C1151 Lab News 07-21
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This magnetic-powered train.doesn't levitate, and, boy, can it move~ and on existing tracks 'Seraphim' train could achieve high speed at a quarter the cost of 'mag-lev' technology By Neal Singer erect by magnetic coils, and in only 12 feet 6 kilometers a second. Media Relations Dept. 12620 reaches a speed of 34 miles per hour- demon• The so-called magnetic-levitation (mag-lev) strates the potential of the propulsive technique. trains under construction in Germany and The idea of very fast trains powered and The train, which would be the fastest in the Japan are expected to reach 300 mph, but they levitated by magnets has tickled the imagina• US, is expected to travel at 200 miles per hour. need specially designed track. The current maximum for commuters on the tion of the US public - without opening its Allows an incremental approach wallet - for several decades. High construction corridor between costs and the difficulty in obtaining right-of• Boston and Wash• The train is a "This is an incremental approach to enter ways to lay new track have proved formidable ington is 100 miles the world of high-speed, magnetically powered obstacles. per hour. spin-off from trains," says Bob Turman, Manager of Electro• Now a concept for a high-speed, magneti• "We make the coil-gun magnetic Propulsion/Beams Applications Dept. cally powered train that does not levitate, is Seraphim go that 1221. "We can convert further, if the public relatively inexpensive to build, and can run on slow so it can travel technology wants, at a later time." More work might be nec• already-laid track has been developed by San• on already-laid created at essary, he says, because for very fast trains, dia scientists in Pulsed Power Sciences Center track," says project "some of the existing right-of-ways will have I 1200. leader Barry Marder Sandia in the too-sharp turns. At that later time, in those loca• Dubbed "Seraphim," the train is a spin-off of Beam, Plasma, late 1980s. tions, we'd either buy new right-of-ways or ele• from the coil-gun technology created at Sandia and Electromagnetic vate. For now, we'd just slow down the train." in the late 1980s for the Strategic Defense Ini• Theory Dept. 1241. Unlike mag-lev trains, which travel with no tiative Organization. "The original design was intended to shoot engine aboard, the proposed Sandia train A working model- a vertical, two-foot tall satellites into space at Mach 20." This is 20 would carry its own drive mechanism - a gas aluminum plate that slides along a rail, is pow- times the speed of sound, the equivalent of (Continued on page 4) Medical coverage .. options to double in 1996; Choose Triple Vol. 47, No. 15 July 21, 1995 Option Plan or HMO By Tammy Locke Lab News Staff Starting}an.1, 1996, thenumberofmed• ical coverage options for nonrepresented Sandi• ans will be doubled. The current two-choice system, consisting of the "Traditional" (Mutual of Omaha) Plan and a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), will be replaced by a four-choice system consisting of the Triple Option Plan (TOP) and an HMO (still Lovelace at Sandia/New Mexico and Kaiser at Sandia/California). About 300 Sandians and retirees partici• pated in 19 focus group meetings last Decem• , ber to preview potential changes to "For years, the Medical Care Plan and to help Sandians have Health & Work I been asking for Family Benefits Dept. 3343 deter• choice, and the mine what Sandians TOP plan will need from their Medical Care Plan. address this From focus group request." comments, changes were completed, and the new plan will be pre• ATOMIC VETERANS- Retired Sandians Ray Brin (left) and Leon Smith, at the National Atomic sented to Sandians this summer. Museum's B-29 last week, recall their experiences with the atomic bombs that ended World War II (see Nonrepresented Sandians will enroll in stories beginning on page 6). Ray conducted development tests on the Fat Man bomb; escorted it for either the TOP or an HMO. The premium costs the Manhattan Project to Tinian island, and helped load it for the flight over Nagasaki. leon worked shared by participants for the current Medical with the fuzing systems of both the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bombs, helped assemble them, and Care and HMO Plans will remain the same for lost a coin flip to be the weaponeer aboard the Enola Gay for its flight over Hiroshima. He later was the TOP during 1996. Represented people are weaponeer for the Operations Crossroads B-29 atomic bomb drop over Bikini atoll in 1946. not eligible to participate in the Triple Option (Photo by Randy Montoya) Plan at this time; any Plan changes must }?e negotiated with their bargaining units. Addresses employee concerns Top-level management changes Dr. Larry Clevenger, Director of Benefits & Medical Services Center 3300, says, "Benefits & announced Wednesday 2 Medical Services, as well as the Health & Work/Family Benefits organizations, is looking forward to this TOP plan since it will address Building boom brings needed various concerns of the Sandia population. For additional space to Sandia years, Sandians have been asking for choice, (Continued on page 5) Narath, Tegnelia to leave Sandia, Robinson 7his&7hat to be acting Labs director Thanks. boss - I'm sure it'll take all Sandians who are under the new performance management process a while to get used to the new Sandia President/Director AI Narath and Executive VP/Deputy Director Jim Tegnelia are performance rating system and the performance descriptors: EP, HP, BP, leaving Sandia Aug. 15 to operate a new Energy & UN, and PR. I couldn't recall exactly what they all stand for when I had Environment Sector for Lockheed Martin, Sandia my performance management meeting with my boss recently. He was kind Corporation's management contractor. enough to explain them to me at that time, and I want to publicly thank AI will be president ofthe new sector, and him here for all the UN ratings he promised to give me (UN equals Jim will be vice president for business develop• "UNusually good work," he explained). ment. The new Lockheed Martin sector has been * * * created to be responsible for the corporation's They got the David part right - Senior Technical Associate David energy and environmental businesses, including Eley (6352) is a bit insulted that one software vendor can't get his operating and managing Sandia and other name and job title right, despite always sending him two copies of every Department of Energy activities. mailing. On one address label, they misspell his name Elay and show his Current Sandia VP for Laboratory Develop• title as "Instructional System." On the other label, they spell his name ment Paul Robinson (4000) will become acting correctly, but do some highly questionable abbreviating of his title: director of Sandia National Labs until the govern• "Senior Technical Ass." (I don't know David personally, but I think I ment approves a permanent director and deputy may have worked with several of his colleagues.) director. & * * * Additional Energy Environment sector staff Tough boss - Overheard from one employee talking to another in a positions will be announced soon. The]uly 19 Lockheed Martin news release Sandia office recently: "Please don't rat on me to the boss. I have to announcing these changes says the new Energy & leave on time today." That somehow reminded me of another statement I Environment sector will be headquartered in overheard years ago at a company where dedication and discipline weren't Albuquerque. Energy & Environment is the first nearly as strong. One fellow was speaking to another one notorious for Lockheed Martin business sector created since the getting a jump on the traffic home: "You must've had a long day. This is March 1995 merger of Lockheed and Martin the latest I've ever seen you leave early!" The same early-departing Marietta. Other sectors are Aeronautics, Electron• employee, as I recall, was fond of saying, "Man, it sure makes the day ics, Information & Technology Services, and seem long when you get.to work on time!" Space & Strategic Missiles. * * * A dubious honor - Speaking of bosses, the deadline for nominating Responsibility for several major facilities people for Worst Boss of 1995 was June 30, but start thinking about The new sector will have responsibility for whether to nominate your boss next year. According to the June 19 the management of Lockheed Martin Energy Sys• "Business Outlook" section of the Albuquerque Journal, a Texas tems, which includes Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National management expert sponsors an annual worst-boss competition, and the Lab; Lockheed Martin Specialty Components in "winning" boss actually gets a week-long Hawaiian vacation and a Largo, Fla.; Lockheed Martin Environmental Sys• • thousand bucks. The big question: If you nominated your boss and he (or tems & Technologies in Houston; Lockheed Mar• she) won, would he thank you or fire you after returning? tin Idaho Technologies, which includes the Idaho * * * National Engineering Lab in Idaho Falls; Lock• Fit to be tied- Life does have its hassles. I needed some new heed Martin Utility Services, which operates golf shoelaces several weeks ago - nothing special - just average-length enriched uranium plants in Ohio and Kentucky; the corporation's holdings in M4f;.nvironmental black laces. Tracing my steps: A major sporting goods store didn't have Limited Partnership, in Oak Ridge; Technology the right length. A shoe store had the right length, but only in white. Ventures Corp. in Albuquerque; and Sandia. Two department stores at a major mall didn't even sell shoe laces, AI Narath has been President of Sandia Cor• despite having major shoe sections.