Sandia LabNews

David Chacon honored with Legion of Merit

David Chacon, who works in Sandia’s information technology audits group, has been awarded the Department of Defense Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements during his tenure in the U.S. Army.

NM Legislature honors Sandia serial innovators

Stan Atcitty and Hongyou Fan have received recognition from the New Mexico Legislature for their distinguished achievements as serial innovators.

Sandia’s Tidwell talks to Congress about water-energy issues

Vince Tidwell of Sandia’s water program testified last month on DOE’s research and development into the connections between energy and water before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

Fields of gold

Jennifer Payne is a Sandia ecologist who stabilizes degraded lands. She is also one of two Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioners in New Mexico, a title held by only 150 people in the country. As an ecologist who specializes in restoration, Jennifer ensures that Sandia upholds its commitments to protect land leased from Kirtland Air Force Base and land withdrawn from the U.S. Forest Service.

Device in Z machine measures power for nuclear fusion

To better determine energy leaks at Sandia’s powerful Z machine — where remarkable gains in fusion outputs have occurred over the last two and a half decades, including a tripling of output in 2018 — a joint team from Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories has installed an upgraded laser diagnostic system.

Mirage software automates design of optical metamaterials

Sandia software developers have created the first inverse-design software for optical metamaterials. The new software lets users design science-fiction-like materials with the same efficiency that architects use when they draft building plans.