.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Los Alamos National Laboratory

  • 'Supersolid' in Helium-4 research questioned

    The long-held, but unproven idea that helium-4 enters into an exotic phase of matter dubbed a “supersolid” when cooled to extremely low temperatures has been challenged in a new paper published recently in Science.
    Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers Alexander Balatsky and Matthias Graf joined Cornell University physicist J.C. Séamus Davis and others in describing an alternative explanation for behavior of helium-4 that led scientist to believe for nearly 40 years that the substance could hold properties of a liquid and solid at the same time when cooled to near Absolute Zero.

    Click here to read more...
  • Maggiore gets NNSA post at LA Site Office

    Longtime New Mexico environmental advocate Pete Maggiore joined the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Site Office this week as Deputy Assistant Manager for the Environmental Projects Office.
    Maggiore, a Certified Professional Geologist with a masters degree in geology, brings more than 28 years of experience in environmental management, hydrogeology and geology.
    From July 1998 through August 2002, he served as Secretary for the New Mexico Environment Department.
    “Pete’s experience and insight into environmental management - from the field and as a regulator – adds a valuable element to our environmental program,” said LASO Manager Kevin Smith, “and we are very glad he is joining our team.”

    Click here to read more...
  • Proponents Speak Out For CMRR

    The second of four Chemistry Metallurgy Research Replacement public meetings take place in Los Alamos Tuesday and brought out the proponents as well as some activists.

    The CMRR Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) is currently out for public comment. The study describes the possible environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the proposed action.

    Ray Baca, the executive director for the New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council, was the first to talk and he said he represented construction workers, including the 800 that work for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

    Click here to read more...
  • LANL's Girrens and Beard take lead roles

    Director Michael Anastasio has announced that Steven P. Girrens is the new associate director for engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

    “Steve is skilled at leading virtually all facets of engineering,” Anastasio said in a news release. “Whether it is preliminary design, analysis, computational modeling, commercialization or the transition to manufacturing, Steve has done it all.”

    Girrens began working at LANL right out of college in January 1979.

    “I’m enthused by the possibilities because my career at Los Alamos has taught me that the ultimate engineering challenge is enabling scientific discovery,” he said of his promotion.

    Click here to read more...
  • Celebrating Rosenfest

    The Rosenfest Lectures were held this week at Fuller. Rosenfest was a series of lectures in honor of Louis Rosen, the father of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Above is a photo of the guest lecturers including left to right, Bill Louis, Eric Pitcher, Mahlon Wilson, Erich Vogt, Paul Lisowski, Robert Redwine, James Bradbury, John Browne, Daniel Shoemaker, Bernie Rosen, and Bernard Rosen.

    Click here to read more...
  • Judge tosses CMRR lawsuit

    The timing was rather ominous.

    A couple of hours before the first public hearing regarding the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Project, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit that sought to halt development of a $5.8 billion plutonium laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

    U.S. District Court Judith Herrera ruled a new environmental analysis and planned hearings should be adequate to address new concerns about earthquake dangers.

    Understandably, the Department of Energy was happy with the decision.

    Click here to read more...
  • Judge throws out case over Los Alamos nuclear plan

    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit that sought to halt development of a $5.8 billion plutonium laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory, saying a new environmental analysis and planned hearings should be adequate to address new concerns about earthquake dangers.

    Plaintiffs, however, said they would boycott the public hearings, claiming construction of the lab is already a done deal.

    "The public record is replete with Administration statements saying it is not going to reconsider its commitment to this project," Greg Mello of the watchdog Los Alamos Study Group in an email about why the group wouldn't attend public hearings.

    Click here to read more...
  • NNSA names new manager

    The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Site Office (LASO) named Timothy O’Leary its new Assistant Manager for Business Administration Friday.

    “We are very fortunate to have someone of Tim’s caliber on the LASO staff,” said LASO Manager Kevin Smith.

    “Tim has already had a remarkable and successful career and I fully expect him to have an immediate and positive influence on our Site Office business operations and to open new doors for the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”

    Most of O’Leary’s career has been with the U.S. Coast Guard, and included command of two Coast Guard Cutters.

    Click here to read more...
  • CMRR meetings set to begin Monday

    Starting Monday, the general public will get the chance to speak their mind about the Chemistry Metallurgy Research Replacement project.

    The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Site Office has extended the public comment period and added a fourth public meeting for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the CMRR project – Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF).

    The comment period was extended by 15 days, making it a 60-day comment period. The formal comment period opened April 29. A public meeting in Albuquerque has been added, in addition to those alreadyplanned in Los Alamos, Espanola and Santa Fe.

    Click here to read more...
  • Lab touts pollution reductions

    POJOAQUE — Denny Hjeresen of the Los Alamos National Laboratory probably summed it best Tuesday night at the Cities of Gold conference room when in the middle of his presentation, he said, “we have the most sampled sites on earth.”
    Hjeresen, the division leader for environmental protection at LANL, was describing how the lab is complying with a new EPA storm water permit that regulates runoff at several hundred Cold War-era environmental sites.
    The lab was required to install and certify completion of baseline control measures at all 250 site monitoring areas (SMAs), which includes 405 total sites by May 1.

    Click here to read more...