Sandia plays host to New Mexico solons BY RANDY MONTOYA FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021 LOOKING FORWARD — On June 2, Labs Director James Peery welcomed Sen. Ben Ray Lujan for a firsthand look at the groundbreaking work happening at the Labs. The day started with an overview of Sandia’s nuclear deterrence mission. The senator then stopped by the Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed and gave closing remarks at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies. Ben Ray Lujan was sworn into office on Jan. 3, as senator after previously serving as representative for New Mexico’s Third Congressional District. A BRIGHT FUTURE — Sandia hosted Sen. Martin Heinrich, right, on June 3 to share the Labs’ work in renewable energy. The senator toured the Battery Test Facility for an update on Sandia’s research and development for energy storage and a demonstration of a new Sandia software, Quest. He also learned about research on hydrogen fuel and toured the National Solar Thermal Test Facility, where Cliff Ho, left, showed the senator the Falling Particle Receiver. He also toured the Microgrid facility and was briefed on improving energy resilience. Martin Heinrich was elected senator in 2012 and serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Armed Services, Intelligence and Joint Economic Committees.