic field. The achievement was decades in the making, involving a diverse team of scientists and engineers.  Watch Here


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Friday, September 19, 2014



Oilfield sensor wins LANL innovation prize

Dipen Sinha and the innovative technology award. LANL photo.             

Los Alamos National Laboratory awarded the 2014 Richard P. Feynman Innovation Prize to Dipen Sinha and a research team that collaborated to develop a sophisticated acoustic sensor that can maximize flows in oil fields.

The sensor, called SAFIRE, was refined in collaboration with GE and Chevron and has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of an existing oil field. (Full Story)



Ionic liquids disperse bacterial biofilms and increase antibiotic susceptibility

The five stages of biofilm development. From BioTech Daily.

Biofilm-protected bacteria account for about 80% of bacterial infections in humans and are 50–1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than bacteria that do not produce biofilms. Biofilms in skin are further protected by the outermost layer of skin, the stratum corneum, which serves as a natural barrier to most therapeutic agents.

Following a search for agents capable of disrupting orinactivating biofilm protection, investigators at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UCSB reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Full Story)



Collaboration drives achievement in protein research

Thomas Terwilliger.  LANL photo.

“It is tremendously exciting working with researchers around the world, helping them apply the software and algorithms that we have developed to see the inner workings of molecular machines,” said Thomas Terwilliger, a senior Los Alamos scientist and Laboratory Fellow.    

The Los Alamos National Laboratory connection is the development of software, called SOLVE/RESOLVE and PHENIX, in the protein structure analysis of the nuclease. (Full Story)

Also from Science Codex and the Los Alamos Daily Post



Secure computing for the everyman: Quantum computing goes to market

Quantum Key device. LANL photo.

The largest information technology agreement ever signed by Los Alamos National Laboratory brings the potential for truly secure data encryption to the marketplace after nearly 20 years of development at the nation's national-security science laboratory. 

“Quantum systems represent the best hope for truly secure data encryption, because they store or transmit information in ways that are unbreakable by conventional cryptographic methods,” said Duncan McBranch, Chief Technology Officer at Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)




LANL conducts experiment in Nevada

The Leda experiment is moved from the DAF at NNSS. LANL photo.

Los Alamos National Laboratory has successfully fired the latest in a series of experiments at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

“Leda is an integrated experiment that provides important surrogate hydrodynamic materials data in support of the Laboratory’s stewardship of the U. S. nuclear deterrent,” said Bob Webster, Associate Director for Weapons Physics. (Full Story)



DOE Secretary showcases National Labs on Hill

National Lab day on Capitol Hill.  LANL photo.

Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz joined Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL and Sen. Jim Risch, R-ID for National Lab Day on the Hill.

The event highlighted several notable research projects from across the National Laboratory system. Senators Durbin and Risch also formally launched the Senate National Laboratory Caucus       

“The National Labs continue to advance science, clean energy and nuclear security in this country,” Moniz said. “The Labs also provide essential capabilities for university and industrial researchers.”  (Full Story)


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Friday, September 12, 2014



Lab reports lowest radiation emissions in two decades

Technical Area 3. LANL photo.           

Los Alamos National Laboratory reached its lowest radioactive air emissions rate in 20 years during 2013, the lab reported Thursday. “The laboratory has worked diligently to ensure the air is as clean as possible.”

Based on 2013 data from 40 air monitoring stations located at the lab and in neighboring communities that measure ambient air quality, the off-site dose rate was 0.21 millirem — about 2 percent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act limit of 10 millirem, a unit of radioactive measurement. (Full Story)

Also from the Los Alamos Monitor



Los Alamos conducts important hydrodynamic experiment in Nevada

Making final adjustments to "Leda" in the "Zero Room" at the NNSS U1a facility. LANL photo.

Los Alamos National Laboratory has successfully fired the latest in a series of experiments at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

“Leda is an integrated experiment that provides important surrogate hydrodynamic materials data in support of the Laboratory’s stewardship of the U. S. nuclear deterrent,” said Bob Webster, associate director for weapons physics. (Full Story)


Also from Homeland Security Newswire



National Labs play unique role in working for America
Co-author Charlie McMillan.  LANL photo.

By Paul Alivisatos, Dan Arvizu, Charlie McMillan and Terry Michalske. 

As directors within the National Lab System, we are honored to steward the phenomenal resources of this one-of-a-kind research network to solve problems in the public interest. In today’s rapidly changing global environment, the list of technological demands is staggering: more and cleaner energy, better batteries, carbon capture and storage, faster and more powerful supercomputers, national security, and the development of more energy efficient homes and offices, to name just a few. (Full Story)



LANL hosts pre-campaign kickoff reception

Alan Bishop talks about the 2015 Employee Giving Campaign and why he finds giving personally satisfying. LANL photo.

Individuals in the position of division leader and above joined United Way staff, board members and LANL Executive Director Rich Marquez for the Lab's Employee Giving Campaign "Pre-campaign" Kickoff Reception Sept. 2 at the Oppenheimer Study Center.

LANL Giving Campaign Chair Alan Bishop explained that the theme for the 2015 campaign is "Leading the Way" by example. He issued a challenge for this year's goal to surpass the all-time campaign's employee participation rate of 21 percent in 2013 and exceed last year's $2million in employee contributions. (Full Story)



New exhibit highlights archaeology, wildlife, and climate

Nake'muu Pueblo archaeological site on Los Alamos National Laboratory property. LANL photo.    

The Bradbury Science Museum unveils a new interactive exhibit featuring the rich history and current research into archaeology, wildlife biology, local climate and sustainability efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The exhibit shows in posters, interactive elements and videos the Laboratory’s compliance work and research into the diverse archaeological and biological resources found here, as well as local climate research and the Laboratory’s environmental sustainability activities. (Full Story)



Day of commercially available quantum encryption nears

Quantum Key Device, LANL photo.

The largest information technology agreement ever signed by Los Alamos National Laboratory brings the potential for truly secure data encryption to the marketplace after nearly twenty years of development at the national-security science laboratory.      

“Quantum systems represent the best hope for truly secure data encryption because they store or transmit information in ways that are unbreakable by conventional cryptographic methods,” said Duncan McBranch. (Full Story)

Also from Engineering.com




Los Alamos’ explosive history ushered in nuclear age

Newly renovated Ashley Pond.  Photo from The Chieftain.

Sprawled across the vast mesas of the Pajarito Plateau with the Jemez Mountains looming darkly in the background, it looks, at first glance, like many other isolated backwaters in the American West.

In the early 1940s, as World War II raged across Europe and the Pacific, this remote, sparsely inhabited area 32 miles northwest of Santa Fe was being converted into a top-secret government complex to create what was, at that time, the most powerful and destructive military weapon ever known. (Full Story)


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Friday, September 5, 2014



Science Matters: LANL scientists take closer look at rain

Graphic from the New Mexican.        

“The fact that they [heavy downpours] are extreme means they don’t happen often, so it’s hard to separate the signal from the noise,” says Todd Ringler, an atmospheric scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, describing one of the most critical issues in the ongoing debate over global warming. “The challenge gets back to weather and climate,” he said. “We observe extreme events in terms of weather events, but we’re trying to understand extreme events in the realm of climate. It’s a tough job.” (Full Story)




LANL may have answer to computer security

Illustration from ABQ Biz First.            

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a quantum random number generator that could change the face of computer security. Now, LANL has licensed the technology to Allied Minds, a firm in Boston that aims to build the next generation of cryptography though it subsidiary, Whitewood Encryption Systems Inc.

The deal is the largest technology transfer licensing agreement ever for LANL, according to Whitewood. (Full Story)



Light particles may hold the keys to a revolution in encryption

Quantum Key, LANL photo.

The largest information technology licensing deal ever signed by the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory may one day produce uncrackable encryption for use in personal communications, e-commerce, banking and critical infrastructure data transfer.

Los Alamos has developed a way to encrypt data by using the random spin of photons — single light particles — to create cryptographic keys. This represents a vast improvement over current cryptological systems. (Full Story)

Also from NextGov



NASA to fund research at NMSU

Researchers will use the Apache Peak Observatory in Southern New Mexico. NMSU photo.

New Mexico NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) has awarded a grant of $749,893 to New Mexico State University astronomers for research to be conducted over the next three years.         

Jovian Interiors from Velocimetry Experiment (JIVE) team includes NMSU’s Jason Jackiewicz and Patrick Gaulme, researchers from NASA and Didier Saumon from Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)



NERSC reveals 44 NESAP code teams

To ensure that the highly diverse workloads of the DOE science community continue to be supported as over 5,000 users make the transition to Cori, the partners launched the NERSC Exascale Science Applications Program (NESAP).

The 20 NESAP teams include the Multi-Scale Ocean Simulation for Studying Global to Regional Climate Change by Todd Ringler of Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)




Fargo selected as site for National Agricultural Genotyping Center

The National Corn Growers Association's Corn Board today announced that Fargo, N.D., will be the site of the National Agricultural Genotyping Center.   

The NAGC partnership brings together Los Alamos National Laboratory, the premier research institution in the world with a proven track record in developing high-throughput genotyping technology. (Full Story)


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