Feature Articles

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories’ economic impact for fiscal year 2023 reached an all-time high of nearly $4.8 billion, which was $559 million more than in 2022.

The impact is evident in the 1,200 new jobs added in the last year, the $114 million in gross receipts taxes paid to the state and the $1.08 billion paid to the small business suppliers who help provide critical components for Sandia to fulfill its mission.

Sandia National Laboratories has been working on an autonomy project led by the Air Force Research Laboratory that could improve the nation’s ability to conduct national security missions, including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, climate monitoring and emergency response.

A high-tech invisible ink invented at Sandia National Laboratories could become the newest tool for stopping counterfeit goods. The research team is now seeking partnerships to help develop and ultimately commercialize the new technology.

Yuan-Yu Jau is on a quest to build the world’s smallest atomic clock, a device that measures time with extreme accuracy. If successful, he and his team at Sandia National Laboratories will have made one smaller than a sugar cube. But he’s not the only one pushing the limits of tiny timepieces.

Sandia National Laboratories opened the doors August 7 to its new, cutting-edge Emergency Operations Center aimed at enhancing emergency incident management coordination and communications for the workforce and the community in the event of an emergency, disaster or crisis. The $42.5 million, 25,000-square-foot facility, located on Kirtland Air Force Base, is scheduled for full operations by early 2024. It will house the National Nuclear Security Administration and Sandia emergency management staff offices, along with the 24/7 Emergency Management Communications Center.

Sandia National Laboratories and research partner Know Biological have developed a miniaturized sensor system that can detect the specific gases released from the skin of people with epilepsy before a seizure.

More than three years ago, the Sandia National Laboratories-operated atmospheric measurement facility in Alaska switched from launching helium-filled weather balloons to launching weather balloons filled with hydrogen produced on-site. By switching the gas used in their weather balloons, they have reduced their metaphorical footprint on the fragile Arctic ecosystem. Since then, they have launched nearly 5,000 hydrogen balloons with minimal issues.

Mike Brzustowicz and his team are using a mathematical principle and Sandia’s computing capabilities to probe the mysteries of connections between people and things, and create a predictive measure for everything from energy grid resiliency to A.I.

Geoscientists have detected specific gases being released from fractured rocks in real time after a series of small chemical explosions set underground. This fundamental research, led by Sandia National Laboratories geoscientist Steve Bauer, could one day improve the prediction of earthquakes or detection of underground explosions.