Sandia established its California site in 1956 to support weapons engineering with its across-the-street neighbor. Sandia/California employs slightly more than 1000 persons, who are housed in about 60 buildings on 413 acres. The current fiscal year budget for Sandia/California is more than $152 million.

Most of this facility's employees reside in the immediate area -- more than half of the workforce in the Livermore-Amador Valley. The professional staff includes more than 300 with advanced degrees -- split almost evenly between PhDs and Masters. The engineering disciplines -- mostly mechanical and electrical -- dominate Sandia/California's technical staff. The remainder represent a variety of scientific disciplines, principally physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science.

Sandia/California is a major contributor to the economic base in the Tri-Valley. The yearly payroll is more than $60 million. Of the annual purchases, more than $105 million is typically spent in California, with most of that in the Bay Area.

Sandia/California's new Integrated Manufacturing Technologies Laboratory and its Microelectronics Office are key points of contact with the high-technology industries on the West Coast, with whom Labs scientists and engineers team as they work to advance the state of manufacturing in this country. At Sandia/California there is particular manufacturing-related research focus on microelectronics, materials synthesis and processing, materials characterization, process simulation, engineering theory and design, prototype fabrication, and demonstration techniques.

The California site's aim is to be an agile manufacturing test bed for low-cost prototypes and development, as needed by US industries. Applications include welding technologies, semiconductor fabrication, sensors, high-performance metals, ultrahard ceramic coatings, and computational modeling and analysis.

For more than a decade, Sandia/California has operated the Combustion Research Facility (CRF), which is dedicated to development and application of advanced research methods, particularly laser diagnostics. The research aim: to study fundamental chemistry and physics of combustion processes. In carrying out this research, Labs scientists and engineers interact regularly with US industries, such as furnace suppliers and automotive manufacturers, to design more efficient and cleaner furnaces and engines. CRF research also is a critical component of the national Clean Car Initiative.

Sandia's California Outreach Program teams with industry and academia to transfer Sandia-developed technologies, processes, and special technical know-how to the private sector. Through this outreach, Sandians apply laboratory strengths to solve national problems, thereby continuing to demonstrate the Labs' ability to provide exceptional service in the national interest.

A key element of this program is educational outreach, whereby Sandia shares its scientific expertise with schools, colleges, and universities.