Portable shelters protect medical workers, save PPE
Sandia is offering, free of charge, the design and complete instruction manual for building a low-cost, drive-up outdoor shelter that shields health care workers conducting COVID-19 testing.
Frank Hansen earns lifetime achievement award
The Wendell D. Weart Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to retired Sandian Frank Hansen at a ceremony in Phoenix on March 10. The award was created by Sandia and Waste Management Symposia Inc. in 2001, in honor of Wendall Weart, who retired from Sandia in 2000, to recognize the recipient’s long-term commitment to solving major nuclear waste challenges.
Working well to stay well
With a record number of Sandia’s workforce now working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Labs’ ergonomic team has helped make the transition to a home office safe for employees. Sandia's ergonomics professionals are fully engaged on a daily basis with educating, training and assisting the workforce using the principles of ergonomic science.
Weapon program meets safety, design requirements
Sandia has successfully completed another milestone in the B61-12 gravity bomb refurbishment program, demonstrating that the Labs is meeting important nuclear safety and use-control requirements. Sandia is the design and engineering lab for non-nuclear components of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, including the B61-12, and is the technical integrator for the complete weapon, assuring that the system meets requirements as a unit.
NM Capstone Challenge
Three university teams from New Mexico experienced firsthand what it might be like to tackle a national security project at Sandia through the NM Capstone Challenge. The teams had six months to develop an integrated sensing device capable of monitoring multiple environmental conditions during ground transportation of an asset or payload.
B61-12 compatible with F-15E Strike Eagle
In early March at Sandia’s Tonopah Test Range, two flight tests were part of a full-weapon system demonstration to verify that the refurbished B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb is compatible with the U.S. Air Force’s F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet. The final compatibility test was a culmination of years of work that included ground testing and computer simulations as well as flight tests.
Ken Gillen earns lifetime achievement award
Sandia chemist Ken Gillen (retired) recently received the prestigious 2020 Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award, in part for his contributions to Sandia’s polymer aging project. The award honors recipients for their “exceptional technical competence by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber technology.”
A day in the life at 70 + 1 — Sandia copes with COVID-19
Last year, we celebrated Sandia’s 70th birthday with pride, honoring the Labs’ response to seven decades of challenges. At the time, we had no idea of the dramatic world events that would be in store for us in year 71. Labs photojournalist Randy Montoya captures Sandians at work under the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.
EMS Environmental Excellence Awards
This April 22 marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Though Sandians were unable to celebrate onsite, the Labs’ annual Environmental Management System Environmental Excellence Awards honored those who help to reduce ecological impacts, in the spirit of resource conservation and environmental protection.
Printing face shields for the front lines
Teens who learned to build 3D printers during a weeklong robotics camp at Sandia last year have used them to make more than 3,000 face shields that have been donated to medical professionals and first responders in New Mexico.