Sandians were members of several teams honored in November by then Energy Secretary Rick Perry in a ceremony at DOE headquarters. The teams received Secretary of Energy Achievement Awards, which recognize significant achievements by DOE employees and contractors.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Denuclearization team was recognized for its outstanding contribution in planning the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The team was instrumental in preparing for the historic U.S.-DPRK Summit in Singapore and the follow-up summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Sandia team members include Dianna Blair, Jay Brotz, Geoffrey Forden, Jen Gaudioso, Hans Oldewage and Aviva Sussman.
The High-Burnup Cask Demonstration Project team was recognized for its efforts to determine whether high-burnup fuel used in nuclear power plants to extract more energy from rods has different mechanical properties than low-burnup fuel, and whether the difference would involve increased risk for transportation and long-term storage and subsequent transportation.
Sandia team members include Charles Bryan, Sylvia Saltzstein and Ken Sorenson (retired).
The NNSA Financial Integration team was recognized for developing a plan to improve and integrate the financial management of the Nuclear Security Enterprise, resulting in a clear and consistent cost structure for each NSE program that allows monitoring and analysis to compare the cost of work across the complex.
Sandia was singled out for being “instrumental in implementing Financial Integration to all NNSA programs supported at the Laboratories.” According to the award, “Sandia provided exceptional partnership with the NNSA Financial Integration team and is frequently used as a model for the NSE. Given the importance of this initiative, Sandia has streamlined the process, which has enabled NNSA to expand beyond NA-10 reporting and encompass other NNSA organizations.”
Sandia team members include Emily Barnhart, Theresa Chacon, Chris Dye, Lyle Lininger and John Moleres.
The Warhead Measurement Campaign team conducted analysis and modeling to “obtain a standardized set of radiation signature data from U.S. stockpile weapons to support treaty verification and emergency response studies, as well as other nuclear nonproliferation and defense program needs.” The team’s efforts resulted in a well-documented and consistent set of data that can be used for numerous future applications.
Sandia team members include Luis Amezcua, Erik Brubaker, Michael Enghauser, Lee Harding, Kristin Hertz, Steven Horne, Patrick Hylton, Scott Kiff, Nathalie Le Galloudec, Peter Marleau, Amy Matteucci, Daniel McCarthy, Dean Mitchell, Sean O’Brien, Melinda Sweany, Lisa Theisen and Gregory Thoreson.