Back in space: Sandia assists with NASA Discovery return-to-flight projects

Several Sandia projects have been instrumental in the rollout of the space vehicle and developed an ultra- helping NASA with its Space Shuttle Discovery’s return-to- sonic nondestructive inspection method. flight mission (STS-114). Discovery has been in orbit on its Sandia was instrumental in analyzing the cause of the two-week mission since its successful launch last week accident that destroyed the Columbia during reentry on (July 26), temporarily ending the hiatus on space shuttle Feb. 1, 2003. A Labs-wide team effort helped confirm that flights caused by the Columbia disaster in 2003. the accident was caused by foam from the external tank Sandia’s projects range from creating an orbiter that impacted the wing leading edge on takeoff (Lab inspection sensor, to analyzing sensors placed on the News, Sept. 5, 2003). orbiter’s wing leading edges, to providing peer review Details about Sandia’s specific space shuttle reports. Sandia also studied the vibrations caused during projects are on pages 6 and 7.

RETURN TO FLIGHT — Space shuttle Discovery is seen on its fourth day in orbit docked at the Interna- tional Space Station. Discovery’s seven-person crew, under the command of Eileen Collins, flew the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster more than two years ago. Several Sandia projects over the last two years have helped NASA in its return-to-flight efforts. The shuttle’s robotic arm, seen clearly in this image, was used to deploy a Sandia-developed laser imager during the flight. Immediately in front of the Vol. 57, No. 16 August 5, 2005 Discovery is the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, also docked Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration at the station. (NASA photograph) President Bush coming Two Sandia microChemLab technologies soon to Sandia Monday to search for toxins in nation’s water supplies By Chris Burroughs Sen. Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, announced Tuesday that President Bush will Two Sandia technologies, both based on come to Sandia National Laboratories to sign microChemLab, are expected to soon be checking the bipartisan Energy Policy Act of 2005 on for toxins and harmful bacteria in the nation’s Monday, Aug 8. water supplies. “Before we put the energy bill together, The microChemLab, officially called µChem- President Bush promised me that he would Lab, is a hand-held “chemistry laboratory.” The sign it in New Mexico,” said Domenici. “I’m liquid prototype was designed and built at San- pleased to announce today that he has kept dia/California, while the µChemLab that takes that promise and will be visiting our state measurements in the gas phase was developed at next week.” Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., will Sandia/New Mexico. also attend. The µChemLab, electronics, and sample col- More details were to come. Full coverage lector weigh about 25 pounds and fit into a box of the visit will appear in the next Lab News. the size of a small suitcase. The only external parts of the two sensor technologies are water col- JAY WEST calibrates an instrument as part of a project lectors. The units are completely portable. to determine the steps necessary to identify toxins in “Our goal is to place these sensors within util- drinking water. (Photo by Bud Pelletier) ity water systems and use them to quickly deter- mine if the water contains harmful bacteria and 120,000 transient systems at rest stops or camp- WILDFIRE 2 toxins,” says Wayne Einfeld (6245), who heads grounds, and tens of millions of hydrants. Up the Sensor Development Focus Area within San- until now, real-time, remote water quality moni- dia’s Water Initiative (www.sandia.gov/water). toring for toxins has been very limited. Sandians’ fight of grass “This on-site monitoring approach would replace The liquid µChemLab is currently being current utility monitoring systems that require tested at the Contra Costa (Calif.) Water Utility, fires ‘a choreographed water samples to be sent to laboratories for analy- says Jay West (8324), California principal investi- sis, which sometimes takes days for results.” gator. Specifically, the team is testing to deter- ballet of experience’ The United States has more than 300,000 mine the steps necessary to identify toxins in By Chris Burroughs public supply water wells, 55,000 utilities, (Continued on page 4)

For four days in mid-July, Sandia Facilities employees and Kirtland Air Force Base personnel Combustion research New org chart shows fought the effects of severe thunderstorms includ- ing lightning-started fires that needed to be kept at California site on consolidation and away from buildings. the high road to ultra- restructuring designed The first and largest fire began about 5 p.m. July 14 with a lightning strike north of the low emissions. Story to serve Labs’ mission. KAFB golf course. The fire quickly spread due to on page 3. See chart on page 9. (Continued on page 5) News briefs What’s what Mary Crawford, Ireena Erteeza selected New York City was a pleasant surprise for Lab News editor Ken Frazier for NAE Frontiers of Engineering program and his family, there several weeks ago on family vacation to show their young granddaughters the big city. They found New Yorkers friendly and Sandia engineers Mary Crawford (1123) and Ireena Erteza (5937) have cheerful, the streets and subways clean, and the entire atmosphere been selected to participate inviting. in this years’s National Ken also experienced an “it’s a small world” moment. Walking up Academy of Engineering Broadway one morning to meet a colleague, at about 75th Street he passed Frontiers of Engineering walking the other way a young man with the sun-bronzed face of the program. Southwest and wearing a bright red New Mexico Lobos sweatshirt. This program brings “Are you from Albuquerque?” Ken asked. He was, the young man together some of the best young engineering talent in answered, although he lives in Manhattan now. “How did you know?” he asked. MARY CRAWFORD Then looking down, “Oh, my sweatshirt!” Both were mighty surprised to run the country and includes into fellow New Mexicans so far from home. discussions on hot topics in the field, according to an NAE announcement. The three-day event * * * Sept. 22-24 at GE Global Research Center in About ending those sentences with prepositions. . . Niskayuna, N.Y., will feature 88 engineers ages Kathy Champney (3820) e-mailed recently praising the Lab News staff 30 to 45 who are perform- for “writing, editing, and producing such a quality ing cutting-edge engineer- paper,” but wondering, tongue-in-cheek, how it ing research and technical escaped notice that a sentence in a photo caption work in a variety of disci- ended with a preposition. plines. They will explore “I can't help remembering my middle school aspects of ID and verifica- English teacher's rather humorous admonition: ‘Never tion technologies, the engi- end a sentence a preposition with,’” she wrote. neering of complex sys- Always anxious to entertain ourselves, we tems, engineering for IREENA ERTEZA passed around all the wisdom about sentence-ending Michael Vittitow, Larry Perrine, Randy prepositions we could muster. And the discussion ended with the equally tongue-in-cheek admonition THE SORT OF ENGLISH up Montoya receive STC ‘Distinguished’ from the master of the English language, Sir with which we will not put! award for Sandia ‘Overview’ booklet Winston Churchill: “This is the sort of English up Michael Vittitow (3654), Larry Perrine, and with which we will not put!” Randy Montoya (both 3651) have received a Dis- * * * tinguished Technical Communication award from And while we’re on language, the origin of familiar phrases is always the Society for Technical Communication (STC) interesting. Here are some that dropped into the e-mailbox recently. for the “Sandia National Laboratories Overview” In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. When customers booklet. The award was in the Promotional got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their pints and quarts Materials category of STC’s international technical and settle down. That's where we get the phrase "mind your Ps and Qs." publications competition. STC announced the results July 25. In addition, Randy’s widely pub- Also in “merrye olde Englande” many years ago, pub frequenters had a lished “SnifferStar” photograph received an Award whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they of Excellence in the Photograph category of STC’s needed a refill, they whistled for service and "wet your whistle" entered international technical art competition. The STC, the language. a professional organization of technical writers, And allegedly, a new game created in Scotland was called Gentlemen editors, illustrators, managers, and educators head- Only Ladies Forbidden, which gave us the sport — and the word — golf. quartered in Arlington, Va., presented 109 awards Similarly, in the glory days of the British Empire, and well before in 32 categories. the invention of air conditioning, people made the trip from England to India and back on ships. Because of the latitudes of their routes, the left (port) side of the ship was cooler on the voyage east and the right (starboard) side was cooler on the return trip. Thus the phrase Port Out Starboard Home, which morphed into the word for luxurious accomodations — posh. Q: Everywhere one turns around at Sandia, there is construction along with the accompanying con- — Howard Kercheval (844-7842, MS 0165, [email protected]) struction noises. As I sit at my desk in Bldg. 892, there is a noisy droning sound that has been going on for at least two hours. The only time it’s gone is when Employee death the men are taking a break to eat their lunches. There are machinery sounds, noise from sidewalks being Myron Garcia of Manufacturing Processing sawed . . . All these noises become distracting, even Department 2431 died July 29 of pancreatic cancer. with earplugs. Is there any relief coming up from these He was 50 years old. things? Can some of this be work be done at night Sandia National Laboratories Myron was in the Metal Trades Council and when no one is here? http://www.sandia.gov/LabNews worked with repair and calibrating trades. He A: We do have a significant number of infra- had been at Sandia for 29 years. structure projects under way at this time. Comple- Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0165 He is survived by his wife Carletta and sons tion is scheduled for summer of 2007. It would be Livermore, California 94550-0969 Zachary and Spencer. unsafe to conduct this work during the nighttime. Tonopah, Nevada • Nevada Test Site • Amarillo, Texas • If you contact Telecon, 844-4571, in the future, Carlsbad, New Mexico • Washington, D.C. we will send someone over to test the noise levels Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated by and provide PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the US Department if required. — Lynnwood Dukes (10860) of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. Lab News Reader Service Ken Frazier, Editor ...... 505/844-6210 Retiree deaths Bill Murphy, Writer...... 505/845-0845 Retirees (only): To notify of changes in Raymond L. Brin (age 83) ...... May 30 Chris Burroughs, Writer...... 505/844-0948 address, contact Carol Wade, Benefits Dept. 3332, at 505-845-9705, e-mail cawade@san- Floyd M. Mciver (84) ...... May 31 Randy Montoya, Photographer ...... 505/844-5605 dia.gov, or Mail Stop 1021, Sandia National Sandra A. Spraggins (42) ...... June 4 Nancy Garcia, California site contact. . . . . 925/294-2932 Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1021. Robert G. Newman (88) ...... June 5 Contributors: Janet Carpenter (844-7841), John German Polly P. Horne (88) ...... June 7 (844-5199), Neal Singer (845-7078), Larry Perrine (845-8511), Others: To receive the Lab News or to change Howard Kercheval (columnist, 844-7842), Will Keener (844-1690), the address (except retirees), contact Michelle Robert E. Hofford (83) ...... June 8 Iris Aboytes (844-2282), Michael Padilla (284-5325), Rod Geer Fleming, Media Relations and Communica- Joseph G. Melograne (76) ...... June 9 (844-6601), Michael Lanigan (844-2297), and Michelle Fleming tions Dept. 3651, 505-844-4902, e-mail Preme Ulibarri (79) ...... June 9 (Ads, Milepost photos, 844-4902). Erin Gardner (intern, 284-8432), [email protected], or James C. O’Neal (83) ...... June 13 Elizabeth Malone (intern, 284-4420). Dept. 3651 Manager: Mail Stop 0165, Sandia National Laboratories, John C. Zimmerman (74) ...... June 14 Chris Miller (844-0587). Albuquerque, NM 87185-0165. Lab News fax ...... 505/844-0645 Harvey M. Miller (80) ...... June 20 Classified ads ...... 505/844-4902 Employees: To change the number of copies Jose A. Silva (77) ...... June 21 William A. Gardner (85) ...... June 22 Published on alternate Fridays by Media Relations of the Lab News your Mail Stop is receiving and Communications Dept. 3651, MS 0165 please call Honario Anaya, Mail Services Team John Richard Ames (81) ...... June 24 10263-1, at 844-3796. At Sandia/California F. M. Brewster (86) ...... June 25 contact the Mail Room at 294-2427. George D. Cosgrove (78) ...... June 28 Clifford A. Olson (90) ...... June 29 SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 3 Labs’ engine research aims high: Reduce US oil imports 30 percent while achieving ultra-low emissions By Nancy Garcia

mong the hardest and most challenging Aproblems facing the national labs are the issues of energy security and environmental qual- ity. Ground transportation consumes the largest share of oil in the US, and to meet the demand, oil imports have reached the highest levels in his- tory. To help reduce this dependence on foreign oil, promising new combustion strategies for effi- cient, clean engines are being explored at the Combustion Research Facility (CRF) in Center 8300 through a $6 million engine-combustion research program. The work is funded 90 percent by DOE’s Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (OFCVT) and 10 percent by private industry. “Our research is providing the science base needed by industry to develop higher efficiency, emission-compliant engines,” says Dennis Siebers, who manages Engine Combustion Dept. 8362. “There’s a significant potential for improv- ing the fuel efficiency of engines while simultane- ously reducing their pollutant emissions.” More- over, he added, “Such improvements in fuel efficiency will contribute to a direct reduction in greenhouse gas [CO2] emissions.” To achieve these goals, the engine research at the CRF is focusing on new combustion strategies that will allow high-efficiency, clean engines. PAUL MILES in his research laboratory at the Combustion Research Facility. Paul is among a team of Sandians who Also included is research on fuels for these are breaking new ground in emissions research. (Photos by Bud Pelletier) engines from both traditional and alternative sources. The new combustion strategies fall into a class being referred to as low-temperature com- Patrick Flynn, former vice president of ments would also translate directly to a 9 percent bustion (LTC). In simple terms, LTC is combus- research at the country’s largest diesel engine reduction in the total US greenhouse gas emis- tion under conditions that are fuel-lean enough manufacturer, Cummins, Inc., comments: “I feel sions. Even greater reductions in oil use are (or sufficiently dilute with recirculated exhaust that these tools provided by the CRF will play an possible through further improvements in gas) to avoid soot formation and the high com- ever-increasing role in engine design evolution.” engine efficiency and through the use of these bustion temperatures that lead to significant The application of these tools and the expertise of high-efficiency engines in hybrid-electric nitrogen oxide (NOx) formation. CRF researchers, three of whom have been elected vehicles. fellows of the Society of Automotive Engineers, “Two factors have made the low-temperature Unique capabilities, new strategies are central to the new research efforts on LTC. combustion techniques practical to consider now: Sandia has been conducting engine-combus- The low-temperature combustion research at the advent of onboard computers and electronic tion research in collaboration with industry for the CRF is being conducted as part of a broader fuel injection,” Dennis says. “These allow for real- more than 25 years. The research has led to a DOE program. Because of its established reputa- time control of potentially unstable combustion suite of advanced optical-diagnostic tools for ana- tion, Sandia was recently tasked by DOE OFCVT conditions that can arise with the advanced lyzing the combustion in an operating engine, to create and lead a memorandum of understand- strategies. It’s possible that cycle-by-cycle, or even and to the advancement of predictive computer ing (MOU) surrounding the overall research cylinder-by-cylinder control will be necessary to models. This research has impacted industry’s efforts. The MOU involves five national labs (San- implement low-temperature combustion,” he design and development process, contributing dia, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, says. “This dictates the need for a fairly compre- significantly to the efficiency and emissions and Argonne) and 10 engine manufacturers hensive understanding of the in-cylinder improvements of engines that are currently in (Cummins, General Motors, Ford, Daimler- processes.” As a national laboratory tackling production. As Dennis summarizes, “We bring Chrysler, Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, International tough technical problems, Sandia is playing a capabilities that are unique in the world for help- Truck, Mack/Volvo, John Deere, and General vital role. ing industry develop new combustion strategies Electric). The research is conducted in collabora- for high-efficiency engines.” tion with several universities (Stanford, MIT, Uni- Reducing emissions a challenge versity of California at In addition to reducing fuel consumption, Berkeley, University of the new LTC engine concepts are being driven Wisconsin, University by the need to reduce pollutant emissions. Strin- of Michigan, Pennsylva- gent new emission regulations call for a factor of nia State University, 10 reduction in soot and NOx by 2010. “Those University of Illinois, regulations are really challenging,” notes John and Wayne State Dec (8362), who is working on clean combus- University). tion concepts for high efficiency engines in one of Sandia’s eight engine labs, adding that meet- 50 percent better ing the current emission regulations on high- mpg by 2012? efficiency diesel engines “took 20 years and a lot The DOE low-tem- of work.” perature combustion Fairly good aftertreatment options exist for program covered by the controlling soot from high efficiency diesel MOU targets a 50 per- engines, but NOx aftertreatment for diesel cent improvement in exhaust is difficult. This is because the exhaust fuel efficiency in the contains excess oxygen, which makes conven- light-duty sector (auto- tional automotive catalytic converters ineffective. mobiles, SUVs, and Special “lean-NOx” catalysts have been demon- pickups) by 2012 and a strated, but they have reliability problems and are 30 percent improve- expensive, sometimes costing as much as the ment in heavy-duty engine itself. trucks by 2013. With “You’d like to take care of the NOx problem complete market pene- at its source,” John said, “and that means lower- tration, these efficiency ing the combustion temperature.” improvements would To accomplish this, John’s research centers on reduce US oil use by 4 a concept that combines some of the advantages million barrels per day of gasoline engines (which have premixed fuel or oil imports by one- and air with no soot emissions) and diesel engines JOHN DEC, left, and Dennis Siebers pose in John’s lab, one of eight CRF engine labs. third from their present (which have high efficiencies due to their high levels. The improve- (Continued on next page) SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 4

DSO turns your classified into scrap Department 6146 offers a service that destroys excess classified material, up to and including Secret Restricted Data (SRD). Dwight Stockham (manager, 6146, and a Derivative Classifier) says Disassembly & San- itization Operations (DSO) has been func- tional since February. The service was begun as a result of the need to destroy classified material removed from the Classified Waste Landfill — part of the Environmental Restoration Project. DSO is a one-of-a-kind operation cur- rently offered only to Sandia organizations, but the service may be expanded to include other DOE facilities outside of Sandia that need to destroy classified items. Dwight foresees this service will someday be upgraded to handle all levels of classified material. If the item is accepted for DSO, it will be documented and locked in one of two Vault Type Rooms until the DSO process can begin. RESEARCHER Curt Mowry (1722) tests typical Sandia tap water for trihalomethanes. (Photo by Bill Doty) It will be tracked until the process is com- pleted. Disassembly and sanitization is achieved by a variety of operations, which highly carcinogenic and can have adverse liver Water research can include the use of a shredder, a ring mill, and kidney effects. The New Mexico project is a band saw, and hand tools, until the item is funded through Laboratory Directed Research no longer classified. Material that is generated (Continued from page 1) and Development (LDRD) resources allocated is disposed of according to Sandia policy. through Sandia’s Water Initiative. To schedule the service, contact Dwight “The EPA has regulations for water utilities to (844-5493 or [email protected]). He will drinking water, as well as expanding its capabili- monitor for trihalomethanes on a regular schedule,” need information detailing what the item is, ties as an autonomous monitor. The device is Curt says. “Currently they have to collect samples its classification, quantity, size, and location. presently collecting and analyzing a water sample and send them to labs for analysis. They get num- If the item is accepted by DSO, arrangements every 30 minutes and reporting results via a real- bers back a few days later. This is a scary thing for us can be made to pick it up, or it can be dropped time data link to researchers at Sandia. as consumers. The way it’s done now, chemists off at Tech Area 2, the site of DSO. A CRADA partners have long experience might have measured high levels and there is Project/Task is required to cover the cost asso- chance someone has already consumed the water ciated with the service. — Jan Kohler (6147) Sandia’s cooperative research and develop- before the results return. Using the µChemLab will ment agreement (CRADA) partners in the Califor- provide a way to bring the labs to the site and get nia endeavor are CH2M Hill, a leading US engi- results in a more timely manner.” neering firm, and Tenix, an Australian The µChemLab system is expected to help be half a square inch. They are in development engineering services company. CH2M Hill is a water utilities control the formation of tri- and need further tuning for trihalomethanes. global engineering and construction manage- halomethanes by functioning as a component of The Sandia/New Mexico microChemLab uses ment firm with particular expertise in sewer and a process control loop. similar concepts to the California one — collect, wastewater treatment design. Tenix is an engi- New Mexico’s portable unit analyzes a sample separate, and detect. The main difference is at the neering services and technology company with of water by bubbling air through it and collecting “front end” of the device, where different capabil- more than 30 years’ experience in water supply, trihalomethanes from that air. The collector is ities are needed to be able to extract gases such as sewerage and drainage infrastrucure, and defense. heated, sending the trihalomethanes through a trihalomethanes from the water. The California µChemLab identifies proteins separation channel and then over a surface “Both systems will speed the analytical process by separating samples into distinct bands in sec- acoustic wave (SAW) detector. and give the utility operator better information in onds to minutes. Separations occur in channels as “The collector and the separation phase can a shorter time period,” Wayne says. “In addition to narrow as a human hair coiled onto a glass chip be purchased off the shelf, but the SAW detector routine water quality monitoring, both are about the size of a nickel. is at the heart of the microChemLab,” Curt says. expected to be part of early warning systems that Curt Mowry (1764), principal investigator for “The goal by the end of summer is to replace the can alert utility operators to intentional contami- the New Mexico project, says his team is seeking commercial separation column with a Sandia nation events that might occur at vulnerable loca- to develop a device that detects trihalomethanes, microfabricated column made using MEMS fabri- tions downstream from treatment plans.” undesirable byproducts of the chlorination cation technology to reduce the power needed And finally, he says, “In both of these projects process used to control the bacterial content of and increase performance.” Sandia has successfully leveraged MEMS-based water. Trihalomethanes, which form naturally Commercial collectors are about four to five core technologies nurtured by various DOE pro- when surface water is treated with chlorine, are inches in diameter. Microfabricated collectors will grams into the water security applications area.”

to standard diesel combustion that result in low- temperature combustion. Combustion temperature combustion in automotive-size diesel Another aspect is how to accommodate the engines, greatly reducing NOx and particulate changing nature of the feedstocks for fuels. In the (Continued from preceding page) emissions. future, bio-derived fuels and fuels from heavier Paul is investigating fuel spray and fuel-air crude oils, oil sands, and potentially shale oil will compression ratio and lack of throttling losses). mixing to understand in-cylinder geometries that play an increasing role. The concept, homogeneous charge compression enhance the combustion completeness, and to Fuels are a specialty in the engine lab of ignition (HCCI), has been known for some time provide data for the development of computa- Chuck Mueller (8362), who is studying fuel but the operating range was very limited, and the tional tools for engine design by colleagues at Los effects on low-temperature combustion strate- technical challenges could not be overcome with- Alamos National Laboratory and the University of gies. Chuck began studying oxygenates in 1997 out modern computerized controls. Wisconsin. “The fuel injection, mixing, and com- as a prospective way to reduce soot, and more John’s research is conducted in both a con- bustion processes in engines are so complicated, recently to see if they can enable low-tempera- ventional, “all-metal” engine used for perfor- and the physical processes are so convoluted,” ture combustion technologies. Experiments in mance and emissions measurements, and a sec- Paul says, “you’re not going to design and opti- his lab have already shown a drop of two orders ond engine with quartz windows to allow laser mize advanced combustion systems for these of magnitude in pollutant emissions with no diagnostics to be used to probe the combustion engines other than by computer.” loss of fuel economy. “It’s really pretty revolu- chamber, illuminating various aspects of the in- tionary,” he says. “You’d think all the break- cylinder processes. Fuels a focus too throughs would have been made by now, but Although much work is still required to per- Another part of the research effort is on fuels, this is a rich field.” fect the concept, it is efficient and has low emis- especially fuels that enable the full potential of “There are still many hurdles to overcome in sions. “Market penetration,” John says, “could low-temperature combustion. One aspect to be order to make combustion efficient, clean and take several years, but the potential fuel savings sorted out is what the most appropriate fuel practical,” he says, “and emissions restrictions are tremendous.” might be. Since gasoline and diesel engines have typically involve trade-offs between cost and per- An approach that has the potential for more been around some 100 years, those fuels are now formance. The concepts themselves may be rela- rapid market penetration is being explored by highly optimized for current engine designs, but tively simple,” Chuck adds, “but implementing Paul Miles (8362). Paul is studying modifications there is no reason to expect they are ideal for low- them will be challenging.” SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 5 Fighting fire

(Continued from page 1) 50-mph winds blowing north toward the Sandia Robotic Vehicle Range and the Four Hills community. Gary Sanders (10800), Sandia fire marshal and director of Facilities, says he was notified that sev- eral Sandians had been deployed to fight the fire. “I went to ensure they had what they needed and that they could perform this responsibility safely,” Gary says. “What I saw was a choreo- graphed ballet of experience with the highest regard for safety that should make every Sandian proud.” The small team from Facilities had either turned around as they were leaving work and saw the smoke and flames or had returned from their homes. They quickly deployed several of Sandia’s

This week they left their families three out of four nights to come to WHERE IT BEGAN — On July 15, Sandia personnel doing a postmortem on the fire identified the area where the Kirtland and deal with emergencies lightning strike set grass and dry brush aflame. most of us never knew happened.” assets, and handled the issues as if this was part of soot/ash/smoke for the drivers) and the pumping their everyday job.” and hose configurations (so that they could refill Gary gives a partial list of the equipment and the KAFB fire trucks.) heavy equipment vehicles, including water trucks expertise Sandia provided. • ES&H safety coordinators to think through to wet the area and road graders and front-end • The heavy equipment operators, who are the hazards and make sure that people were loaders to cut fire-breaks. Communication equip- trained and certified to fight wild fires, were hydrated and everyone was in communication, ment was provided to guide the response and stay deployed and kept in constant radio communica- aware of rattlesnakes, and aware of hazardous in constant contact. tion as they helped stop the spreading fire. chemicals. “While KAFB set up the traffic control and • Logistical support items ranging from • Radiological control technicians, because deployed its fire trucks to actually fight key parts portable toilets from Sandia’s storage area, hand the fire burned across the Air Force’s environmen- of the fire, Sandia provided an integrated set of equipment from the Labs’ landscaping supplies, tal restoration site where thorium is present. people, vehicles, even drinking Every truck was processed out of the fire zone communica- water and through a single control point, where it was thor- tions, and logis- Gatorade in oughly checked for contamination. tics,” Gary says. ice chests • Medical responders who checked vital signs, “In fact, both the from Sandia’s stress, and hydration of every one of the workers KAFB incident warehouse at the end of their work. commander and were immedi- • Fleet services, which provided refueling (so the Sandia inci- ately ready that vehicles were refueled at the end of the night dent commander and provided in case of flare-ups or another incident). were heavily as needed. • Sandians from Tech Area 3, who are also reliant on the • Knowl- certified to fight wild fires, arrived and positioned Sandia team to edge of the to help with mopping up hot spots. coordinate major equipment so • Pre-arranging for all vehicles to be washed portions of the that they down in case of contamination and the water response. The knew which then properly contained and environmentally Sandia team was vehicles were disposed of. coordinating the four-wheel- • Thinking about lessons learned during the Sandia response, drive (for operation, including what adjustments to knew the capa- going off- equipment would provide better, safer response bilities of all our road), which capability. resources, antici- were air con- “We have Sandians who are constantly true pated the logisti- ON JULY 14, lighting-sparked fires threatened areas of the Labs but ditioned (to heroes, and just treat it as another part of the cal needs and drew a quick response from Sandia and KAFB personnel. provide air job,” Gary says. “And, they had the highest pre-positioned (Photo by Jennifer Payne) filtering of regard for safety in a very hazardous situation.” More fires, troubles In case of emergency, follow EOC’s/police instructions If the July 14 fire wasn’t enough, two more fires broke out Saturday, July 16. Once again the While Sandia Facilities people were help- Mexico, events like the July 14 fire might happen Facilities team drove to Kirtland and helped put ing put out fires and taking care of electrical again. If they do, he offers the following advice: them out. Sunday night, July 17, yet another outages, the Labs’ Emergency Operations Cen- • If you are evacuated, follow the instruc- lightning storm with gully washers took out the ter (EOC) was keeping track of what was hap- tions provided through the TAR units. Certain electrical utilities to Tech Areas 3 and 5. pening and determining how to advise people roads may be closed and you may be asked to “Sandians coming from home were again first who were in Tech Areas 3 and 5. follow alternate routes. on the scene and determined the problems,” Gary Initially people were told to evacuate, • Adhere to the instructions of uniformed says. “They worked with PNM and KAFB to help which they did. Then the smoke became so officers, whether they are members of Sandia’s with the fixes, which included another explosion thick that uniformed officers, both from San- Protective Force or military police. They have from lightning that damaged equipment. After dia’s Protective Force and KAFB, were sending your best interests in mind and are there to the KAFB electricians left the scene, the Sandians Sandia employees back to their buildings to protect you. determined that the high voltage lines had a very shelter in place until the smoke cleared. • If you are asked to shelter in place, do so, real probability of falling across Pennsylvania The problem was that some people just and listen to the TAR units for further infor- Avenue and causing a very bad car accident. So, drove on, which could have led to dangerous mation. One of the lessons learned during the Sandians secured the problems.” situations. Also, people sheltered in place in July 14 fire was that some people sheltered in Gary adds, “These are just three examples buildings were not kept informed about the place were never contacted with follow-up spread over four days of what Facilities people situation and when they could leave. information about the emergency. In the do every week from snow removal to handling Michael Knazovich, manager of Emer- future, someone from the EOC will be rain and electrical outages in the middle of the gency Management Dept. 10337, says that in assigned to follow up on the status of persons night and in the worst weather so that the rest the future people will be told to evacuate or who have been sheltered or evactuated. of us can simply drive to work and turn on our shelter in place through the Tone Alert • Stay calm. Sandia emergency personnel lights and computers. This week they left their Receivers (TAR) located in most buildings. will make every effort to make sure that you families three out of four nights to come to Kirt- He says because this is fire season in New are safe. land and deal with emergencies most of us never knew happened.” SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 6 SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 7 Shuttle Discovery returns to space — with help from Sandia

Introduction on page one THE MISSION EVALUATION ROOM at Johnson Space Larry Dalton (next to Bob) were part of the Sandia Center is one of the key nerve centers of NASA’s space team deployed to Houston to support the Discovery Sandia’s orbiter inspection sensor status shuttle flights. Sandians Bob Habbit (extreme left) and return-to-flight mission. Orbiter inspection sensor andia’s orbiter inspection sensor attached to Salazar (2620), senior manager of Sensors and SSpace Shuttle Discovery’s robotic arm contin- Information Technologies. andia provided the primary Thermal Protection System (TPS) inspection ues to scan the orbiter for any damage, says The sensor began scanning the orbiter on Ssystem to NASA for the mission of the space shuttle Discovery, successfully David Keese (5040), Deputy to the VP, National day two of the flight, after the robotic arm was launched on July 26 after a long hiatus due to the 2003 Columbia disaster. Security Programs. deployed. The sensor completed initial wing Peer reviews Bob Habbit and Bob Nellums (both 2624) led a collaborative effort of “The data provided by the sensor has been leading-edge and nose-cap scans, plus focused embers of Sandia’s Aerosciences and Compressible Boundary Layer Transition Review focused on reentry. nearly 120 Sandians in creating the sensor. Many of the team members critical in the analysis of the orbiter,” says David. inspection of tile, gap filler, and the port wing. MFluid Mechanics Dept. 9115 contributed two peer During the reentry trajectory the airflow around the orbiter worked nights and weekends to meet NASA’s critical need to return to “The SMU office is very proud of what the team “These are the kind of projects we like to do reviews on NASA’s development of computational tools that will transition from laminar to turbulent flow. When the flight ASAP in support of the International Space Station. has accomplished.” at Sandia,” Vincent says on behalf of the team. are being used to support rapid damage assessments should flow becomes turbulent, the heat transfer to the vehicle can Using 3-D imaging, the sensor inspected the orbiter for critical damage “One hundred percent of the data collected “They’re important, they’re critical, they’re anything occur during future flights. increase two to four times above the laminar heating. While to alert astronauts if further investigations are needed to repair the dam- to date has been processed, ” says Vincent hard, and it is exciting.” Basil Hassan, manager of Dept. 9115, serves as an exter- the thermal protection system (TPS) is designed to absorb age. The crew used the orbiter’s robotic arm to scan the front edge of both nal member of NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center’s the heating rates generated by turbulent flow, damage to wings for damage as little as a 0.02-inch crack. (NESC) Flight Sciences “Super Problem Resolution Team” the TPS could cause the flow to become turbulent at a The Sandia-patented 3-D technology uses a modulated laser illuminator (SPRT). NESC was formed shortly after the Columbia acci- higher altitude. The result of this damage could mean coupled with a modulated receiver to image and spatially locate each point By Michael Padilla dent to oversee any safety issues that might arise in any of higher localized heating rates on the TPS, and ultimately in the scene. The intensity data is used to detect damage and the geometric NASA’s flight programs. higher than normal integrated heating on the orbiter dur- data to assess the damage criticality. Basil and two staff members, David Kuntz and Jeffrey ing reentry. The sensor data was relayed back to the Mission Control Center at Payne (both 9115), participated in several peer reviews as “Sandia’s participation on these two reviews teams is a Johnson Space Center in Houston. A team of more than 20 Sandians work- NASA prepared for return-to-flight. They were also part of a one part of a larger effort of the Labs supporting a variety of ing in the Mission Control Center processed and reviewed the data. The larger group of Sandia management and staff who were return-to-flight activities,” Basil says. “We expect additional processed data were provided to the NASA Mission Management Team. active in the post-accident investigation. requests to tap into many of Sandia’s unique capabilities.” The Mission Management Team used the Sandia data as well as other data Two recent reviews focused on Debris Transport Review Basil, David, and Jeffrey also reviewed NASA’s rapid to determine if it is safe for the Orbiter to re-enter. and Boundary Layer Transition Review. damage assessment tools to help the agency ensure that BOB NELLUMS co-led a team of 120 Bob Habbit said he is proud to be part of the mission. “It’s exciting to be Debris Transport Review focused on NASA’s develop- the codes were being applied appropriately and that the Sandians providing the TPS inspec- a contributor to the space program,” he says. “This is truly Sandia providing ment of tools to model external tank foam or ice buildup relevant assumptions in the codes were not being violated. tion system. a service to the nation.” that may come off during ascent and potentially hit the In general, these tools make use of data from computer orbiter. While several efforts have been under way to mini- codes that model the fundamental physics, wind tunnel mize foam and ice release from the external tank, NASA test data, and data from previous shuttle flights. Should it wants to predict if the released debris will impact the be found in orbit that damage occurred during the ascent orbiter in critical areas. NASA has used these tools to stage, NASA engineers will use these tools to decide Inspection hardware redesign parts of the external tank so that catastrophes like whether the orbiter can safely return or if some in-orbit the Columbia accident will not re-occur. repair is needed. ASA funded a Sandia team to develop an ultrasonic while NASA Langley developed the eddy current and thermo- Nnondestructive inspection method (hardware, tech- graphic techniques. These groups were the primary players SANDIANS ON THE JOB during Discovery’s niques, and standards) that led to a scientifically rigorous on the NASA In-Situ NDI Team. The NASA In-Situ NDI Team flight include, from left, Richard Taplin, pre-flight shuttle certification process. The team investigated consisted of members from all of the NASA facilities and was Cristina Montoya, Megan Slinkard, and and proposed ways to improve nondestructive inspection assembled to guide NASA as it moves to increased use of Steve Lebien. They are in the Payload methods for certifying the flightworthiness of orbiter wing advanced nondestructive testing techniques to closely moni- Operations Control Center at Mission leading edges (Lab News, March 19, 2004). tor the health of the space shuttle. Control at the Johnson Space Center in The team, led by Dennis Roach and Phil Walkington In 10 months the Sandia team developed and assembled Houston. (both 6252), initially evaluated and refined their inspection customized hardware to produce an ultrasonic scanner sys- methods and hardware using carbon-composite samples with tem that can meet the shuttle wing inspection requirements. known defects created by the Sandia team. Later, as part of Optimum combinations of custom ultrasonic probes and data the selection process, a NASA engineer hand-carried orbiter analysis were merged with the inspection procedures needed wing samples to all the labs involved in the project and asked to properly survey the heat shield panels. System features that each lab try to find defects known only to NASA were introduced to minimize the potential for human factors scientists. errors in identifying and locating the flaws. A validation The team developed the revised inspection and certifica- process, including blind inspections monitored by NASA offi- tion protocols, and the ultrasonic scanning system was inte- cials, demonstrated the ability of these inspection systems to grated into NASA’s Shuttle Orbiter Processing Facility at meet the accuracy, sensitivity, and reliability requirements. Kennedy Space Center to monitor the health of the shuttle Team members are Phil, Dennis, Kirk Rackow, and Dick after each orbiter flight. Perry (all 6252). The NASA project manager was Ajay Koshti Sandia produced an in-situ ultrasonic inspection method at Johnson Space Center. — John German Shuttle rollout “All contributions provided by Sandia to o help understand the fatigue caused by vibrations during Moving the shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Sensor tests Tthe rollout, NASA contacted Sandia to assist with a series Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the launch normally takes of tests (Lab News, April 1). five to six hours at 0.9 mph. As the equipment ages, emphasis was in response to one of the prime objectives identified by the NASA are examples of when our country avid Crawford (9116) and Kenneth Gwinn (9126) ana- Sandia helped NASA design the test and instrumentation is being given to understanding how the rollout may fatigue Columbia Accident Investigation Board. D lyzed tests conducted on sensors that were placed on the turns to us for exceptional service in the to measure the dynamic vibration environment of the rollout. the orbiter. leading edge of the orbiter’s wings (Lab News, Feb. 4). David and Kenneth evaluated test data and were comparing Sandia also provided additional support to NASA by comput- The analyses showed that modifying the speed of the The project focused on validating forcing functions for it with structural models of the shuttle and assessing what the national interest. Sandia continues to be a ing the input forces that the crawler applies to the MLP, crawler would reduce the fatigue stresses of the critical shut- NASA’s Impact Penetration Sensing system (IPSS) Wing Model. signal levels mean. Tasks included defining the forcing func- The model was developed at Boeing to predict the accelerome- tions for foam, pieces of ice (from takeoff), ablator particles, leader in many areas which benefit our which are being used by Boeing and NASA to compute the tle components. Merely reducing the speed from 0.9 mph to fatigue life for critical shuttle components. 0.8 mph would significantly reduce the vibrations in the shut- ter data collected during ascent and micrometeoroid/orbiting and micrometeorites. Full-scale tests of foam, ice, ablator, metal national space program.” debris (MMOD) impacts on shuttle wing and spar leading-edge particle, and MMOD impacts were performed at Southwest Tom Carne (9124) assisted with a series of tests begin- tle by shifting the engagement frequency of the crawler materials. Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. Tests on fiberglass and Labs President and Director Tom Hunter ning in November 2003 to develop the data necessary to treads. The shuttle’s vibration response can be much reduced The sensors developed by NASA are significant to the return- RCC (reinforced carbon composite) wing panels were conducted understand the environment and the response of the space when the driving frequencies are shifted away from its own to-flight effort. The addition of the sensors to the leading edge at the White Sands Test Facility. shuttle vehicle during rollout. resonant natural frequencies. SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 8

Safety team keeps tractor treads on solid ground

Sandia safety engineer Larry Knudson (10322) saw an excavator straddling a ditch June 27 and took action. For about three hours, he and fellow 10322 members worked with construction operators to resolve a dangerous situation. They were subse- quently honored for doing so. Larry described the event for the Lab News this way: “I was walking over to Z when I noticed this tractor hoe and didn’t like the way it was posi- tioned. I called Bryan Drennan (our construc- tion safety expert) to see if he had any experi- ence with such equipment and how it was being used. He suggested that if I was at all concerned I should suspend the activity. “Anyway, I quickly returned to the opera- tion and told the workers to suspend all activity involving the trench and the tractor. I then called for an inspector while the workers were calling for their superintendent. The superinten- dent showed up about 10 minutes later and questioned my suspension of his operations. When I told him I was with safety he under- stood my concerns. I asked Steve Walcott (safety engineer on call) to come out with the depart- ment’s camera and record the situation. Then I called the Incident Command Post to have NO-NO — This excavating machine straddling a ditch caught safety engineer Larry Knudson’s eye. He was con- them send a representative. I suggested that the cerned enough about the potential safety issues that he used his authority to suspend all activities until the situa- tion was rectified. Larry and construction safety expert Bryan Drennan were honored by the Laboratory Leadership work could be resumed if the trench, under and Team for their heads-up attention to operational excellence and safety. (Photo by Steve Walcott) behind the tractor, was filled with dirt. The assembled multitude, along with the contractor superintendent, agreed with that recommenda- Darrell Fong (department manager), were invited appreciation along with a pair of theater tickets. tion. It was done. All were happy. I allowed to the LLT meeting. The VPs were informed about As we were leaving, all attendees, including Lab them to resume working. what we did and shown photographs of the inci- President Hunter, chatted with us and congratu- “A week or so later, Bryan and I, along with dent. Bryan and I were each given certificates of lated us on a job well done.” — Elizabeth Malone

Three Sandians named to What drives Sandia’s health ‘Top Hispanics in Technology and Business’ list care plan decisions? Sandians Frank Figueroa, Sid Gutierrez, and J. Leonard (Lenny) Martinez have been This is the third article in a series discussing Sandia’s overall total benefit value index accord- named to the “Top Hispanics in Technology health care plan issues, prepared by Health, Benefits, ing to the Hewitt study was 120.2, or 15.2 per- and Business” list for 2005 by Hispanic Engi- and Employee Services Center 3300. centage points above the DOE benchmark. To neer & Information Technology magazine. meet the requirements of the DOE-ordered value Frank has been VP and chief financial In the first article we discussed escalating index of 105, Sandia’s Benefits administration officer for Sandia since 1997. He is responsible health care costs, cost shifting, prescription drug proposed a comprehensive strategy for calendar for the Integrated Enabling Services Strategic increases, and trends towards promoting con- year 2006 to reduce the Hewitt Value Index. Management Unit as well as finance, business sumerism (Lab News, June 24). Then, we discussed To work toward the goal of a Hewitt Index services, facilities and construction, ES&H, how individuals can affect change in health care of 105, Sandia’s emphasis has been placed on procurement, logistics, pension and savings spending by adopting healthier lifestyle behaviors the elements that are most out of line with fund management, and prime contract to lower the risk of industry trends. In administration. He also has held the position acquiring a costly looking at the entire for VP and chief financial officer for Lockheed disease (Lab News, benefits package, Martin Energy Systems in Oak Ridge, Tenn. July 8). In this install- Sandia proposed to Sid is director of Systems Research Center 5900. Prior to joining Sandia in 1994 he was an ment, we will look at DOE plan changes Air Force fighter pilot/test pilot and NASA a determining factor that can further astronaut/space shuttle commander. He serves behind corporate help align with the on a number of boards and commissions health care plan pur- ordered value. including the Board of Regents of New Mexico chasing and the dri- These included Institute of Mining and Technology, the New vers behind Sandia’s medical plan Mexico Space Commission, the National Advi- plan decisions. changes, employee sory Board for the National Hispanic Cultural A key factor in contribution strate- Center, and the Board of Directors of Goodwill Sandia’s historical gies, non-Medicare Industries of New Mexico. ability to attract and retiree/survivor Lenny has been VP of Manufacturing Sys- retain exceptional medical plan tems, Science & Technology. He joined Sandia science, technology, changes, dental in 1995 as director of Production Integration, a and engineering talent for achieving our vital plan changes, and further development of center created to integrate lab culture, manu- missions has been our ability to provide a Sandia’s disease management and prevention facturing culture, and some private sector ini- highly competitive benefits package. In 1996, a initiatives. The proposed changes would per- tiatives in support of the manufacturing opera- tion to produce neutron generators. He is now revised DOE Order 350.1 introduced a compara- mit Sandia to contain health care costs in both on loan to the Lockheed Martin bid team tive value method for assessing benefits pro- the short and long term. These changes still seeking the contract to manage Los Alamos grams. This method was incorporated into the allow for choice but expand the long-term National Laboratory. Sandia contract in 1997. Sandia has used the concept and strategy of consumerism. For Honorees are chosen for this annual list Hewitt Value Study in evaluating its benefit pro- instance, by providing preventive care and for their outstanding work in technology and grams for more than 23 years. The Hewitt Value modifying lifestyle behaviors, we can antici- their leadership of the institutions where they Index is a “point-in-time” estimate of the rela- pate a deceleration in trends for later years. work. This list includes many of the nation’s tive value of Sandia’s employer-paid benefits Sandia believes that changes made to our highest-achieving Hispanic executives, man- compared to those of a selected group of com- employee health care plans and future opportuni- agers, and researchers in industry, govern- panies. The comparison is one of value and not ties and initiatives for cost savings are a step in ment, and academia. related to cost. the right direction and will eventually lead to The honorees are featured in the June/ Sandia is held to DOE Order 350.1, which compliance with the DOE-ordered value. July issue of Hispanic Engineer & Information states that our overall benefits shall be no higher Look for the benefits package plan details Technology magazine. All top 50 will be hon- than 5 percent above our comparative group as to be further outlined in future editions of the ored at an awards gala and dinner Sept. 16 in Baltimore, Md. measured on a benefits valuation index. In 2004, Lab News. SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 9 Executive Transition website: Executive Transition http://www-irn.sandia.gov/corpdata/corporate-news/index.html Sandia’s new organizational structure, effective July 29 and depicted in this chart, has undergone the most significant change in years. The new structure represents a number of consolidations and realignments designed to help the Labs con- tinue to provide “exceptional service in the national interest.” July 29, 2005 SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 10

New Mexico photos by Michelle Fleming California photos by Bud Pellitier

James Reitz Leroy Holmes James Beasley Jim Hachman 40 8236 35 2544 30 2954 30 8945

Donald Hardy Clarence Filip Robert Spulak Thomas Zipperian Robert Brandt Greg Earnest 30 2525 25 12820 25 2564 25 1740 20 8521 20 10842

Karl Ricker Robert Ernesto Neal Fornaciari Scott Keith Ajoy Moonka James Ohlhausen 20 12336 15 8513 15 8944 15 8513 15 0210 15 1822

Before her promotion to manager, Michelle izing those same ideals of sharing information, Manager Promotions was the Center Business Administrator (PMLS) for but with a need-to-know twist on the classified Nuclear and Risk Technologies Center 6800. She network as Product Manager of the Nuclear New Mexico specializes in project management, financial Weapon information (NWie) Engineering Portal. management, and business operations. Fran earned his associates of science degree in Vicky Anderson from PMLS, Business Opera- Michelle has a BBA from the College of Santa Fe. design/drafting and engineering technology from tions Center 9011, to Manager, Business Opera- * * * Oklahoma State University. tions Center IIS 4014. Tom Cilke, new manager for Sensors and * * * Vicky joined Analog Electronics Dept. 5719, joined Sandia on Nathan Sommer from PMLS, Center 2300 Sandia in 1981 and did June 20. Business Operations Dept. 2023, to Manager, contract auditing. She Tom has 22 years 6300, Center Business left in 1987 to work for experience in develop- Operations, Dept. Motorola Government ing imaging, instru- 10506. Electronics in Scotts- mentation, and Nathan joined dale, Ariz., as a super- telemetry products for Sandia in 1996 as an visor of compliance aerospace, industrial, intern in the Sandia audit. She returned to and medical industries. Audit Intern Program Sandia in 1989. Prior to joining Sandia and worked within Vicky has done he was a Director of the audit center. Work for Others VICKY ANDERSON Engineering for Vidar Nathan had part- (WFO) Accounting, Systems Corporation TOM CILKE time status in the Indirect Rate Applications, and 9100 Business in Virginia. Contract Audit NATHAN SOMMER Administration. He has a BSEE, MSEE, and a PhD, all from Department as part of Prior to coming to Sandia, she spent eight UNM. the Student Intern Program from 1997 to 1998 years in law enforcement in Washington D.C., in * * * while pursuing his MBA at UNM. the Secret Service and in Berlin, West Germany, Fran Current from PMTS, SEPR Systems He became a member of the Lab staff upon conducting military investigations. Engineering Dept. 1905, to Manager, SEPR Sys- completion of his MBA and worked within the Vicky has a BBA from Fort Lewis College, a tems Engineering Contract Audit Department until 2002. master’s of science in accounting from Colorado Dept. 1905. In 2002, Nathan matrixed out of controller- State University, and is a CPA. Fran joined Sandia ship as the Lockheed Martin fee accountant and * * * in 1985 as a Technical out of controllership of the Legal Division, Con- Michelle Barela from PMLS, Nuclear & Risk Associate performing tracts Department, and Electronic Systems Cen- Technologies Center 6800, to Manager, Center electromechanical ter. He performed budgetary analysis and project Business Operations design drafting. He administration, primarily for the Arming and Dept. 6034. contributed to the Fuzing Sub-System on the W76-1/Mk4A LEP Michelle joined product development program. Sandia in December of the Saturn and Her- Currently Nathan is the ES&H Center Busi- 1990 as an OAA within mes III accelerators as ness Manager and still serves in various capacities Center 1500. In 1992, well as several compo- FRAN CURRENT as a Division 10000 and Corporate Diversity she was promoted to a nent designs for vari- Team member. Management Assistant ous weapon programs. In the late 1980s Fran was Nathan earned a BA in fine arts in 1994 from II for Center 5900 and a key contributor to Sandia’s engineering trans- UC Santa Cruz, and an MBA with a concentration was responsible for a formation from a paper-based drawing environ- of financial accounting in 1998 from UNM. He has classified work station ment to a network-based CAD environment. He been an active CPA since November 2001. and manager support. joined the newly formed CIO organization as a MICHELLE BARELA From 1993 to 1998, member of the technical staff in 1994 and used Michelle worked for Center 6600 as an ASA doing his experience to create the vision of an enter- financial and procurement administration. In prise-wide information environment. Fran was 1998, she joined Center 6100 as an MLS where she co-project lead of the EVE team, which brought managed the EM-50 Program and served as the the web-based intranet to Sandia. To Ed Mignardot (6146) and Robin Napoleone, Sandia liaison to the EM-50 DOE/AL office. Most recently, Fran has been involved in real- married in Santa Fe, July 23. SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 5, 2005 • Page 12

Sandia by a California foundation directed by ties into reentry vehicles, but was finding new Iben Browning, a former Sandia employee who uses. The Army, for example, was using SANDACs conceived the in prototypes of new helicopters to evaluate technique. advanced avionics concepts. In a typical three- Printed circuits processor configuration, SANDAC IV could were rapidly process 1.5 million instructions per second. replacing the old This monthly column highlights Sandia Lab system of con- News items from 50, 40, 30, 20, and 10 years ago, necting elec- but each column does not necessarily include items tronic compo- from each decade. nents using dozens of wires 50 years ago . . . soldered to the Birth of the Thunder- components. bird — “The colorful The new tech- and symbolic Thun- nique was called derbird, in brilliant Automated Cir- turquoise enamel on cuit Card Etch- a copper background, ing Layout will be the central (ACCEL). figure on Sandia Cor- 30 years poration’s service ago . . . The pin,” announced the Aug. 8, 1975, SANDAC IV — In this 1985 photograph, Steve Aug. 26, 1955, Lab issue featured a Reynolds pulls a microprocessor board from a News. Although the just-announced SANDAC IV with an 11-stack configuration. SAN- basic style of the T- BIRTH OF THE T-BIRD — project to build DAC IV’s stack design was tailored to fit applica- Bird has been H.C. “Clyde” Walker holds at the time the tion needs with up to 16 microprocessor boards updated several times his Service Recognition pin world’s largest per unit. Each board could handle 500,000 since then, it remains design. Clyde was the win- solar central instructions per second. ner of the emblem design Sandia’s primary cor- receiver test SHINING ON —The several-times porate symbol today. contest, chosen from more facility in Area 3. (Sandians were already testing a new version, than 200 proposed designs. updated facility continues operat- The original symbol Designed to pro- ing today as the National Solar SANDAC V, that used a “next-generation” proces- and pin were designed duce 10 Thermal Test Facility. sor and was designed to process about 40 million by late Sandia employee Clyde Walker. His design megawatts of instructions per second.) was selected from more than 200 submitted in a electrical energy, the pilot plant was part of the 10 years ago . . . New Sandia President competition among employees. new Energy Research and Development Adminis- Paul Robinson and new Executive VP John 40 years ago . . . tration’s high-temperature solar Crawford took office Aug. 15, 1995. The Aug. Computers were research, development, and demon- 18 Lab News included a “letter to employees” in already making some stration program. The new facility was which Paul praised Sandia’s outstanding tech- tasks easier and help- part of the Labs’ overall solar energy nical work, but called on Sandians to help him ing make electronic R&D program involving researchers at streamline the many “complex and unwieldy” devices more reliable both Sandia/New Mexico and San- internal processes that were hurting the Labs’ and trouble free. An dia/California and four major contrac- efficiency and effectiveness. Sandia faced some Aug. 27, 1965, story tors. The several-times updated facility unpleasant problems as Paul’s term began. The explained how a new continues operating today as the other page-one story in the same Lab News computer technique National Solar Thermal Test Facility. issue was headlined “Several employees and was freeing Sandia 20 years ago . . . The latest ver- contractors disciplined for accessing sexually draftsmen from the PRINTED CIRCUITS — produced by new sion of SANDAC (Sandia Airborne explicit web sites.” Six contractors had recently tedious job of draw- automated computer technique were dis- Computer) was featured in the Aug. been expelled from Sandia premises and one ing printed circuit played by D.D. Isett and C.J. Fisk, who 16, 1985, issue. Weighing 20 pounds, employee had been placed on administrative boards. The process helped develop the new process. SANDAC IV was designed primarily to leave for accessing such sites. was developed for put navigation and guidance capabili- — Larry Perrine Sandia Retirement Club (T’Birds) The following item was submitted by the Sandia querque Road Runner RV Club/Branscombe Retirement Club, the Thunderbirds. Call 505-756-2382 for reservations and notify Bernard Brown, 291-3368 In a previous issue of the Lab News we dis- Call Jerry Love 832-1338 for info on joining cussed the Sandia Retirement Club that meets at or as a guest. the Mountain View Club. We invite all Sandians nearing retirement to come out and get acquainted. COMPUTER GROUP Call our President Rod Boenig, 836-6977, for more Aug. 16, 12 noon-3 p.m. — Selling and info on our club. He will discuss joining the Thun- buying stuff on E-Bay or online auctions. derbirds with you, or provide any additional infor- We also show a PowerPoint production with mation that you desire. scanned pictures & commentary for a retiree’s Our August schedule is outlined below. You 80th birthday party. Steve Sobolik, who made the can get more information by calling the person production, will discuss how he put it together. listed, or you can just show up at any of the listed This process could also be used to make family events. Guests are always welcome. albums. Call Richard Jorgensen, 298-6079 for info. * * * MONTHLY MEETING Aug. 8, 1:30 p.m. Aug. 12 (Friday), 6:30 p.m., is Thunderbird Paul Pickard (6872) will address the T’birds on Night at the club. This is the big night of the hydrogen as a fuel for transportation. This is a month when the T’birds gather for food sociability. topic of interest to many Sandians — retired or Call Lu Kinzer, 890-1768 for reservations. She will otherwise. If interested in attending, just show up arrange for all T’birds to sit together. at the Mountain View Club at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 8. Dale and Mary Buchanan invite all T’birds to their 50th wedding anniversary celebration at La BRIDGE CLUB Vida Llena, Aug. 12, 1-3 p.m. RSVP 291-3280. Party Bridge— 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Aug. 4 & 18 Most of us belonged to the Coronado Club Pairs Bridge — 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Aug. 11 & 25 and mourned its passing. The Mountain View All MVC members welcome. Call Mary Lou Club is, however, a lovely club and supports our Valdez, 268-5375. She will make you feel entirely events with enthusiasm. We feel fortunate to welcome, and maybe give you a donut and a cup belong to such a great club. This club, together of coffee. with the Thunderbirds makes a great combina- tion. All Sandians, retired and nearing retirement, ROADRUNNERS RV CLUB should give serious consideration to the joint Aug. 15-19 rally at Little Creek RV Resort in membership. If you are considering joining either Chama, N.M. or both of the two clubs, call Rod Boenig first for Reservations should be made under Albu- a very beneficial financial arrangement.