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Three Sandia teams win NA-50 Awards of Excellence

BY STEPHANIE HOLINKA | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LONNIE ANDERSON

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019

Jim McConnell, associate administrator for NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations, presented three Sandia project teams with NA-50 Awards of Excellence during a July ceremony at Sandia’s Albuquerque campus.

B1012 Battery Test Facility

B1012 Battery Test Facility team with NNSA and Sandia execs
B1012 WINNERS — The B1012 Battery Test Facility team posed with Associate Administrator for NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations Jim McConnell, third from right, and Sandia Deputy Labs Director Dori Ellis, third from left, following the NA-50 Awards of Excellence ceremony.

The B1012 Battery Test Facility team was recognized for its efforts in the building of Sandia’s new Battery Test Facility, which was completed two months ahead of its construction schedule and came in under budget with no lost time or recordable safety incidents. The facility will be used to test unique power sources.

The team, led by Paul Schlavin, included Carol Watson, Chuck Cormier, Malia Orell, Rod May, Chris Orendorff, Dana Richter, Abby Hoffman and Marvin Roybal.

Tactical Team for Intern Space

Tactical Team for Intern Space
TACTICAL TEAM WINNERS — The tactical team for intern space posed with Associate Administrator for NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations Jim McConnell, second from right, and Sandia Deputy Labs Director Dori Ellis, left, following the NA-50 Awards of Excellence ceremony.

Sandia’s real estate team was recognized for partnering with several organizations to develop and implement short-term “tactical leases” designed for minimal investment with varied and streamlined operating procedures to ensure all work is performed safely and securely.

“This strategy has proven effective to help manage the Labs population surge during the summer months, so uncleared intern populations and their mentors can set up work schedules that balance the interns’ onsite and offsite engagement effectively,” said team member Jack Mizner.

The team, led by Candle Martinez, also included Janelle Abreu, Joe Aragon, Joshua Johnson and Joan Yourick.

NASA KRUSTY Criticality Experiment Team support

Nuclear engineer Gary Harms was recognized for helping test NASA’s KRUSTY (Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY) project, a prototype fission reactor coupled to a Stirling engine.