Los Alamos National Lab: National Security Science

FACES ^OF SCIENCE ^{The people behind our science}

MATHEMATICS

Polish scientist Stanislaw Ulam found “learning arithmetic mildly painful” as a child. Ironically Ulam developed the Monte Carlo method while recovering from brain inflammation.

RENEWABLE FUELS

John Gordon remembers one high-school science class in which they discussed the chemistry of sugars. Today, he's interested in the use of carbohydrates not as a form of nutrition but as renewable and sustainable sources of hydrocarbon fuels.

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MODELING/SIMULATION

Sara Del Valle grew up watching her parents—who were missionaries—tend to people suffering from infectious disease. These experiences, coupled with her passion for mathematics, led Sara to develop computer models to study communicable illnesses.

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FUTURE OF COMPUTERS

Says Tim Germann, “It’s reassuring when nature behaves as you expect it to, but even more exciting when it surprises you, which is often the case in science.” Such surprises are common for Tim, who plays a role in the future designs of computers and software.

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BIOSCIENCE/HEALTH

For Karissa Sanbonmatsu, there is nothing more exciting than the moment of discovery, when only the discoverer has the answer to a special secret. One such secret Karissa is unraveling today is how DNA is reprogrammed during life.

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SPACE

As a kid, Roger Wiens built model rockets and even a telescope. Today, Wiens fuels his passion for space by contributing to technology that is helping to explore Mars.

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CHEMICAL SCIENCE

Juan Duque’s passion for research stems from his fascination with building new things and learning how they work. His research in surface chemistry continues to feed this passion because, as Juan sees it, there are always new questions to answer.

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PHYSICS

While taking physics in high school, Michelle Espy realized that scientific methods could be used to predict and understand things. Michelle has applied this knowledge to develop sensitive magnetic sensors that measure brain function and detect liquid bombs.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Childhood trips through the deserts and forests of America impressed upon Park Williams the immense importance water has on life. One of Park’s current projects focuses on how future climate change will affect water availability for America’s forests.

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PHYSICS

Politely told that she should follow more feminine pursuits, Leona Woods graduated from high school at 14, received a Bachelor of Science degree at 19, and at 23 joined the all-male team led by Enrico Fermi working on developing the world’s first artificial nuclear reactor.

NANOMATERIALS

Amit Misra finds that “each discovery brings a sense of accomplishment but also rejuvenates our passion by presenting new problems to explore.” Thus, he is driven by a quest for scientific knowledge that can never end.

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METALLURGY

Amy Clarke finds it ironic that scientists can be perceived as overly practical, when it is creativity that drives the design of advanced materials. Today, Amy harnesses such ingenuity to develop materials important to applications in energy, defense and industry.

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EARTH SCIENCES

Joel Rowland is fascinated with the natural world—that water, wind and sediment can be organized into spectacular patterns. Today, this passion drives him to study how climate change affects the shape and organization of landscapes dominated by permafrost.

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NANOSCIENCE

Rashi Iyer has had a fervent passion for protecting the environment and limiting our impact on all living organisms since a child. Iyer always has been a strong advocate for the role of science and technology in the advancement of women globally.

PHYSICS

Regarding the nature of scientific discovery, Enrico Fermi noted, “There are two possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery.”

Events

Come, join the numerous events in Los Alamos this year that will recognize 70 years of innovative spirit and dedication to national security.

See all 70th Events.

Online Tours

70 images for 70 years: Take a visual tour of Los Alamos, with 70 years of historical photos—from Albert Einstein in pre-Lab days through Director Charlie McMillan leading the Lab today.

Video Gallery: Videos reveal insight to LANL's proud history and heritage of 70 years of science and innovation. New videos each month will share the stories of the people and technologies of Los Alamos.

Our Science

Science Capabilities
Science Feature Stories
1663 - Science & Technology magazine

Our History

Los Alamos has a proud history and heritage of almost 70 years of science and innovation.

Learn more about Los Alamos' history.

Computing in 1940s
Computing, 1952 - Processing data on MANIAC-I was a tedious, manual process; yet it revolutionized the ability to make complex calculations for critical scientific research and set the stage for the supercomputers Los Alamos designs, builds, and maintains today. While MANIAC filled a room, the vast floor of the current supercomputing room at LANL is 43,500 square feet, almost an acre in size.

Innovations

The people at the Laboratory work on advanced technologies to provide the best scientific and engineering solutions to the nation's most crucial security challenges.