News Releases - 2011
Los Alamos National Laboratory announces Top 10 science stories of 2011
Stories include alternative energy research, magnetic fields, disease tracking, the study of Mars, climate change, fuel cells, solar wind, and magnetic reconnection. - 12/23/11
Collaboration to advance high-performance computing
LANL and EMC will enhance, design, build, test, and deploy new cutting-edge technologies to meet some of the most difficult information technology challenges. - 12/21/11
Los Alamos scientists monitor Santa’s magical journey
Los Alamos trackers will use state-of-the-art technology to mark the course taken by St. Nick and his eight tiny and highly efficient reindeer. - 12/21/11
Scientists model brain structure to help computers recognize objects
The team tried developing a computer model based on human neural structure and function, to do what we do, and possibly do it better. - 12/20/11
Seven Los Alamos scientists earn AAAS honors
The Fellows are Richard Sayre, John Gordon, Jeanne Robinson, Jaqueline Kiplinger, Bryon Goldstein, Alexander Balatsky and Quanxi Jia. - 12/15/11
Employees pledge record $2.8 million during 2012 employee giving campaign
Laboratory employee contributions will fund a wide range of programs offered by eligible nonprofit organizations. - 12/13/11
Christmas burst reveals neutron star collision
Called the Christmas Burst, GRB 101225A was freakishly lengthy and it produced radiation at unusually varying wavelengths. - 12/1/11
Los Alamos National Laboratory names new head of weapons programs
Bret Knapp has been acting in that position since June 2011. - 12/1/11
Los Alamos instrument to shine light on Mars habitability
The robust ChemCam system is one of 10 instruments mounted on the mission’s rover vehicle, named Curiosity. - 11/28/11
LANL scientists win two prestigious E.O. Lawrence Awards from the Department of Energy
Mark Chadwick and David Chavez are winners of 2011 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Awards - 11/28/11
Is Sustainability Science really a science?
The team’s work shows that although sustainability science has been growing explosively since the late 1980s, only in the last decade has the field matured into a cohesive area of science. - 11/22/11
Second highest-ranking U.S. military officer gets classified briefings
Winnefield was at Los Alamos to receive a wide variety of classified briefings that covered the broad spectrum of national security science at the Lab. - 11/17/11
Los Alamos researchers unravel the mystery of quantum dot blinking
Most exciting is that the Los Alamos researchers have shown that blinking can be controlled and even completely suppressed electrochemically. - 11/9/11
New Algal Research journal has LANL scientists at the helm
Algal Research will cover all areas of emerging technologies in algal biology, biomass production, cultivation, harvesting, extraction, bioproducts, and econometrics. - 11/8/11
LANL engineers help New Mexico small businesses
Charles Lucero and G. Loren Toole received Principal Investigator Excellence (PIE) Awards for assisting several New Mexico small businesses. - 11/1/11
Antibody library project could unlock mysteries of human gene function
By looking at antibodies, researchers can identify where, in a cell, genes are active and under what conditions they increase or decrease their expression. - 10/31/11
Experience hands-on halloween science Oct. 28 at Bradbury Science Museum
Are you ready for some spooky science? Then climb into your costume and head on over to the Bradbury Science Museum for "High-Tech Halloween!" - 10/24/11
LANL spinoff receives NIH grant for respiratory disease diagnostic device
Mesa Tech has been awarded a grant to develop an inexpensive, instrument-free, nucleic-acid testing device to diagnose various respiratory diseases in record time. - 10/19/11
Elizabeth Sellers appointed deputy director of LANL; Bechtel to announce new appointment for Ike Richardson next week
Sellers comes to the Laboratory with nearly 30 years of management experience. - 10/13/11
Ad Building demolition, recycling completed
Demolition of the Administration Building helps Los Alamos meet an NNSA directive to reduce its structural footprint, modernize its infrastructure, and provide workers with safe, energy-efficient facilities. - 10/11/11
Algal Biology Program at Los Alamos gets a star
Richard Sayre, one of the nation’s top specialists in algae and energy-producing plant research, has joined LANL to help boost cutting-edge research. - 10/11/11
LANL disassembles "pits," makes mixed-oxide fuel
LANL has successfully disassembled nuclear weapons "pits" and converted them into more than 240 kilograms of plutonium oxide. - 10/7/11
LANL sets TRU waste hauling record
TRU waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, debris, soil, and other items contaminated with radioactive elements, mostly plutonium. - 10/4/11
Los Alamos researcher nets Presidential Early Career Award
Evgenya Simakov has been named by President Barack Obama as a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. - 9/28/11
LANL announces Venture Acceleration Fund recipients
Ideum and OnQueue are the latest recipients of the awards from the Los Alamos National Security, LLC Venture Acceleration Fund. - 9/26/11
LANL completes CRADA with Biomagnetics, Inc.
The CRADA was created to continue work on developing a commercial product that could detect a specific biomarker in urine that could aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection. - 9/23/11
Science museum opens two exhibits, hosts talk Sept. 27-29
The museum opens its "Fireset" and "A New Look at Trinitite" exhibits. - 9/22/11
LANL completes excavation of 1940s waste disposal site
The excavation removed about 43,000 cubic yards of contaminated debris and soil from the six-acre site. - 9/22/11
Museum Day at Bradbury Science Museum Sept. 24
Participating museums and cultural institutions across the nation open their doors free of charge to anyone presenting a Smithsonian magazine Museum Day ticket. - 9/19/11
Lab to host annual LDRD Day September 13
Some of LANL’s most innovative scientists will explain and present their cutting-edge work to the public. - 9/6/11
LANL attracts 1,350 students this summer
The Lab attracted students from some 280 colleges and universities from across the nation and around the world. - 9/1/11
Earl Salazar named LANL tribal relations liaison
Previously a budget analyst for LANL's Chief Financial Officer Division, Salazar began working in his new capacity on August 22. - 8/25/11
Los Alamos achieves world-record pulsed magnetic field
Researchers have set a new world record for the strongest magnetic field produced by a nondestructive magnet. - 8/23/11
Las Conchas Challenge Grant Fund checks awarded
Checks totaling $57,934 presented to businesses from Los Alamos, Española, and Santa Fe that provided goods and services during the Las Conchas Fire. - 8/23/11
Thomas selected as American Chemical Society Fellow
Kimberly Thomas has become the first Los Alamos researcher to be named a Fellow. - 8/16/11
Los Alamos using NIH grant to study how social behaviors affect spread of disease
Connecting social media and epidemiological research will attempt to predict the future, i.e. people's social behavior during an epidemic, using Twitter. - 8/15/11
Nan Sauer Named Associate Director for Chemistry, Life, and Earth Sciences
Sauer has a distinguished track record as a research scientist with more than 60 publications and technical reports in archival journals. - 8/9/11
Researchers use neutrons to spy on the elusive hydronium ion
A research team has harnessed neutrons to view for the first time the critical role that an elusive molecule plays in certain biological reactions. - 8/8/11
Awards recognize outstanding innovation in Technology Transfer
The award honors inventors whose patented invention exhibits significant technical advance, adaptability to public use, and noteworthy value to the mission of the Lab. - 8/8/11
Los Alamos National Security, LLC partners with Los Alamos National Bank on Las Conchas Recovery Challenge Fund
LANS has given $50,000 as seed money to establish a fund at LANB. - 7/28/11
Los Alamos National Laboratory sponsors 15th Hazmat Challenge
The challenge provides hazardous materials responders the opportunity to network and learn new techniques under realistic conditions in a safe environment. - 7/27/11
Los Alamos computer codes at core of advanced manufacturing tools
The computer codes used for predictive fluid modeling are part of the Los Alamos Computational Fluid Dynamics Library. - 7/27/11
Employees pledge $272,000 in LAESF scholarship drive
The drive encourages employees to donate to a fund that awards college scholarships to Northern New Mexico students. - 7/25/11
Imagine Education recognized for innovative approach to math education
Endeavored to remake the way middle-school math is taught through its first-of-its-kind, story-based, online math game, called Ko’s Journey. - 7/20/11
Researchers find potential key for unlocking biomass energy
Potential pretreatment method that can make plant cellulose five times more digestible by enzymes that convert it into ethanol, a useful biofuel. - 7/20/11
LANL installs additional protective measures
Work crews completed additional flood and erosion-control measures this week to reduce the environmental effects of any flash floods following the Las Conchas Fire. - 7/20/11
LANL completes high-priority flood and erosion control work
Crews installed 600 feet of water diversion barriers and removed more than 1,200 cubic yards of sediment in anticipation of flash flooding. - 7/11/11
LANL closes road, trails for safety reasons; flooding and erosion control work under way
Closure is in response to the increased fire risk and danger of flash flooding. - 7/8/11
Forest fire near Los Alamos National Laboratory
The Las Conchas fire burning in the Jemez Mountains approximately 12 miles southwest of the boundary of LANL has not entered Lab property at this time. - 6/26/11
Solar wind samples give insight into birth of solar system
Most of the Genesis payload consisted of fragile solar-wind collectors, which had been exposed to the solar particles over a period of two years. - 6/23/11
LANL earns three R&D 100 Awards
The technologies include a molecular beacon that targets specific nucleic acids, a spacer fluid for oil wells that shrinks when heated, and a better way to produce thorium. - 6/22/11
Los Alamos and NNSS team to resume critical experiments at new location
This experiment demonstrated the restoration of a national capability to perform critical operations that was lost with the closure in 2005 of Technical Area 18. - 6/17/11
Nonprofits receive monetary donations from LANS
The monetary donations from LANS are tied to the number of volunteer hours logged by employees and retirees through an organization called VolunteerMatch. - 6/16/11
Los Alamos National Laboratory announces selection of Venture Acceleration Fund recipients
LANL has selected Manhattan Isotope Technology, LLC and Vista Therapeutics, Inc. as recipients of $100,000 awards. - 6/15/11
Christina Behr-Andres named science advisor to governor
Behr-Andres will aid indevelopment and promotion of science and technology policies for economic and educational opportunities. - 6/9/11
Laboratory program helps small businesses
The free program, run jointly by Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, leverages the laboratories' expertise and capabilities to promote regional economic development. - 6/6/11
LANL reaches waste shipment milestone
The Lab surpassed 100,000 plutonium-equivalent curies of TRU waste shipped to WIPP, about one-third of the Lab’s total. - 5/31/11
Bradbury Museum's Supercomputing Exhibit Gets Updated
The updated exhibit interactive displays, artifacts from early computers, vacuum tubes from the MANIAC computer, and unique IBM cell blades from Roadrunner. - 5/19/11
LANL named 2010 top corporate volunteer organization
The Laboratory ranked ahead of dozens of other qualifying companies with 10,000 or more employees. - 5/18/11
Research questions reality of 'supersolid' in Helium-4
When cooled to temperatures below minus 452 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, helium-4 becomes a liquid—and an extraordinary liquid at that. - 5/17/11
Public to have rare opportunity to tour Neutron Science Center
Tour attendees can expect to see many facets of the LANSCE, including areas along the linear accelerator beam line, the control room area, and one or more experimental areas. - 5/10/11
Beard to lead Business, Operations Directorate; Girrens named head of Engineering
Beard came to Los Alamos in 2006 to help lead the Stockpile Manufacturing and Support organization. - 5/4/11
LAESF scholarships winners
Taos High School senior Majdolene Khweis received this year’s platinum scholarship, which provides $7,500 in financial assistance annually for four years. - 4/28/11
Parties agree to settle stormwater lawsuit
LANL announced it has reached a settlement that will result in the dismissal of a 2008 environmental lawsuit by nine citizens groups and individuals. - 4/27/11
Los Alamos National Laboratory accounts for nearly $3 billion of New Mexico’s economy
The Lab directly injected $1.6 billion into New Mexico’s economy, with an additional $1.3 billion resulting from indirect economic spending. - 4/27/11
Supercomputing Challenge top winners: Los Alamos schools
Cole Kendrick won the top prize for his research project, “Computer Simulation of Dark Matter Effects on Galaxy Rotation”. - 4/26/11
Say hello to cheaper hydrogen fuel cells
Laboratory scientists have developed a way to avoid the use of expensive platinum in hydrogen fuel cells. - 4/22/11
Laboratory hosts Supercomputing Challenge April 25-26
The goal of the yearlong competition is to increase knowledge of science and computing, expose students and teachers to computers and applied mathematics. - 4/20/11
Kennedy memorabilia unveiled at Bradbury Science Museum
Museum visitors can see the manipulator grips the President held when he remote-handled radioactive materials inside the hot cell at the CMR facility. - 4/19/11
Los Alamos scientists propose new theory for development of turbulent magnetic reconnection
This new theory was developed to better explain recent large-scale three-dimensional kinetic simulations that describe the physics of this process. - 4/15/11
Preliminary study assesses potential impact of seismic event at Los Alamos
New or proposed facilities are designed to meet the latest seismic response criteria. - 4/15/11
Christine Anderson-Cook: An outstanding New Mexico woman
Cook recognized for her technical leadership in statistics, extensive professional service at the national level, and mentorship of nearly 70 students. - 4/14/11
LANL selects two small businesses for water monitoring work
The two companies selected are TerranearPMC, LLC and Eberline Services, Inc. - 4/12/11
LANL sponsors Quality New Mexico performance excellence conference April 19, 2011
Quality New Mexico helps New Mexico organizations improve their performance. - 4/12/11
Manhattan Project truck unearthed at landfill cleanup site
A LANL excavation crew working on a Recovery Act cleanup project has uncovered the remnants of a 1940s military truck buried in a Manhattan Project-era landfill. - 4/8/11
LANL's Torres is NNSA Security Professional of the Year
Torres is part of a team that is upgrading the Defense Nuclear Security office’s policies and budget management tools. - 4/8/11
LANL researchers improve path to producing uranium compounds, candidates for advanced nuclear fuels
Enhance the ability to develop advanced nuclear fuels in a safer, simpler manner. - 4/7/11
LANL, Sandia celebrate success at New Mexico Small Business Assistance fest
The New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program is celebrating “10 Years of Innovation” - 4/4/11
The drive toward hydrogen vehicles just got shorter
Researchers have revealed a new single-stage method for recharging the hydrogen storage compound ammonia borane. - 3/21/11
LANL announces new senior leadership position, associated organizational restructuring
Paul Henry named principal associate director for capital projects. - 3/18/11
Apply by March 31 for nontraditional student scholarship
The scholarship will provide funds to employees or students pursuing a certificate, a two-year-degree, or a baccalaureate degree at NNMC. - 3/16/11
New Human Resources division leader selected
Donna J. Hampton has been named the new Human Resources Division leader. - 3/15/11
Zerkle to lead LANL’s Information Technology organization
Information Technology is responsible for departmental computing, software and software applications, and computing networks and infrastructure. - 3/14/11
Director's commitment to diversity recognized
Profiles in Diversity Journal is recognizing Director Michael Anastasio for his commitment to workplace diversity. - 3/11/11
Frontiers In Science public lectures: Harvesting energy from air
Includes a discussion on research that engineers are conducting to increase turbine power output and make them last longer. - 3/10/11
Stellar science unveiled at space conference
The Laboratory will be represented in more than 20 papers to be given at the 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston. - 3/8/11
Lab captures five Society for Technical Communication awards
Reducing Global Threats through Innovative Science and Technology rendered as a deck of playing cards, earned a Distinguished Technical Communication award. - 3/8/11
Lab wins six NNSA Pollution Prevention awards
The Laboratory has captured awards for projects ranging from energy savings to creating fuels from algae. - 3/7/11
Intelligence team given national honor
A team known as the LANL Field Intelligence Element is being honored with the Department of Energy Exceptional Service Award. - 2/28/11
Dry lake reveals evidence of Southwestern ‘megadroughts’
A portion of the research indicates that an ancient period of warming may be analogous to natural present-day climate conditions. - 2/28/11
LANL to certify automated influenza surveillance system
A compact automated system for surveillance and screening of potential pandemic strains of influenza and other deadly infectious diseases is a step closer to reality. - 1/31/11
New LANL scholarship supports returning students
Scholarship for students who plan to return to formal education after taking a break. - 1/24/11
Lab completes Recovery Act-funded demolition
The building was the largest of the 24 demolished at LANL’s historic Technical Area 21. - 1/19/11
LANL selects New Mexico firm to support design of new waste staging facility
Weidlinger-Navarro Northern New Mexico Joint Venture selected to perform architectural and engineering work. - 1/18/11
Alan Bishop selected as Institute of Physics Fellow
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding, and application of physics. - 1/18/11
AAAS and LANL announce 2010 Fellows
William S. Rees, Jr. has been awarded the distinction of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow. - 1/11/11
Michael Anastasio to retire in June as Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Anastasio has served as LANL director since June 2006. - 1/5/11
News Releases - 2011
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Fast Facts
People
Total employees,
10,402
Los Alamos National Security, LLC, 6,929
SOC Los Alamos (Guard Force), 396
Contractors, 349
Students, 889
Post doctoral researchers, 427
Place
Located 35 miles northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 36 square miles of DOE-owned property.
More than 2,000 individual facilities, including 47 technical areas with 8 million square feet under roof.
Replacement value of $9.8 billion
Budget
FY 2012: Approx. $2.2 billion
—57% Weapons programs
—9% Nonproliferation programs
—7% Safeguards and Security
—8% Environmental Management
—4% DOE Office of Science
—4% Energy and other programs
—11% Work for Others
Workforce Demographics
(LANS and students only)
34% of employees live in Los Alamos, the remainder commute from Santa Fe, Española, Taos, and Albuquerque.
Average Age: 46
—67%
male, 33% female
—44% minorities
—67% university degrees
—26% hold undergraduate degrees
—18% hold master’s degrees
—23% have earned a PhD
Major Awards
124 R&D100 awards since 1978
31 E.O. Lawrence Awards
The Seaborg Medal
The Edward Teller Medal
The Nobel Prize in Physics, Frederick Reines
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