Friday, September 11, 2015



Does quantum cryptology offer hack-proof security?

Quantum Key Encryption device developed at LANL, LANL image.

Whitewood Encryption Systems and Los Alamos National Laboratory are also collaborating on another area of quantum cryptology research and development: the Entropy Engine, which is a random number generator (RNG) that harvests entropy from a quantum field. LANL claims the RNG is so efficient, it can fit on a USB key drive at an exceptionally low cost. (Full Story)



DHS moves another security technology to the commercial market

According to DHS, the PathScan technology is an anomaly detection tool developed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and has been licensed to Ernst & Young as part of the agency’s Transition to Practice program.

PathScan uses statistical models to screen network behavior and quickly detects the movement of hackers after they breach a network, allowing operational teams to defend sensitive information. (Full Story)



LANL, private firm partner on cybersecurity

Los Alamos National Laboratory has formed a partnership with multinational professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP to bring an advanced cybersecurity tool to the commercial market. Both have announced that LANL is licensing its PathScan technology to Ernst & Young for use in the private sector. (Full Story)



Carbon nanotubes open new path toward quantum information technologies

Oxygen (red) attached to a nanotube produces a single photon, LANL illustration.               

In optical communication, critical information ranging from a credit card number to national security data is transmitted in streams of laser pulses.

By demonstrating that incorporation of pristine single-walled carbon nanotubes into a silicon dioxide (SiO2) matrix could lead to creation of solitary oxygen dopant state capable of fluctuation-free, room-temperature single photon emission, Los Alamos researchers revealed a new path toward on-demand single photon generation. Nature Nanotechnology published their findings. (Full Story)




Perovskite quantum dots emit single photons

Perovskite quantum dots of many colors, LANL image.                 

Individual perovskite quantum dots can operate as efficient room-temperature single-photon sources (or quantum emitters) that emit photons one by one, according to new work by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of New Mexico.

“Our research group specializes in the development and spectroscopic study of nanoscale semiconductor particles, known as nanocrystals or quantum dots,” says team leader Victor Klimov of Los Alamos. (Full Story)




Experiments illuminate supersonic radiation flow

Pleiades target installed on a NIF target, LLNL photo.

A multi-institutional team of scientists fired the 26th and final shot of the Pleiades experimental campaign at the National Ignition Facility last month. The campaign has created a new scientific foundation for the study of supersonic radiation flow in astrophysical phenomena and in inertial confinement fusion physics.

Begun in 2011, the campaign was fielded by Los Alamos National Laboratory in collaboration with the U.K.’s Atomic Weapons Establishment and supported by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Full Story)




Descartes lab shows shrinking U.S. corn crop

Corn field deviation in 2014, from Descartes Labs.        

From an analysis of more than 1 million corn fields daily, Descartes Labs’ infrared satellite images showed U.S. production is 2.8 percent smaller than the government estimates.

The firm started as a project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2007. Brumby said the labs are developing programs to forecast all major crops in the U.S. and plan to make projections for global crops. New satellite images available next year will enhance the view from space. (Full Story)



RLUOB team gets award from DOE

The DOE Secretary’s Achievement Award is presented to the RLUOB Transfer Team. LANL photo.     

The Radiological Laboratory Utility Office Building (RLUOB) Transition Team at Los Alamos National Laboratory received the U.S. Department of Energy Secretary’s Achievement Award for its teamwork and performance. LANL made an announcement of the award Tuesday.

“What the National Nuclear Security Administration achieved with its contract partner on the RLUOB/REI Project is our goal — safe, high-quality, state-of-the-art facilities that provide a great value to the taxpayer,” said NNSA Associate Administrator for Acquisition and Project Management Bob Raines. (Full Story)

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