A letter from the Labs Director
I am proud to introduce the latest edition of Labs Accomplishments, an annual publication of Sandia Lab News. The projects and initiatives showcased within these pages, all achieved in fiscal year 2023, are extraordinary. Sandians delivered again and again in service to our country.
This edition is a testament to the work of a staff whose dedication to national security is unwavering. You’ll discover accomplishments across all our mission areas and appreciate how Sandia’s multidisciplinary expertise has been pivotal in addressing a spectrum of national security challenges.
Not all of Sandia’s endeavors can be captured here, especially those of a highly sensitive nature. Nevertheless, this volume highlights significant strides in such areas as stockpile stewardship, nonproliferation, homeland protection, energy security, national security and global alliances. It celebrates the Labs’ leadership in safety, quality and employee benefits, as well as our philanthropy in times of need.
Each member of the Sandia staff is crucial to our missions, with every achievement stemming from a synergy of talent and commitment. Now more than ever the demand for our work is paramount. Our responsibilities, which include ensuring the safety, reliability and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent, grow increasingly vital by the day.
I invite you to explore Sandia’s work. It’s an experience you won’t soon forget.
— James S. Peery, Laboratories Director
About this Publication
This year’s Labs Accomplishments highlights some of Sandia’s best work during fiscal year 2023, as submitted by the Labs’ Center offices and selected by Division offices. Readers will see numbers in parentheses following many of the entries that indicate the Centers where the bulk of the work for those accomplishments was performed.
Download the 2024 Labs Accomplishments (PDF, 4.2 MB).
Cover Features
Front cover
In preparation for a series of 10 proficiency tests in the 300-foot blast tube, technologists cut through a weld to make two separate sections. The tests demonstrated the largest pressure and longest pulse duration known from any NNSA facility. The final flow shot incorporated the suspension and release of a mass mock test unit and met multiple technical, safety and program objectives. The work provides nuclear deterrence sponsors access to environments that were previously unreachable.
Back cover
At 160 feet above ground, mechanical engineer Ken Armijo, in the green hard hat, leads a tour of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility for 42 students from STEM programs in Gallup and Grants, New Mexico.
— Photos by Craig Fritz