Exceptional service from pole to poleSandia researchers tackle urgent problems at the extreme ends of the earth

Much has been asked of Sandians from the very beginning.Since its founding in 1949, the Labs’ extraordinary mission workhas required researchers to travel to the far ends of the world totest nuclear weapon components in every conceivable envi-ronment. Over the years, that has meant weeks — and evenmonths — away from home, living in tents in remote localesranging from jungles to deserts to frozen steppes to tropicalisles.

While exotic travel related to weapons work doesn’toccur with the intensity or frequency of years past, Sandia’smission still requires expertise across a wide range of disci-plines; because of that expertise, the nation continues to turnto Sandia and much is still asked of Labs researchers.

Case in point: In recent months, Sandia teams have foundthemselves doing vital, unrelated work in both the arctic andantarctic regions of the globe.

Four Sandia researchers recently went to the icy southern con-tinent to test a Sandia-modified miniaturized synthetic apertureradar (MiniSAR) sensor to demonstrate that it could detect buriedor bridged crevasses, a real danger to aircraft making deliveries toremote outposts across the vast southern landmass.

The antarctic team flew MiniSAR experiments on a National

Science Foundation-sponsored Twin Otter. The device was able todetect virtually invisible crevasses hidden beneath the snow. The

equipment will eventually be flown on LC-130s, the workhorsesof the south.

Meanwhile, Sandia has had a long-term presence in PointBarrow, Ala., working with researchers from many nationallabs, federal agencies, and universities to better understandhigh-latitude atmospheric phenomena and how those phe-nomena may impact or indicate trends in global climatechange. The DOE Office of Science-sponsored work is generat-

ing data that are helping refine existing global climate models.Lab News writer Michael Padilla’s story about the MiniSAR

work begins on page 8; Darrick Hurst writes about high-latitudeclimate research on pages 10-11.

Vol. 59, No. 6 March 16, 2007Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration

NNSA chooses LLNL/Sandiadesign for RRW NNSA has announced that the design teamfrom Lawrence Livermore National Labora-tory and Sandia has been selected to developthe Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW).See the story on page 3.

Also inside . . . • Sandia and UT Medical Branch–Galveston establish postdoc program . . . . Page 3

• Sandia makes progress in Diversity Maturity Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6

• Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day set for April 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6

• Changes announced in Ethics and Business Conduct Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 7

• Ron Detry leaving Labs — and laptop — behind after 37-year career . . . . Page 16

The US should begin looking at energy and water needs as one issue so that each resourcecan be sustained in the future.

That is the crux of findings of a report recently sub-mitted to Congress by DOE. A team from Sandia, LosAlamos National Laboratory, the National Energy Tech-nology Laboratory, and the Electric Power Research Insti-tute led the information collection and report develop-ment efforts, with Sandia taking charge of writing it.

“Basically the report notes that energy and water are closely linked,” says key reportauthor Chris Cameron (6335). “The production of energy requires large volumes of water

Ice created in nanoseconds by Sandia’s Z machineNot expected at your local 7-Eleven anytime soon

Sandia’s huge Z machine has turned water to ice in nanoseconds.However, don’t expect anything commercial just yet: Z’s ice is hotter than

the boiling point of water.“The three phases of water as we know them

— cold ice, room temperature liquid, and hotvapor — are actually only a small part of water’srepertory of states,” says Sandia researcherDaniel Dolan (1646). “Compressing water cus-tomarily heats it. But under extreme compres-sion, it is easier for dense water to enter its solidphase [ice] than maintain the more energetic liq-uid phase [water].”

In the Z experiment, the volume of water shrunk abruptly and discontin-uously, consistent with the formation of almost every known form of ice.(One might wonder — given the common experience of frozen water expand-ing to wreck garden hoses left out over winter — why this ice shrank insteadof expanding. The answer is that only “ordinary” ice expands when waterfreezes. There are at least 11 other known forms of ice occurring at a variety oftemperatures and pressures.)

“This work,” says Daniel, “is a basic science study that helps us under-

(Continued on page 4)

By Neal Singer

NASA

Energy, water closely linked,DOE report to Congress saysChris Cameron, Mike Hightower key in preparing reportBy Chris Burroughs

(Continued on page 5)

Mike Hightower will talk aboutthe relationship between waterand energy at a TechnologySymposium at the TTC onMarch 26. Details on page 5.

Budget cut, participationincrease put pressure onTuition Assistance Program

Rumors of the demise of Sandia’s Tuition AssistanceProgram have been greatly exaggerated. However, theprogram’s financial issues have not yet been completelyresolved.

An email sent earlier this year to Sandians enrolled inthe Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) touched off a flurryof rumors about the program. The email asked studentsgraduating in 2007 to provide information on the num-ber of classes and tuition needed to graduate, and esti-mated graduation date.

A budget cut accompanied by a significant increase inparticipation prompted the email as staff in CorporateLearning & Professional Development (CL&PD) studiedthe potential impact of funding shortfalls. While they

By Julie Hall

(Continued on page 4)

The ice createdin the Z machine

is hotter thanthe boiling point

of water.

PUTTING THE SQUEEZE ON ICE — Daniel Dolan (1646) has used Sandia’s Z machine tocompress water into ice at extreme temperatures and pressures. (Photo by Bill Doty)

Sandia National Laboratorieshttp://www.sandia.gov/LabNews

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0165Livermore, California 94550-0969Tonopah, Nevada • Nevada Test Site • Amarillo, Texas •Carlsbad, New Mexico • Washington, D.C.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated bySandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the US Departmentof Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Bill Murphy, Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/845-0845Chris Burroughs, Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/844-0948Randy Montoya, Photographer . . . . . . . . 505/844-5605Mike Janes, California site contact. . . . . . . 925/294-2447Michael Lanigan, Production. . . . . . . . . . 505/844-2297

Contributors: Janet Carpenter (844-7841), John German(844-5199), Neal Singer (845-7078), Stephanie Holinka (284-9227),Howard Kercheval (columnist, 844-7842), Will Keener (844-1690),Iris Aboytes (844-2282), Michael Padilla (284-5325), Julie Hall(284-7761), Rod Geer (844-6601), and Michelle Fleming (Ads,Milepost photos, 844-4902), Darrick Hurst (intern, 844-8009).Dept. 3651 Manager: Chris Miller (844-0587).Lab News fax ................................................505/844-0645Classified ads ................................................505/844-4902

Published on alternate Fridays by Media Relations andEmployee Communications Dept. 3651, MS 0165

What’s whatThey may not be funny from the point of view of the would-be

sellers, but sometimes the offerings in the Lab News classifieds makeyou wonder.

In the March 2 issue, for example, a baseball bat “used once” wasavailable. Why? Used once and it didn’t work? Used once and the batterdiscovered baseball wasn’t his (or her) sport? Why would someone buy abaseball bat, use it once and then sell it? Odd.

And in the same issue, someone was selling a “Battle of theSexes” board game that was used only once. That’s maybe a little moreunderstandable.

* * *And while I’m wondering about stuff, why is there such a

concerted effort to label Sandians “Members of the Workforce,” or MOWs?What’s the problem with calling us what we’ve beensince the beginning: Sandians?

The consensus seems to be that, regardless ofwhether you’re an actual lab employee or someoneworking at the lab under contract, you’re a Sandianin the general sense. We’re all engaged in the samemission: national security.

Also, Member of the Workforce or MOW is such autilitarian title, so “gray,” compared with“Sandian.” Like labeling a building “ConcreteGeneral-Purpose Structure” instead of Strathcona Hallor Memorial Coliseum or The Pit.

There are members of millions of workforcesaround the world, but only one collection ofSandians. Granted, not everyone everywhere knows about Sandia, but inthe universe of our peers, everyone does. Say somebody is a Sandian andeverybody in that universe knows who and what you’re talking about.

But MOW? Member of the Workforce? What’s up with that?* * *

During an around-the-coffeepot conversation recently, the talkturned to parking spaces. (It was a really slow day.) There was theusual discussion about king-cab, long-bed trucks leaving little roomto squeeze by; the nearly ground-level front fairings on new cars,whose drivers sometimes stop three or four feet from the bumpers tokeep from damaging those fragile structures; and specialdesignations like second-shift and carpool, where there are almostalways vacant spaces.

When the talk turned to the frustration of weaving back and forththrough a parking lot looking for a space, someone brought up theanalogy to stadium seating. A stadium can be “sold out,” but still havesold tickets to more people than it has seats because at any giventime, some people are up walking around, going to a restroom, buyingfood, etc. As that’s going on, “their” seats are open to be grabbed bythe “seatless” people, effecting an ongoing turnover.

Maybe the people who plan parking for Sandia are operating on thesame principle.

— Howard Kercheval (844-7842, MS 0165, hckerch@sandia.gov)

Lab News Reader ServiceThe Sandia Lab News is distributed in-

house to all Sandia employees and on-sitecontractors and mailed to all Sandia retirees.It is also mailed to individuals in industry,government, academia, nonprofit organiza-tions, media, and private life who request it.

Retirees (only):

To notify of changes in address, contactBenefits Dept. 3332, Customer Service, at505-844-4237, or Mail Stop 1021, SandiaNational Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM87185-1021.

Others:

To receive the Lab News or to changethe address (except retirees), contactMichelle Fleming, Media Relations andCommunications Dept. 3651, 505-844-4902, email meflemi@sandia.gov, orMail Stop 0165, Sandia National Laboratories,Albuquerque, NM 87185-0165.

Employees:

To change the number of copies of theLab News your mail stop is receiving pleasecall Honario Anaya, Mail Services Team10268-4, at 844-3796. At Sandia/Californiacontact the Mail Room at 294-2427.

Web users:

The Lab News is on the Web atwww.sandia.gov/LabNews.

HOWARD KERCHEVAL

Kimberly Adams leavesto take Lockheed Martinheadquarters job

Lockheed Martin has announced that Kim-berly Adams, Sandia’s VP of Human Resourcesand Communications, has been selected VP ofHuman Resources-Enterprise Operations at Lock-heed Martin Headquarters in Bethesda, Md. Sheassumes her new position on March 26. She willbe responsible for Corporate Headquarters, Cor-porate Shared Services, and Enterprise Systems.

At Sandia, Kimberlywas responsible for theLaboratories’ humanresources, health bene-fits and employee ser-vices, and Laboratorycommunications.

During her time atSandia, she became acommunity champion.With co-championExecutive VP Al Romigshe has seen Sandia’sgenerosity to theUnited Way of Central New Mexico reach $3 mil-lion for the first time. She helped ensure Sandia’scontinued engagement in the community.

Kimberly came to Sandia in November 2004.She joined Lockheed Martin in 1998 and held anumber of positions within the corporation.

Prior to joining Sandia, Kimberly served asVP of Human Resources Operations for the Lock-heed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions(IS&S) business area, which employed more than15,000 in the US.

“Please join me in congratulating Kim on hernew role,” said John Stichman in his email toemployees. “We are of course very pleased for Kimand for Lockheed Martin, but we will surely missher here. We wish her well and thank her for herleadership and hard work while here at Sandia.”

Pat Smith, director of California Site Opera-tions Center 8500, will assume the role of actingVP of HR.

— Iris Aboytes

Sympathy to Jim Klarkowski (5335) on thedeath of his mother, Rosemary Teresa Klarkowski,who passed away peacefully on Feb. 17.

* * *Sympathy to Mary Jane Hicks (2712) on the

death of her mother, Rosemary Bingham, age 95,Feb. 1 in Albuquerque.

Sympathy

KIMBERLY ADAMS

Labs Accomplishmentsnow available

THE 2007 EDITION of Labs Accomplishments hasbeen distributed to all employees and retirees. Thepublication highlights the Labs’ very best work overthe past year, as selected by the VPs’ offices. LabsAccomplishments is also online, in both PDF andHTML formats, at www.sandia.gov/LabNews/labs-accomplish. To receive extra copies contactMike Lanigan at 844-2297 or mjlanig@sandia.gov.

Lawrence Livermore/Sandia design gets RRW nodSandia/California will play key systems integration role, tapping into full resources of the Labs

Note: The following is adapted from an officialNNSA news release. More detail about Sandia’s role inthe RRW program will be published in an upcomingissue of the Lab News.

NNSA has announced that the design teamfrom Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory andSandia has been selected to develop the ReliableReplacement Warhead (RRW). The announcementsays the Lawrence Livermore/Sandia design can becertified without requiring underground nucleartesting, a major factor in its selection.

Sandia/California will play a lead systemsintegration role utilizing the full capabilities ofthe Labs. Both Sandia/New Mexico and Sandia/California will lead the design and developmentof significant components.

The decision clears the way for a joint NNSAand US Navy program to provide a replacementwarhead for a portion of the nation’s sea-basednuclear weapons that will provide means toensure long-term confidence in a more secure,smaller, and safer nuclear weapons stockpile.

NNSA and the Navy will develop a detailedRRW project plan and cost estimate for develop-ing and producing the system. This work will sup-port a future decision to seek congressional autho-rization and funding in order to proceed intosystem development and subsequent production.

As part of the program, the Navy will leadthe overall project team. An integrated team ofdesigners and engineers led by Lawrence Liver-more will work with the production plants todevelop the nuclear explosive component ofthe weapon. Sandia will develop the non-nuclear components and ensure compatibilitywith the DoD’s Trident submarine-launchedballistic missile.

“The RRW design concept utilizes moderntechnology that was not available during theCold War when our nuclear weapons weredesigned and built,” said Thomas D’Agostino,NNSA’s acting administrator. “This will permitsignificant upgrades in safety and security fea-tures in the replacement warhead that will keepthe same explosive yields and other military char-acteristics as the current ones. RRW will takeadvantage of today’s science to ensure the long-term confidence in the future stockpile. RRWbuilds on the successful scientific accomplish-ments of our Stockpile Stewardship Program,which helps to maintain our nuclear weaponswithout underground testing.”

The Nuclear Weapons Council (NWC) — agroup of senior officials from the DoD and NNSAestablished by law to oversee nuclear weaponsprograms — made the final design selection. TheNWC evaluated two proposals, one submitted by

a Lawrence Livermore/Sandia team and anothersubmitted by a Los Alamos/Sandia team, anddetermined that although both designs fully metall RRW requirements, higher confidence in theability to certify the Livermore design withoutunderground nuclear testing was the primaryreason for its selection.

D’Agostino said several features of the LosAlamos design are highly innovative and will bedeveloped in parallel with the Livermore effort.Features of the Los Alamos design may be intro-duced into the RRW design as it progresses.

For the first time, NNSA’s production facili-ties fully participated in the design process toensure that components and materials used inRRW will be safer and that parts will be easier tomaintain and manufacture, moving NNSAtoward a more efficient and smaller nuclearweapons complex.

A joint statement released by the three labdirectors said all three laboratories and the pro-duction complex will work together on RRW asan integrated NNSA project team. “Today’sannouncement is an important first step in theRRW program that will enable a sustainablenuclear deterrent for our nation. . . . We supportthis acquisition strategy and stand ready to partic-ipate in the transformation of the weaponscomplex,” the joint statement said.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 3

Sandia’s ongoing strategic institutional part-nership with the University of Texas MedicalBranch at Galveston (UTMB)reached a high point in Novemberwhen the two entities established ajointly funded postdoctoral fellow-ship program.

The program will enable thealliance between the two organiza-tions to grow even further, saysTony Martino, manager of Biomole-cular Analysis and Imaging Dept.8332, a group that has worked withUTMB. The fellowship program washighlighted during a joint Work-shop on Collaborative Research inBioengineering for Biodefense andEmerging Infectious Disease.

Tony says the workshop repre-sented “an important step in foster-ing individual partnerships withUTMB researchers and multidiscipli-nary research teams.”

The workshop was conducted inGalveston, Texas, the site of UTMB’sGalveston National Laboratory, oneof two national biocontainment laboratories to beconstructed under grants awarded by theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Dis-eases/National Institutes of Health.

The workshop featured several breakout ses-sions, including technical presentations on theMicroscale Immune Studies Laboratory (MISL)Grand Challenge, microfluidics, bioMEMS, hyper-spectral confocal fluorescence imaging of livecells, and others.

Besides Tony, other members of Sandia’smanagement team taking part in the workshopswere Division 1000 VP and Chief TechnologyOfficer Rick Stulen; Glenn Kubiak, senior man-ager of Biological and Microfluidic Science Dept.8320, and Wendy Cieslak, Science, Technology,& Engineering SMU deputy. The UTMB side ofthe workshop and new fellowship program wasorganized by Dr. David Gorenstein, associatedean for research, School of Medicine, UTMB.

The key workshop objective, says Tony, wasto establish the postdoctoral program, which

will be jointly funded by the two organizations. Current areas of research being explored

through the Sandia-UTMB alliance includehost/pathogen interactions, new bioresearch tech-niques in microfluidics and other microengineeredplatforms, advanced imaging, and computationalbiology. According to Glenn Kubiak, four inau-gural postdoctoral fellowships were awarded on acompetitive basis on Feb. 20 to collaborativeSandia-UTMB teams, with work expected tocommence in the next one to three months.

“The new fellowship program represents asignificant commitment on the part of UTMB,one which pleases us enormously,” says Rick.

UTMB’s Gorenstein also acknowledges theimportance of this joint fellowship program “tostimulate unique, world-class science betweenSandia and UTMB — bringing together two of thenational laboratories.”

Sandia and the University of Texas joinedforces in early 2005 when the UT System Board ofRegents unanimously approved a memorandum

of understanding (MOU) between the system andSandia. The MOU had three objectives, includingone that specifically called for increased interac-tions and collaborations between individual staff,

faculty, and students at Sandia andUT System academic and healthinstitutions.

As recently as last October, LabsDirector Tom Hunter and Rick led aSandia delegation to the UT Systemoffices in Austin to meet with UTChancellor Mark Yudof and membersof his team to talk about issues relatedto the relationship, with an underly-ing goal of identifying ways to jointlycreate a national agenda (see LabNews, Oct. 13, 2006).

Glenn says Sandia and UTMBcontinue to offer complementarycapabilities that will make both orga-nizations stronger, particularly in thearea of biodefense.

“Sandia’s rich history in scienceand engineering, as well as our com-mercialization savvy and our capabili-ties in high-performance computing,are very attractive to UTMB,” he says.“Conversely, UTMB enjoys incredible

depth in its study of emerging diseases and thebiomedical aspects of that line of research. Wevalue that expertise tremendously.”

Glenn also points to the $167 millionGalveston National Laboratory (GSL) — largelyfunded by the National Institutes of Health andmanaged by UTMB under the direction ofDr. Stan Lemon — as an indication of theuniversity’s commitment to advanced medicalresearch.

At GSL, research will will focus on therapies,vaccines, and diagnostic tests for naturally occur-ring emerging diseases such as SARS and WestNile encephalitis, as well as for viral and bacterialagents that might be employed by terrorists.

Glenn notes that UTMB has been named bythe National Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases as one of 10 Regional Centers of Excel-lence for Biodefense and Emerging InfectiousDiseases to support research focused on counter-ing threats from bioterror agents and emerginginfectious diseases.

Sandia/University of Texas Medical Branch postdoctoralfellowship program underscores growing partnershipBy Mike Janes

UTMB’S GALVESTON NATIONAL LABORATORY will be a state-of-the-art biocontainmentresearch facility providing much-needed laboratory space for infectious diseaseresearchers from around the country. (Photo courtesy of UTMB at Galveston)

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 4

No ordinary ice(Continued from page 1)

stand materials at extreme conditions.” But it has potential practical value. The work,

which was published online March 11 in NaturePhysics, was undertaken partly because phase dia-grams that predict water’s state at different tem-peratures and pressures are not always correct —a fact worrisome to experimentalists working atextreme conditions, as well as those having towork at distances where direct measurement isimpractical. For example, work reported somemonths ago at Z demonstrated that astronomers’ideas about the state of water on the planet Nep-tune were probably incorrect. Closer at hand,water in a glass can be cooled below freezing andremain water, in what is called a supercooled state.

Accurate knowledge of water’s behavior ispotentially important for Z because the electricalpulses it sends through water compress that liq-uid. Ordinarily, the water acts as an insulator andas a switch. But because the machine has beennewly refurbished with more modern and thusmore powerful equipment, questions aboutwater’s behavior at extreme conditions are ofincreasing interest to help avoid equipment fail-ure for the machine or its more powerful succes-sors, should those be built.

One unforeseen result of Daniel’s test wasthat the water froze so rapidly. The freezingprocess as it is customarily observed requiresmany seconds at the very least.

The answer, says Daniel, seems to be thatvery fast compression causes very fast freezing. Atboth Z in Area 4 and also at Sandia’s nearby STAR(Shock Thermodynamic Applied Research) gasgun facility in Area 5, thin water samples werecompressed to pressures of 50,000-120,000 atmos-pheres in less than 100 nanoseconds. Under suchpressures, water appears to transform to ice VII, aphase of water first discovered by Nobel laureatePercy Bridgman in the 1930s. The compressedwater appeared to solidify into ice within a fewnanoseconds.

Nucleating agents, of course, are often usedto hasten sluggish chemical processes, such aswhen clouds are “seeded” with silver iodide toinduce rain. Daniel already had demonstrated, asa graduate physics student at Washington StateUniversity, that water can freeze on nanosecond

time scales in the presence of a nucleating agent.However, the behavior of pure water under

high pressure remained a mystery.Sandia instruments observed the unnucleated

water becoming rapidly opaque — a sign of iceformation in which water and ice coexist — aspressure increased. At the 70,000 atmospheremark and thereafter, the water became clear, asign that the container now held entirely ice.

“Apparently it’s virtually impossible to keepwater from freezing at pressures beyond 70,000atmospheres,” Daniel says.

For these tests, Z created the proper condi-tions by magnetic compression. Twenty millionamperes of electricity passed through a small alu-minum chamber, creating a magnetic field thatisentropically compressed aluminum platesroughly 5.5 by 2 inches in cross-section. This cre-ated a shockless but rapidly increasing compres-sion across a 25-micron-deep packet of water.

The multipurpose Z machine, whose mainuse is to produce data to improve the safety andreliability of the US nuclear deterrent, has com-pressed spherical capsules of hydrogen isotopes torelease neutrons — the prerequisite for controllednuclear fusion and essentially unlimited energyfor humanity.

This work is sponsored by the NationalNuclear Security Administration. Other authorson the paper are Chris Deeney (now at NNSA),Mark Knudson (1646), and Clint Hall (1646).

have made up for part of the shortfall by reallocating some of their budget,efforts are still underway to locate additional funding sources to provide forlong-term continuous support.

“We have funding to handle the balance of this fiscal year,” says Char-line Wells, CL&PD senior manager. “There’s a strong feeling on the part ofSandia’s executive management that we need to do whatever it takes tomake this work and honor our commitment to employees participating inthis program.”

Charline says that she and her staff are also looking into other fundingmechanisms and ways to avoid situations like this in the future.

More Sandians pursuing more educationIn FY06, the number of Sandians participating in the Tuition Assistance

Program (TAP) unexpectedly increased from 420 the previous year to 640 —a more than 50 percent increase, says financial analyst Donna Robertson

(3012). By cutting back in other areas and reallocating its budget, CL&PDwas able to keep up with increased demand in FY06. Tuition costs for TAPwere roughly $945,000 in FY05 and $1,452,000 in FY06. However, theupward trend in TAP participation is continuing while CL&PD’s budget wascut about 10 percent at the beginning of the fiscal year — as were otherIntegrated Enabling Systems organizations — further straining the budget,she says.

The participation levels for SDP programs such as the Doctoral StudiesProgram, the Special Master’s Program, and the University Part-Time Programessentially were unchanged. Those programs involve an application and selec-tion process that TAP does not.

Program administrators aren’t exactly sure as to the reasons behind theincrease but believe that Sandians are responding to Sandia’s emphasis oncontinuous learning and are trying to enhance their skills and become moreflexible and marketable as Laboratory budgets become increasingly tight.

Changes in the worksPrompted by the increased demand, CL&PD is making some changes in

its approach to educational assistance. After benchmarking Sandia’s programsagainst those of some other corporations, CL&PD is planning to align its uni-versity assistance programs with the corporate university partnerships strategybeing developed by the Science, Technology & Engineering Strategic Manage-ment Unit in collaboration with Human Resources. The strategy involvesestablishing enduring partnerships with a focused set of universities to nur-ture talent, collaborative research, and national advocacy. Corporate invest-ments in research, recruiting, and education will be aligned with these sameuniversities. Criteria used to identify this set of universities include academicquality, the universities’ research expertise, the number of hires Sandia has

“Apparently it’s virtually impossibleto keep water from freezing at pres-sures beyond 70,000 atmospheres.”

— Daniel Dolan

Tuition program(Continued from page 1)

In FY06, the number of Sandians participating in theTuition Assistance Program (TAP) unexpectedlyincreased from 420 the previous year to 640 — a morethan 50 percent increase.

made in key disciplines, and diversity.CL&PD is placing more emphasis on regional accreditation of schools as

well as program accreditations such as the Association to Advance CollegiateSchools of Business (AACSB) for business and accounting programs and theAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which accreditsengineering and technology programs.

“We took a hard look at the list with the goal of focusing on universityprograms in key areas and target schools of importance to Sandia and itsmissions,” Charline says. “We want to ensure we’re being efficient andeffective with our budget and at the same time provide a high quality ofeducation for Sandians.”

CL&PD intends to support the TAP participants who are already on anestablished educational path, she adds.

Watch for coverage of further developments in future issues of Lab Newsand the Sandia Daily News.

Q: Under what conditions can full-time salaried employees or postdocs workfrom home for an extended time (9 months or more)? Is there an approval process?

A: Under CPR300.6.30, regular (full-time and part-time) employees,and temporary employees (such as recurrent staff, postdocs, faculty sabbati-cal appointees, limited-term employees, and student interns at the under-graduate and graduate level) may apply for telecommuting with theirimmediate manager. The ability of the company to allow telecommuting isbased on many factors and considerations with the primary factor beingthe needs of the business. In many cases, the work to be completed maynot be done off-site and telecommuting is simply not an option. In othercases, partial telecommuting may be allowed contingent on the availabilityof resources to complete the work and other factors. Telecommuting is aprogram that balances the needs of an employee with the requirements ofthe company, with company requirements and needs taking precedence.

The approval process consists of requesting a telecommuting arrange-ment from the manager and discussing what work will be completed, howprogress will be measured, how contact will be maintained similar toworking on site, how often and when the employee will telecommute(e.g., each Monday), etc. If the request is approved by the manager, aTelecommuter’s Authorization form is completed and submitted beforeany telecommuting arrangement can begin. If the off-site work location isoutside of New Mexico or California the employee will need both themanager’s and director’s approval.

For telecommuting arrangements that are not regularly scheduledwork hours (core hours must be in accordance with CPR300.4.1,“Hours of Work”), you would need to follow the exception process andgo through HR vice presidential signature approval. For further infor-mation on our telecommuting policy, go to:www-irn.sandia.gov/hr/policies/Benefits/Time/telcomut.htm.

It is management’s and the telecommuter’s responsibility to terminatethe agreement when he/she no longer telecommutes by terminating theagreement and sending it to the telecommuting coordinator. Failure tocomplete this important step may create negative tax complications for theemployee as well as financial risk for the company.

— BJ Jones, Director (3500)

What’s the rule on full-timeemployees working from home

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 5

Water study(Continued from page 1)

while the treatment and distribution of water isequally dependent upon readily available, low-cost energy.”

The report, Energy Demands on WaterResources: Report to Congress on the Interdependencyof Energy and Water, was prepared in response toa letter from the chairmen and ranking membersof the House and Senate Subcommittees onEnergy and Water Development Appropriationsdated Dec. 9, 2004. It was approved by DOE onJan. 12, sent to Congress Jan. 17, and publiclyreleased on Feb. 8.

Mike Hightower (6332) coauthored the report.“As population has increased, demand for

energy and water has grown,” the report says.“Competing demands for water supply are

affecting the value and availability of theresource. The operation of some energy facilitieshas been curtailed due to water concerns, andsiting [building] and operation of new energyfacilities must take into account the value ofwater resources.”

Chris says that in preparing the report, itbecame obvious the availability of adequate watersupplies has an impact on the availability ofenergy, and energy production and generationactivities affect the availability and quality ofwater. This becomes particularly alarming as pop-ulations grow in water-scarce regions of the coun-try like the South and Southwest where demandfor power is increasing.

Water used throughout energy sectorWater is used throughout the energy sector,

including resource extraction, refining and pro-cessing, electric power generation, storage, andtransport. Large energy-related facilities, such aspower plants, mines, and refineries can have a

significant impact on local water supplies andwater quality.

US Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.), rankingmember of the Senate Energy and NaturalResources Committee, says the report should“serve as a wake-up call to those working to diver-sify our nation’s energy supply.”

“Those of us from the West already knowhow real the threat of limited water availabilityis,” he says. “But the rest of the country shouldalso be concerned because water is increasinglyrelied on in every aspect of energy production.”

The report notes that thermoelectric powergeneration accounts for 39 percent of all fresh-water withdrawals and 20 percent of all nonagri-cultural water consumption in the US. If newpower plants continue to be built with evapora-tive cooling, consumption of water for electricalenergy production could more than double from3.3 billion gallons a day used in 1995 to about 7.3billion gallons a day by 2030. This would be equalto the entire country’s domestic water consump-tion in 1995.

Alternatives: Solar, windOn a positive note, there are a number of

alternatives to producing electricity that do notuse much water, including wind and solar energy— although they do not necessarily produce theelectricity when it is most needed.

“More importantly, while not much water iscurrently consumed in producing transportationfuels, future transportation production fuels maybe obtained from the production of biofuels,hydrogen, and coal liquefaction, all of whichrequire more water than is used now in refiningpetroleum,” Chris says. “And there are no easysolutions.”

Mike says that in their research for the report,they discovered that “water managers and energymanagers don’t necessarily talk to each other.They don’t take a cooperative system-levelapproach to energy and water management.”

“If the energy companies and water compa-nies don’t work together to resolve joint issues,we see big problems over the next 25 years,” Mikesays. “They are going to have to look at theirwater and energy needs in unison, rather thanfollowing the current US path of managing waterand energy separately.”

Talk on energy and water issues

The next Technology Symposium will featureMike Hightower (6332) talking about emergingtrends in water resourceavailability and utiliza-tion. He’ll also discussthe recent Energy andWater Research andDevelopment Roadmapeffort coordinated bySandia with supportfrom all the national lab-oratories. The roadmapis designed to help thenation improve naturalresources planning andaddress long-termenergy and water secu-rity and reliability. Mike’s talk, “At the Cross-roads: Water Resource Impacts on Future EnergyReliability,” will be presented at an UnclassifiedUnlimited Release level in the Steve SchiffAuditorium March 26, noon-1 p.m.

Technology symposium

• Arizona rejected a permit for a proposedpower plant because of potential impact on alocal aquifer.

• Idaho opposed two proposed powerplants because of impact on aquifers.

• As a result of a 1999 drought, water-dependent industries along the SusquehannaRiver reported difficulty getting sufficient water

supplies to meet operational needs.• Low water on the Missouri River leads to

high pumping energy, blocked screens, lowerefficiency, load reduction, or shutdown atpower plants.

• Southern States Energy Board memberscited water availability as a key factor in the per-mitting process for new merchant power plants.

Examples of energy-water conflicts

MIKE HIGHTOWER

ENERGY PRODUCTION AND WATER USE are inextricably linked. A report to Congress by DOE, written with keyinput from Sandia researchers, calls attention to the often overlooked relationship and its implications for nationalenergy and water policy. (Photo courtesy of Perstorp)

“More importantly, while not muchwater is currently consumed in pro-ducing transportation fuels, futuretransportation production fuelsmay be obtained from the produc-tion of biofuels, hydrogen, and coalliquefaction, all of which requiremore water than is used now inrefining petroleum.”

— Chris Cameron

“Those of us from the West alreadyknow how real the threat of limitedwater availability is. But the rest ofthe country should also be concernedbecause water is increasingly relied onin every aspect of energy production.”

— US Sen. Pete Domenici

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 6

Sandia makes considerable stridesin assessment of diversity maturity

Jumping from a score of 2.2 in 2005 to 3.3 in2006 on a scale of 5.0 in the Lockheed MartinDiversity Maturity Model (DMM) assessment,Sandia has made considerable strides in assessingthe Labs’ diversity progress.

That is according to Margaret Harvey, man-ager of Diversity, EEO & AA Services Dept. 3512.

“We did significantly better this yearas a result of commitment on thepart of Sandia leadership to diver-sity, as well as an improvedprocess for responding to theassessment,” she says. “Inaddition, we were much bet-ter at documenting ourprocesses relevant to ourdiversity efforts, better atcommunicating processeffectiveness and impact tothe peer reviewers.”

This is the third yearSandia and other LockheedMartin companies have partic-ipated in the Diversity MaturityModel, an assessment process tomeasure an organization’s progressand maturity in creating an inclusiveenvironment. In 2006, all the participating busi-ness units showed improvements in their ratings.

According to Lockheed Martin Chairman andPresident Bob Stevens upon announcing the 3.2achieved by the corporation as a whole, a “threeon the Diversity Maturity Model scale means anorganization has reached a level where diversityand inclusiveness are embraced.”

Rochelle Lari (3512), diversity program leadfor the Labs, says that Sandia’s 2006 assessmentefforts involved “a lot more rigor” than in theprevious two years, engaging a broader set of sub-ject matter experts, as well as adding pink and redteam reviewers, and involved leadership fromsenior management.

“It took us a full year to prepare for and par-ticipate in the assessment,” she says. “We hadmonthly subject-matter meetings attended by avariety of people ranging from representatives ofthe student intern program to supplier diversity,recruiting, mentoring, EEO, diversity, and corpo-rate quality processes, and external customersatisfaction.”

The Diversity Maturity Model takes a three-pronged approach:

• Diversity self-assessment. Theassessment of processes and their

effectiveness is determined byresponses to more than 70

questions in the areas of lead-ership commitment, organi-zation climate and culture,workforce strategy anddevelopment, and cus-tomer experience manage-ment. Sandia’s responses tothe questions includedsome 315 pieces of evidence.

The self-assessment wasreviewed and validated by a

Lockheed Martin peer reviewteam, which conducted on-site vis-

its to 14 business areas/units duringthe fall of 2006.

• Employee survey. The survey measuresemployee perspectives regarding leadership com-mitment, organization climate and culture, work-force strategies and development, and customerexperience management with questions related tomanager accountability, reward and recognitionfor good work, respect for employee ideas, andcreating a work environment for company loy-alty, for example. It was sent to 50 percent of theregular workforce, randomly selected, betweenAug. 30 and Sept. 20, and at Sandia had a 38percent response rate.

• Objective data adder (score adjusted up to0.5 points, plus or minus). This looked at dataconcerning the hiring and retention of minorities,

women, and short-service employees. Sandia’sscore included a 0.15 adder based on performanceagainst pre-established standards.

New in 2006 were two internal reviews, donebefore the Lockheed Martin peer review team vis-ited for the formal review. The internal reviewsinvolved a “pink” team that did a preliminaryreview and a “red” team that did a final reviewprior to submission of the self-assessment.

Rochelle says that last year, the second yearof the assessment, 80 percent of participatingbusiness units failed to meet their targets, withmany scores falling from the first year’s assess-ment. That prompted Rochelle and others fromacross the enterprise to participate in a processimprovement review. Several improvements wereadapted, including:

• On-site peer reviews with reviewers repre-senting the various Lockheed Martin businessareas.

• Leadership at each of the visited sites couldmeet with the peer reviewers and had the oppor-tunity to provide an overview of the business anddiscuss their commitments to diversity. At Sandia,Labs President Tom Hunter and HumanResources VP Kimberly Adams met with the peerreviewers to discuss the nature of the work atSandia and to share their views of diversity.

“Lockheed Martin listened and implementedthese suggestions,” Rochelle says.

All the Lockheed companies are now on trackfor the fourth DMM assessment in 2007. At Sandiathe associated action plan will include studyingcomments provided by members of the workforceon last year’s survey. This involves some 905comments about what at Sandia contributes to aninclusive work environment, and 808 commentsabout what needs to be improved.

“While our Diversity Model score improvedgreatly between 2005 and 2006, we still havemuch work to do in these dynamic times toensure continued progress toward a more inclu-sive work environment that supports highperformance,” Margaret says.

Labs jumps from score of 2.2 to 3.3 in annual Lockheed Martin Diversity Maturity Model assessment

By Chris Burroughs

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is April 26

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Daywill be held April 26 at both Sandia/New Mexicoand Sandia/California.

Sandia employees and contractors can invitechildren to visit their workplace and learn moreabout their parents’ work and Sandia’s mission.This can be an avenue to encourage students topursue science, technology, engineering, andmath careers.

Children in grades six through 12 are invitedto attend and guests can include children, rela-tives, or friends. (For California details, see boxbelow right.)

The decision to combine events was madebased on several factors, among them easingimpact on local schools, hosting employees, andline organizations. The combined event also pro-vides an equal opportunity for both sons anddaughters to attend on the same day.

This year, eligibility is based on school gradeand not on age. In past years, 800 to 900 childrenages 9-15 attended the separate events. Because itwould be difficult to accommodate 1,800 chil-dren on one day, restrictions on grades weremade, organizers say. The final decision was madebased on employee input. Management approvalis required for all guests.

Foreign national guests will need anapproved Foreign National Request (FNR) and

Security Plan (SP) for access to all locations visited.The FNR and SP should be submitted five to 20days (depending on criteria) prior to the event toallow time for processing and approval. Contactthe Foreign Interactions office helpline at844-8263 for further information.

Registration will take place in the Bldg. 825(TTC) lobby and Bldg. 10600 (IPB, Research Park)from 6:30-9:30 a.m.

In addition to presentations around the Labs,activities will be held at Hardin Field 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Lunch will be served at Hardin Field, Area 4,and Thunderbird Cafe from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

All information and registration forms will beavailable on the web teaser scheduled to go up thefirst of April. The website will also include a pub-lished schedule of activities and a Kids Zone whereguests can find out more about the day’s events.

If you are interested in hosting an activity ora booth, contact your division representative.

By Iris Aboytes

This year’s activities will be targeted at 8- to 12-year-olds. Children ages 13-17 are welcome; how-ever, the primary function for this age group will be job shadowing.

If you would like your child to attend, fill out a registration form and send it to Theresa Price atthe Badge Office, MS 9113. All registration forms are due at the Badge Office no later than close ofbusiness April 5. Registration forms for foreign national children are needed by March 19.

For questions or a registration form, contact Kristi Miller at 294-6205 or Shannon Yeoman at 294-6840.

Sandia/California Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Planning CommitteeAmy Tapia, CoordinatorRobin JessenMachelle KarlerLori CarrollErnest Sanchez

Division RepresentativesDebra Chavez 1000Rachel Wilson 2000Shannon Delgado 2000Lupita Serna 3000Elissa Thompson 4000Kathryn Crowder 5000Carmen Good 6000Stephanie Cotinola 10000Debbie Chavez 10000Richie Spangler 10000Katherine Rivera 10000Tiffany Aragon 12000

Changes make way into Sandia’s ethics cultureDirector Carol Yarnall wants to make center more proactive in advancing ethics considerations

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 7

Since Carol Yarnall (12400) became directorof the new Ethics and Business Conduct Center,changes are making their way into Sandia’sethics culture.

The changes are showing up in more con-tacts with the Ethics Office and people in generalbeing more aware of what is ethical businessbehavior, Carol says.

“Sandians are beginning to realize that notonly is the quality of our technical results impor-tant, but how we behave to achieve those resultsis equally, or perhaps even more, important,” shesays. “Our center is trying to be more proactivein getting the word out that Sandia takes ethicsand the way it conducts its business seriously.

We encourage people to call us with any ques-tions they might have — no matter how trivialthey may seem.”

The Ethics and Business Conduct Center wasformed in early fiscal year 2006 when the EthicsOffice was separated from the Audit Center. Theintent was to make ethics more visible; to pro-vide independence for fraud, waste, and abuseinvestigations; to be the focus for all Sandia per-sonnel-related investigations; to ensure consis-tent processes; to collect and analyze investiga-tive data; and to provide administrative supportfor the Sandia Ombuds office.

Among the changes and activities that havetaken place with Carol at the helm of the newcenter are:

• Talking to leaders around the Labs about

the impact of ethics and business conduct onLabs’ business.

• Revamping ethics and business conducttraining for new hires and new managers.

• Activating an Executive Business ConductAdvisory Council to review data never compiledbefore and provide guidance and oversight forthe center and investigative functions at Sandia.

• Initiating an award program to recognizeindividuals doing the “right thing.”

Carol says that so often the Ethics Office isviewed as looking for the negative, and “wewanted to change that image.” To achieve thatgoal the office recently established a new pro-gram to promote positive ethical behavior. If anemployee knows of or observes someone demon-strating an act of positive ethical behavior, he orshe should let the Ethics Office know. This could

include an action such as accidentally denting aneighboring car and leaving a note with yourname and phone number. After receiving thereport, the Ethics Office will recognize the indi-vidual’s positive behavior with a letter of appreci-ation from executive management.

A place at the tableCarol, who became center director after serv-

ing as executive staff director for several years,remains a member of the Labs Leadership Team,which she says is very appropriate because“ethics should have a place at the table.” Shesees her role as serving as Sandia’s conscience,helping to ensure that ethics and corporatevalues are part of executive decisions.

Sandia’s ethics program is modeled afterLockheed Martin’s, which has been recognized asone of the best in the country by the Society ofHuman Resources Management.

“We have a close working relationship withLockheed Martin’s ethics program and commu-

nicate with them daily,” Carol says. “They over-see our ethics program, provide a critical reviewof our investigations and guidance requests, andset goals for us around case closure time and theinvestigative process.”

Additionally, Corporate Investigations has aclose relationship with the Sandia Site Office,ensuring they are aware of Sandia’s cases. Cor-porate Investigations also maintains frequentcommunication with the office of the DOEInspector General (IG) regarding fraud, waste,and abuse cases. Criminal cases are automati-cally referred to the IG to determine the properinvestigative office.

Two senior managers lead the day-to-dayfunctions of the center. They are Doug Nordquistof the Ethics Office (12410) and Chris Padilla ofCorporate Investigations (12420).

Doug says the Ethics Office provides train-ing, advice, and guidance and also investigatesallegations of ethical misconduct. People cananonymously or openly call the Ethics Office.

“Our office wants to foster a free and openatmosphere that allows and encourages employ-ees to make inquiries, express work-related con-cerns regarding ethics issues, or report businessethics violations or violations of law, regulations,policies, or procedures without fear of retributionor retaliation,” Doug says.

327 requests for guidanceIn FY06 the Ethics Office answered 327

requests for guidance and investigated 35 cases.Hiring or job placement, interpersonal skills, andcharging practices were the top three allegations.Of the 35 ethics cases officially investigated,eight resulted in discipline actions, including onesuspension and seven oral reprimands.

The Investigations Office, headed by Chris,investigated 13 cases, conducted 40 preliminaryinquiries, and forwarded 165 security concerns tothe DOE Personnel Security Department. As aresult of these investigations, nine persons wereterminated, one retired, one received a letter ofreprimand, and one was suspended for a day.The 13th case resulted in three contractor per-sonnel being terminated by their companies.

In FY06, approximately $329,000 in lost,missing, or stolen Sandia or US governmentproperty was reported to Corporate Investiga-tions by members of the workforce. Electronicequipment was the largest category of itemsreported with 28 computers and nine Blackber-ries/personal digital assistants (PDAs) lost or stolen.

A number of these losses occurred duringtravel and in the course of residential and autoburglaries. Because of the valuable informationstored on these items, Chris encourages employ-ees to take extra security precautions with thesedevices.

Carol says the Ethics and Business ConductCenter is positioned to help navigate issuesinvolving conflict, legal or policy violations, orunethical behavior.

“We want to ensure that Sandia’s customerscan be confident that Sandia is a high-integritylaboratory, and when issues do arise they cantrust that Sandia will deal with them in a timely,objective, and fair manner,” she says.

Contacting Sandia’s Ethicsand Business Conduct Office• Sandia Ethics Helpline — 505-844-1744• Sandia Corporate Investigations

Hotline — 505-845-9900• Lockheed Martin Ethics Helpline —

800-563-8442• DOE/NNSA Employee Concerns

Program Hotline — 800-688-5713• DOE Office of Inspector General —

800-541-1625

www-irn.sandia.gov/ethics

Five Sandians were recently recognizedby the Laboratory Leadership Team by nomi-nation for The Chairman’s Award honoring“extraordinary actions or behavior” thatexemplify the Lockheed Martin commitmentto “Setting the Standard” for ethical businessconduct and integrity.

John (Jack) Loye (10320) was selected asthe Sandia submission to Lockheed MartinInformation & Technology Services (I&TS)for ensuring that ES&H decisions are care-fully thought through, researched, and mostimportantly adhere to the principle of“doing the right thing.”

The other nominees were WilliamMoffatt (12337), Karon Ely (9241), AnnetteSobel (303), and Tracy Garcia (8528). Theywere recognized for not settling for the statusquo, being honest in times of disagreement,exhibiting a principle-based approach inmaintaining and fostering program develop-ment contacts, and identifying and resolvingareas of concern.

Five Sandians recognizedfor ethical behavior

“Sandians are beginning to realize that not only is thequality of our technical results important, but how webehave or achieve those results is equally, or perhapseven more, important. . . . We encourage people tocall us with any questions they might have — nomatter how trivial they may seem.”

— Carol Yarnall, director, Ethics and Business Conduct

By Chris Burroughs

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodeswill lecture and sign books at the NationalAtomic Museum March 17, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.Rhodes is the authorof 21 books, includ-ing The Making of theAtomic Bomb, whichwon the 1988Pulitzer Prize fornonfiction, the 1987National Book Awardand the NationalBook Critics CircleAward.

Rhodes alsowrote Dark Sun: TheMaking of the Hydro-gen Bomb andrecently finished a third volume of nuclear his-tory, Arsenals of Folly: Nuclear Weapons in theCold War, which examines the international pol-itics of nuclear weapons in the last years of theCold War.

Admission for the lecture is $5 for adults and$4 for seniors and youth. Copies of Rhodes’ bookscan be purchased at the museum gift store. Formore information, contact Becky Kenny (3656) at245-2137, extension 102, or rekenny@sandia.gov.

Author of ‘Making of the AtomicBomb’ to speak at NationalAtomic Museum March 17

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 8

Sandia team tests new modified MiniSAR sensor that could detect buried or bridged crevasses

MMiissssiioonn:: AAnnttaarrccttiiccaaSANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 9

In one of the coldest parts of the world, four Sandia researchersrecently took advantage of what is considered to be one of thewarmest time of the year in Antarctica late last year.

At peak temperatures of 35 degrees outside with the sun shiningcontinuously, the researchers worked diligently on a highly plannedproject. There was no room for error or equipment failures becausethere is no overnight express to Antarctica.

The goal of the mission was to test a Sandia-modified miniaturizedsynthetic aperture radar (MiniSAR) prototype sensor that could detectburied or bridged crevasses for the New York Air National Guard(NYANG). Flying for the National Science Foundation, the Air Guardmust land planes safely in this remote area of Antarctica. The use ofthe Sandia sensor would augment or replace the present method ofmanually finding the crevasses.

“We were highly successful in demonstrating our ability to detectsnow-covered crevasses in Antarctica using Sandia’s MiniSAR crevassedetection radar,” says Tim Mirabal (5341), project manager.

The Antarctica team, led by Grant Sander (5342), included JeffBradley (5338), Doug Bickel (5354), and Jeffrey Bach (5345). The teamleft on Thanksgiving Day 2006 and stayed there for nearly three weeks.

Technical homeworkSandia began working on the crevasse detection radar (CDR) in

March 2006 when funding was received from New York Air NationalGuard to create a system using Sandia’s existing MiniSAR technology.

The first step was to change the normal KU-band frequency toX-band. KU-band frequency is 12 to 18 GHz and X-band frequency is8 to 12 GHz. A lower frequency was needed to penetrate the snow. Thesnow in Antarctica is unique in the world as it is very dry; whether theradar would perform as well in other climates would need to be investigated,says Tim.

The team built an external X-band converter and changed thefront-end components as well. New engineering had to be done inorder to accommodate the X-band frequency.

A gimbal arm and electronics were redesigned to allow free move-ment and antenna balance. The design had to allow for easy assemblyand disassembly, says Grant.

“We were able to grow the gimbal assembly and make it performbetter,” says Tim. “This included rerouting the wiring.”

In addition, the team developed specifications for data formats,mechanical and electrical components for installation on the plane,and software tools to review the data.

The technical design team, consisting of more than 30 Sandians,worked for 10 months to meet the objectives of the project. The teambuilt two systems, with one serving as a backup.

“Being that far away, it was good to have a complete spare in yourback pocket,” says Grant.

Jeffrey Bach, who served as hardware specialist on the trip, says therealso was a potential interference problem from the radar system, but thesolution didn't arrive in time to apply it before shipping the radar.

“Luckily, my skills weren’t needed, as the hardware performedwell,” says Jeffrey. “I made myself useful in other ways, such as helpingto retrieve radar targets from the field at midnight, with the sun stillshining brightly.”

Road to AntarcticaThe hidden crevasse problem was first brought to Sandia’s atten-

tion in 1999 when the Guard needed assistance in locating deep cracksin the ice. The crevasses made it difficult and dangerous to land air-planes. Historically, millions of dollars have been lost due to crevasse-related incidents. Not until Sandia developed the MiniSAR could theGuard afford to demonstrate CDR technology.

The NYANG uses the LC-130 aircraft, which has special landinggear, to operate off the snow and ice at McMurdo Station, Antarctica’slargest community. McMurdo is built on the bare volcanic rock of HutPoint Peninsula on Ross Island, the farthest south solid ground accessi-ble by ship. McMurdo, established in 1956, has grown from an outpostof a few buildings to more than 100 structures including a harbor, anoutlying airport with landing strips on sea ice and shelf ice, and a heli-copter pad. There are above-ground water, sewer, telephone, and powerlines linking buildings. During the winter about 200 to 400 peoplework at McMurdo, swelling to some 1,500 people in the summer.

The team flew commercial airlines from Los Angeles to Auckland,New Zealand, then on to Christchurch, New Zealand. From Christchurchthey took an eight-hour military LC-130 flight to McMurdo.

Before arriving at McMurdo the researchers underwent numerousand extensive physical and dental exams. Each team member had abackup who also went through the rigorous exams as if they weregoing. They included Marty Thompson (5348), Mike Pedroncelli(5338), Tim Bielek (5342), Steve Reber (5342), Phil Kahle (5334), andMike Taylor (5342).

At Christchurch they were fitted for extreme cold-weather gear andupon arrival at McMurdo they participated in a two-day “Snow Craft 1”boot camp — also known as “happy camper school.” The camp pre-pared the team on what to expect and taught them various safety andsurvival techniques.

The hunt for crevasses “Most people don’t realize how large Antarctica is because of it being

at the bottom of the globe,” says Grant. “This is the area that the Guard isdealing with when it comes to the remote sites that they need to supply.”

The crew collected data in several locations including McMurdoStation, Pegasus Wreck, Shear Zone (Mina Bluff Area), Shear ZoneTraverse, and Taylor Dome.

“First we mapped McMurdo, Scott Base, and the nearby pressureridge. Then we flew the Pegasus Wreck site, where our corner reflectorarray and junk pile were located, says Jeff, who served as test planner,motion measurement operator while flying on the aircraft, morale offi-cer, and snow shovel operator.

Data was sent from the detection radar to an office at McMurdo

where Doug served as on-ground support analyst.Doug pieced the data together to create coherent maps of the sur-

veyed areas. “Piecing the data together using software was a difficult task,”Doug says. “But the software was able to receive high volumes of data.”

On one day, the researchers were able to conduct two flights whilemapping two 5- by 5-nautical mile areas. The 5- by 5-mile area was a goal setby the Guard to find a suitable spot to land in the vicinity of a remote camp.

“We saw crevasses from the first patch of radar data onward,” Jeffsays. “The first area was at the Shear Zone, an area where multiple glaci-ers come together and flow in parallel. There is a road bladed into it, anattempt to build a road to the South Pole. It has not been maintainedthis year, but we think we saw it anyway in the radar data. This couldn’tbe seen by the naked eye.”

The “Tres Hermanas” crevasses, selected by Guard customers Maj.Mark Armstrong and Maj. Walter Hallman, were studied closely. Thethree crevasses are difficult to visualize from the air and are located in afairly flat area that represents a possible location to land LC-130 air-craft. The Tres Hermanas are relatively narrow — around four meterswide — and are covered with a snow bridge. Loose snow blows acrossand camouflages the crevasse, making it look like all the other terrain,especially from the air. The bridge in these crevasses is very loose snowand only a couple meters deep.

“Maj. Armstrong, who is also an LC-130 pilot, was thrilled that wecould detect these crevasses using the CDR, especially because of theirsize and the difficulty in seeing them from the air,” says Tim.

CDR outcomes“The Antarctica MiniSAR CDR can identify hidden threats, clearly

show hazards, and effectively covers large areas,” says Tim.“The efficacy of the sensor for this application has now been

proven,” Jeff says. “I hope the project has the opportunity to carry for-ward to a fully fieldable system that the Guard can use to make its jobof supplying the remote camps and conducting emergency operationssafer and more efficient.”

Another successful part of the trip was gathering radar imagery ofAntarctica, says Jeff.

“We experienced excellent weather, infinite visibility, and fantasticscenery,” Jeff says. “And of course cool SAR imagery.”

CDR outlook Since Sandia has successfully demonstrated the ability to see buried

crevasses, the team continues to work to sell the capability and securefunding to begin the integration of the CDR on the LC-130 aircraft.

Funding has been set aside to begin analyzing the data obtained inAntarctica and start addressing the integration activity.

“Integration will be a challenge as a lot of work is still necessary tomake the CDR ruggedized and user friendly, but we’re up for the task,”says Tim. “The MiniSAR CDR has other applications, such as day ornight search and rescue, a capability the Guard needs. And we willcontinue to assist them.”

Story by Michael PadillaPhotos by the Antarctic team

TRES HERMANAS — The image below left shows an X-bandsynthetic aperture view of Tres Hermanas (three sisters).The three crevasses are located in a fairly flat area thatwould superficially appear to be a possible location to landLC-130 aircraft. From the air and with the unaided eye,

however, the crevasses are hard pick out (especially in unfa-vorable lighting conditions) making landings in unfamiliarareas a bit uncertain. The MiniSAR imagery gives a newlevel of confidence to pilots. The image below right gives aground-level view of one of the Tres Hermanas crevasses.

On the cold tundra near the Arctic Ocean innorthern Alaska, researchers from around

the world are transforming scientists’ under-standing of what the future may hold for theEarth’s climate.

Located just east of Barrow along the coastof the Chukchi Sea,the North Slope ofAlaska (NSA) site’sunique locationprovidesresearchers with arare, ground-basedwindow into thecloud and radiativeprocesses that takeplace in the earth’satmosphere at highlatitudes. Theresearch performedhere has resulted inNSA arguably beingtoday’s most suc-cessful atmosphericresearch program.

“What makes the North Slope site importantis that climate processes differ depending onwhere on Earth they occur,” says Bernie Zak(6338), science liaison for the North Slope site.“At the North Slope and in other cold regions,different processes are important because waterthere is mostly in solid, rather than liquid, form.”

Sponsored by DOE’s Office of Science andmanaged by its Office of Biological and Environ-mental Research, NSA is one of three globallocales operated by the Atmospheric RadiationMeasurement (ARM) Program’s national user

facility for interdisciplinarystudies of earth systems, theARM Climate Research Facility(ACRF). Along with sites in theUS southern Great Plains andthe tropical western Pacific,these primary, fixed locationsare equipped with an extensivearray of instruments for obtain-ing atmospheric data. In 2005,the ACRF added a mobilefacility to its suite of researchcapabilities.

“Using a closely integratedteam of national laboratorypartners, the ACRF provides the complex physi-cal infrastructure and data systems needed for

national and international research effortsrelated to global climate change,” says Mark Ivey(6338), NSA site manager for the ACRF. “We

provide the facilities,support, and atmosphericmeasurement data for aninternational group ofscientists. At the NSA,we’ve also been incredi-bly fortunate in receivingthe support of nativeInuit — what we callEskimo — communitiesin the vicinity of thesite.”

Researchers on iceExtending south to

the vicinity of Atqasuk,west to Wainwright, andeast toward Oliktok, the

extended NSAlocale has become amodern-day centerfor atmosphericand ecologicalresearch activity.These high lati-tudes are receivingincreased attentionby climateresearchers as theywork to betterunderstand theinteractions of theatmosphere-land-

ocean system. The Arctic, specifically, is predictedto undergo more intense warming than any otherregion on earth because water undergoes a spe-cific seasonal phase change there. Scientific evi-dence indicates, in fact, that this warming isalready happening.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 10

Arctic dreams

Growing our understanding of climate change Alaskan North Slope site offers new insights to climate researchers

Mark Ivey’s first job with the AtmosphericRadiation Measurement program was to managethe team that integrated and tested the firstAtmospheric, Radiation, and Cloud Station(ARCS) mobile instrumentation unit.

“The first ARCS ended up in the tropicalwestern Pacific,” says Mark. “We had a greatteam that worked on the ARCS unit at a sitenear the Eubank gate at 20th and H streets.”

The extended ARCS team included col-leagues from Los Alamos, Argonne, PacificNorthwest, Brookhaven, Oak Ridge, and theNational Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Work at the ARCS integration and testingsite came to an end in late 2000 or early 2001after the ARCS was deployed to other locationsaround the globe.

“We integrated and tested the Polar ARCS(or PARCS) at the North Slope of Alaska sitewith help from our colleagues at the PacificNorthwest National Lab,” says Mark. “ThePARCS was a polar version of the ARCS that wasused on the icebreaker for the Surface Heat Bud-get of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) experiment,where an icebreaker was driven into the packice and left there for a year. An internationalteam, including researchers sponsored by ARM,investigated the arctic atmosphere and oceanfrom onboard that ship. That PARCS’ instru-mentation was placed at the NSA in Atqasukafter the SHEBA experiment concluded.”

Born at Sandia, raised in the Arctic

By Darrick Hurst

(Continued on next page)

“What makes the North Slope siteimportant is that climate processesdiffer depending on where on Earththey occur. At the North Slope andin other cold regions, differentprocesses are important becausewater there is mostly in solid,rather than liquid, form.”

— Bernie Zak

INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS near Barrow, Alaska,gather data useful in refining global climatemodels. (Photo by Mark Ivey)

MARK IVEY at the North Slope site.(Photo by Eli Mlawer)

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SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 11

“The arid cold during winter at the NorthSlope provides a ‘window’ into space,” saysBernie. “Under these conditions, infrared radiantenergy can escape more easily through the atmos-phere — it’s something that’s part of the earth’snatural energy balance. This is one of the waysthat high latitudes are quite different from tem-

perate or tropical regions, and reinforces theimportance of our research here.”

The value of these different regional factors isthat the researchers have the chance to study howlongwave energy gets trapped to varying degreesinside the atmosphere by different conditions

from chemical con-stituents thatinclude watervapor, carbon diox-ide, methane,nitrous oxide, chlo-rofluorocarbons,and liquid waterdroplets thatabsorb the energyemitted by the sur-face of the Earth.

“Essentially,our work at thesefacilities enables usto contribute toimprovements inclimate models thatsimulate global cli-mate change,”Bernie says.

Such global cli-mate models are tools for calculating atmos-pheric, land, and oceanic conditions all over theearth. By providing cloud and radiative transferinformation to climate modelers, say Bernie andMark, the site’s data will help to improve the per-formance of general-circulation and related mod-els of the atmosphere as tools for predicting

future global and regional climate changes.“Because the North Slope site is fairly cold

year-round, we often observe clouds that are com-posed of ice or ice and water in mixed phases,” saysMark. “In 2004, the ACRF sponsored a field experi-ment to specifically study mixed-phase clouds inthe arctic. The results of the Mixed-Phase ArcticCloud Experiment — or MPACE — have changedour understanding of arctic clouds and how theyshould be represented in climate models.”

“Our high-latitude NSA location also allowsresearchers the opportunity to study surface opti-cal properties with and without snow and/or icecover as a function of temperature history,” saysBernie. “Snow and ice surfaces are more reflectiveto visible light than soil or vegetation, and thatplays an important role in high latitude andglobal climate.”

A strong indicator of the value of the site’swork is the number of researchers who make useof the data obtained there. Academic, foreign,domestic, and other researchers from many differ-ent areas of research use data collected from theNSA. Many also come to the site for field cam-paigns to temporarily add their own unique mea-surement capabilities to the existing instrumenta-tion suite and study specific phenomena.

“People are still publishing peer-reviewed arti-cles based on the 2004 MPACE data,” says Bernie.“We found far fewer ice nuclei than had beenexpected — that is, far fewer aerosol particlescapable of nucleating ice crystals. This means thatwater was staying liquid even at very low temper-atures. That has direct implications, not only forclimate, but for the Federal Aviation Administra-tion as well, because when this liquid watercomes into contact with planes, it instantly con-verts to ice. These icing conditions can bringdown aircraft.”

“Our work isn’t just limited to climateresearch,” says Mark. “The Army has doneresearch on the atmospheric phenomena thatcause the twinkling of the night sky, and howdistant objects can be seen more easily throughthe atmosphere at certain times of the day, undercertain meteorological conditions. Our locationand instruments at the North Slope provide datasets that are useful to a wide range of researchinterests. That is one of the reasons the NSAlocale was chosen as part of the ACRF.”

At the end of a hard day of work, Bernie andMark say the thing they’re most grateful for is thecaliber of the team members they work with.

“The NSA is a cold place with a lot of equip-ment and little in the way of creature comforts —without guys like Jeff Zirzow (6338), and our localnative technicians, Walter Brower and JimyIvanoff, I don’t know how we’d get anythingdone,” says Mark.

Climate study(Continued from preceding page)

2007 marks the International Polar Year(IPY), when scientists the world over will focusresearch on the Arctic and the Antarctic.

This year is also the 50th anniversary of theInternational Geophysical Year (IGY), a similarinternational scientific effort that occurred from1957 to 1958.

Organized through the International Coun-cil for Science Unions (ICSU) and the WorldMeteorological Organization, this is actually thefourth polar year, following those in 1882-1883,1932-1933, and 1957-1958.

In order to have full and equal coverage ofboth the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-2008covers two full annual cycles, from March 2007to March 2009, and will involve more than 200projects, with thousands of scientists from morethan 60 nations examining a wide range of phys-

ical, biological, and social research topics. Similarly, the IGY was proposed by the ICSU

in 1952 and initiated a comprehensive series ofglobal geophysical activities to span the periodJuly 1957-December 1958. The IGY was modeledon the International Polar Years of 1882-1883and 1932-1933, and was intended to allow scien-tists from around the world to take part in aseries of coordinated observations of various geo-physical phenomena. Although representativesof 46 countries originally agreed to participate inthe IGY, by the close of the activity, 67 countrieshad become involved.

The seeds of current concerns about globalclimate change were planted during the IGY.Prior to IGY, it was not known that the burningof fossil fuels was progressively changing thecomposition of the global atmosphere.

International Polar Year and International Geophysical Year

ICEBERG in the Beaufort Sea off the northern coastof Alaska during the Arctic summer.

(Photo courtesy of NOAA)

(Photo by Rune Storvold, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks)

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 12

50 years ago . . . Van de Graff Acceleratorto Be Installed at Sandia — High Voltage Gen-erator for Nuclear Research — A Van de Graffaccelerator for use in radiation physics and chem-istry research by Sandia Corporation scientists inthe testing of various materials will be installed inthe corporation Technical Area I within the nextyear. Plans call for the $120,000 instrument to belocated in a building west of Building 808.Weapons Research Division II (5133) under Dr.Richard S. Claassen is planning the program forthe new facility. Research scientists in this divi-sion will work with personnel of the StanfordResearch Institute in Menlo Park, Calif., at a similarinstallation during the next year to become famil-iar with the instrument and to initiate Sandia’sresearch studies.

40 years ago . . . Sandia to Provide Arming& Firing and Earth Motion Studies for ‘Gas-buggy’ — Two Sandia Field Test Divisions will

participate in Project Gasbuggy — the nation’sfirst experiment using a nuclear explosion in aneffort to stimulate natural gas production. Tenta-tively scheduled for September, the project will beconducted at a site 55 air miles east of Farmington.A 20-kiloton nuclear device will be placed about4,200 feet underground in a low permeability(“tight”) gas producing formation. It is expectedthat the nuclear explosion will fracture the sand-stone gas reservoir sufficiently to release aboutseven times the amount of gas now recoverable atthe site. Rocket Launched into Aurora Borealis— A team of Sandians launched a Nike-Tomahawkrocket into an aurora borealis (northern lights) dis-play Feb. 28 from Fort Churchill, Canada. Therocket carried three Los Alamos Scientific Labora-tory instruments to probe the physics of the auroralsystem. The purpose of the LASL instruments was“to study the unexplored ultraviolet emission ofnatural aurorae in relationship to the visible out-put, and to gain, indirectly, information of themagnitude and energies of the primary particlefluxes.”

30 years ago . . . Labs Has New Role in OilRecovery — DOE recently authorized Sandia Lab-oratories to manage part of the nation’s enhancedoil recovery program, a segment called “DeepSteam.” The Sandia project is funded at $23 mil-lion over the next five years. Advanced Develop-ment Division 5731 under Dick Traeger has donedevelopment work on the project, and the newlyformed Thermal Processes Division 5737 willassume responsibility for the work in the future.“We have a number of objectives,” Dick says,“including the development of a deep downholesteam generator for use in oil wells where eco-nomic oil production has stopped. Heat from thesteam reduces the oil viscosity, and steam pres-sure drives the oil to the producing well.” Elec-tronic Seal Developed for International Agency— An electronic seal, which readily reveals tam-pering has been designed and built at Sandia

Laboratories. A series of laboratory tests on work-ing models is now underway before 10 of theseals are sent this spring to the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for field test. Theseal is the size of a padlock and opens and closeslike one. It employs a 900-strand fiber optic loopas its shackle; both ends connect to a complexelectronics package, which includes a loop integritysensor, display generator, tamper-responding con-tainer, and batteries. Each seal is programmed todisplay unique sequences made up of differentletters and numbers. For each seal, digit changeswill occur at selectable intervals — once every 1,2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 hours. When these tests are com-pleted, 10 units, along with a programmer andverifier package, will be sent to the IAEA, whichwill install the seals at selected locations.

20 years ago . . . Sandia Now in Supercon-ductivity Race — “Overnight success” is usually afigurative phrase, but this time it’s literally true.On March 2, Sandia was not a contender in theongoing race for a really practical superconduc-tive material. By the morning of March 3, Sandiawas moving up fast. The key to the sudden break-through is a new combination of materials. TheJanuary-February progress came from a mixture oflanthanum, barium, and copper oxide. On Tues-day of last week the Sandia scientists had the keyparts of the published report read to them overthe telephonefrom earlyrecipients ofPhysical ReviewLetters on theEast Coast andlearned thatyttrium hadreplaced lan-thanum in thecompoundand, after suit-able anneal-ings, that nightdemonstratedit was super-conductivebetween 93 and 94 K. A potential applicationexciting to Sandia would be linking the zero resis-tance at 77 K with the high-speed strained-layersemiconductor for even faster and more efficientdevices.

10 years ago . . . Arctic Cloud Station:Ambitious Program Puts Atmospheric Radia-tion Measurement Study on Ice . . . InstrumentPackage Assembled at Sandia Heads for ArcticOcean — North to Alaska! That’s the rallying cryof an intrepid band of Sandians and fellowresearchers from DOE, other national labs, uni-versities, and a wide range of government agen-cies as they mount a major campaign to study the

arctic climate. The Sandians are one element of amulti-agency, multipronged, international initia-

tive to scrutinize, with an unprece-dented degree of detail, how high-lati-tude climate works, bringing to theeffort the most sophisticated andadvanced instruments available. Someof those instruments, configured into anintegrated package at Sandia, are boundfor an icebreaker in the Arctic Oceanmore than 400 miles north of Barrow inthe Beaufort Sea. The instruments, to behoused in and around a speciallydesigned shelter, will ride out a full arc-tic year aboard the icebreaker. Theinstruments will gather data as DOE’scontribution to SHEBA, the SurfaceHeat Budget of the Arctic project, spon-sored by the National Science Founda-

tion and the Office of Naval Research to investi-gate predicted changes in the earth’s climate.Sandia is involved in the project through its par-ticipation in DOE’s Atmospheric Radiation Mea-surement (ARM) program. — Janet Carpenter

A SANDIA-LED TEAM prepares a site east of Farming-ton, N.M., for the Gasbuggy project test. Gasbuggywas intended to determine if nuclear explosions couldimprove the yield of natural gas fields.

IN A DESKTOP DEMONSTRATION, a small sam-ple of a new superconductor material, con-nected to a battery and voltmeter, was dippedinto liquid nitrogen in 1987.

GIVING THEIR ALL — Sandia has wonthe Armed Services Blood Program(ASBP) traveling trophy two times in arow. Sandians provided the most pintsof blood for the ASBP in Novemberand January. These blood donations godirectly to military personnel servingoverseas. Colonel James Ice, 377thMedical Group deputy commander,presented the ASBP trophy to Sandia'sKelly Rogers (4329). The trophy isawarded bimonthly to the KAFB ten-ant group with the highest participa-tion in the ASBP blood drive. The ASBPhas its own appointment site with tonsof useful donation information. Clickon the blood drop at the bottom cen-ter of the home page (www.military-blood.dod.mil); on the resulting page,type “Kirtland” in the sponsor codefield to locate blood donation centers.

(Photo by Bill Doty)

Sandia takes lead in Armed Servicesblood donation program

MARK AGUILAR makes adjustments to a cloud radarinstrument in the Portable Arctic Atmospheric Radia-tion and Cloud Station (PAARCS) during predeploy-ment testing and integration in this 1997 photo.

Employee death

Jeneane Taylor was a multifaceted person with a heart of gold

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 13

“Jeneane was a kind and loving person whothought of her co-workers as part of herbig, extended family,”says coworker, Mar-lene Keller. “She wasdedicated and dili-gent in her work anddirect in her speech asshe managed herassignments. Shetreated everyone withkindness andconsideration.”

Jeneane Taylor, senior management assistantto Jim Lee, died Feb. 28. “Jeneane was a tirelessadvocate for employees who faced special chal-lenges,” says Jim. “She served this community aschair of Sandia's Disability Awareness Committee.”

“She was mother hen to those of us in the cen-ter office,” says colleague Elizabeth Scott-Patterson.“As a strong believer in environmental protection,

she set up a recycle station on the second floor andconvinced others to do the same. She wouldremind us to shut off our lights and lock down ourcomputers every time we left our offices. She was astrong advocate of the Americans with DisabilitiesAct because she herself had become disabled after alifetime of battling Type 1 diabetes.

“Jeneane and I shared a wicked sense ofhumor. She had a strong sense of self, and wasalways ready to fight for causes she believed in.Those of us who knew her well knew she had aheart of gold and always put the needs of otherbefore her own,” Elizabeth says.

Mother hen to 1300 Center Office died Feb. 28; fought for causes she believed in

JENEANE TAYLOR

Says her friend Karen Klar, “Jeneane was amultifaceted person possessing talents, kindness,unselfishness, and extending graciousness to allshe encountered. She not only believed in com-passion, she was compassion. She showed this bythe way she lived her life, either by mentoring anew secretary or by offering her home to some-one in need. I am a better person because Jeneanecame into my life.”

“She was a true professional,” says DickSteele. “She would take on a project and makesure everyone looked good. She enjoyed funnystories and always had a twinkle in her eye. Shewas very proud of her family and grandchildren.”

“Jeneane remembered everyone’s birthdays,”says her friend Ruth Smith. “She was a can-do,get-it-done person.”

Jeneane is survived by son Troy and his wifeSandy, son Eric and wife Amy, brother SteveJohnson and his wife Rita, five grandchildren,one great-grandchild, and several nieces andnephews. — Iris Aboytes

“Jeneane and I shared a wickedsense of humor. She had a strongsense of self and was always readyto fight for causes she believed in.”

The March 2 issue of the Lab News featuredan obituary of Sandian Jim Fleming. Jim’s long-time scientific collaborator, former SandianShawn Lin, heard about Jim’s death after the LabNews deadline and was unable to offer his per-sonal remarks. Because of their close and impor-tant working relationship — Jim and Shawn’s1998 Nature paper on 3-D photonic crystals isone of the top 10 cited Sandia materials papersover the past decade — the Lab News offeredShawn the chance to extend his condolences inthis issue. Here are Shawn’s remarks:

“I am writing to remember a dear friend,Dr. Jim Fleming. Jim and I worked closely inadvanced photonics for nearly eight years till2004, when I left Sandia for an academic posi-tion. We had productive times together, winning

several prestigious awards and co-inventing 14patents. Jim was a material scientist by training.But he was more than a scientist. He was themost skillful person that I have ever known in amodern silicon microfabrication laboratory. Jimhad an extraordinary 3-D vision of microstruc-tures. Coupled with his extensive material andfabrication expertise, we realized many of theworld’s firsts that include the first 3-D infraredand optical photonic crystal and the first 3-Dmetallic photonic crystal. These seminal workslaid the foundation for a large-scale photonicintegrated circuit with high speed and low loss, adream of the modern photonic revolution. I amcontinuing to work on this exciting subject andhope to realize in the near future the dream thatJim and I had together.”

Former Sandian Shawn Lin hopes to realizedream he shared with Jim Fleming

Where do you go today as your first stop forinformation — Google or Sandia’s TechnicalLibrary? When was the last time you calledRecorded Information Management to help orga-nize and retain your critical Sandia information?Don Guy, manager of Technical Library Opera-tions Dept. 4536, wants to know.

The Technical Library and Recorded Informa-tion Management (RIM) organizations havelaunched a study to determine how best to sup-

port viable information life cycle management atSandia — cradle to grave, research to publication,creation to disposition.

The Library and RIM are partnering withOutsell to conduct the study. Outsell is a leadingresearch and advisory firm focused exclusively onthe information industry. The objective of thestudy, Don says, is to answer the question, “If wehad to start today, how would we build TechnicalLibrary and Recorded Information Managementfunctions to best support Sandia users’ needs?”

Part of the study will be a survey in which allSandians at all sites can comment about theirinformation needs. A link to the survey will besent in April to all members of the Sandia com-munity. The survey will ask where you go todayto find information and will solicit input on yourneeds and preferences throughout the informa-tion life-cycle process. In addition to the survey,Outsell will conduct focus groups designed toexplore information habits and needs.

“This study,” Don says, “is a watershedmoment in the history of the Technical Libraryand RIM — a ‘clean-slate’ take at forming orrecreating services to meet the informationneeds of all Sandians.”

For more information regarding the study,contact Donald Guy at dwguy@sandia.gov or284-2859.

Back to the Future?Tech Library studytakes a clean-slatelook at new services

“If we had to start today, howwould we build Technical Libraryand Recorded Information Manage-ment functions to best supportSandia users’ needs?”

— Objective of Tech Library survey

Q: In light of the recent bad weather, I’ve noticed that many emergency updates and weather closures aresent to our work email addresses but outside of work hours. Access to work email may be inconvenient or tech-nically impossible for many people. I find it ironic that work email is used for the communication of safety andemergency information after work hours to an audi-ence with limited or inconvenient email accesswhile away from work. This isn’t in the best inter-est of the employees, particularly in light of theimportance of these messages.

Would it be possible to set up a list (voluntarilysubscribed to) that would allow these notices to besent to home email addresses? This would be amore effective way to convey this critically impor-tant information to employees during nonworkhours. In this way, we would be “pushed” thisinformation, when otherwise we wouldn’t know tocheck our company email accounts, and wouldn’thave to repeatedly check the Sandia Line phone sys-tem for messages.

Along these lines, a TXT system whereby thesemessages could be sent to our cell phones (companyowned or private) would be excellent, too.

Given Sandia’s emphasis on employee safety and health, and our innovative and creative approaches to prob-lem solving, it seems that such an email/text messaging system would be a welcome solution, and well worth thecost/effort of implementation.

A: Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. As you stated, notices and emergency messagesare typically sent to all employees via work emails. In addition, they are often sent to each person’swork phone, read on the Sandia radio station (AM 1640), and available on the Sandia Information Lineat 505-845-6789. This way, it is easy for any employee to check on messages from any location includinghome or while on travel. Given the number of options, it is felt that using home emails and cell phonesare unnecessary. — Phil Newman, Director (10300)

Isn’t there a better way to get emergency infoto Sandians during nonwork hours?

SOME SANDIANS say they had trouble getting timelyinformation about weather-related changes in work hours.

Boris Starr25 4512

Christine Roth20 1825

Lars Wells15 5354

Lisa Hooper15 10327

Victor Romanelli25 5623

Sharon Walsh25 4312

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 14

New Mexico photos by Michelle Fleming

Tommy Goolsby20 6752

Chuck Atencio25 10828

Alice Ann Vandevender30 6039

Richard Garcia15 5050

Gene Kallenbach20 5935

Steven Rivera25 4211

Douglas Lawson20 243

Anthony Medina25 5700

G. Kelly Rogers15 4329

Maxine Gallegos15 6038

Terry Garino20 1816

Richard Fate15 6433

Lewis Reif20 5336

Jim Tegnelia20 12190

David Bodette20 5531

Melissa Wilson20 2124

Joan Harris15 12305

Mark Weber30 10756

Donald Bridgers20 10312

Mary Gallegos30 3655

Richard Anderson32 1726

Dixie Harvey25 6765

Jim Hickman23 5731

Rodema Ashby21 6428

Lacey Learson35 10264

Sandia teams and individuals did themselvesproud in the annual Mt. Taylor WinterQuadrathlon near Grants, N.M., the legendarycompetition that combines running, biking,crosscountry skiing, and snowshoeing. The team

Lab Ratitude won the overall team competitionand posted the third fastest time of the day, lessthan 1 percent slower than two individual Col-orado pros in their twenties. The team posted thefastest overall uphill ski time and downhill biketime and were consistent in the other events.Jason Strauch (biker in 1723), Darrell Armstrong(runner in 1128), Doug Deming (skier in 2125),and Ed Heller (snowshoer in 1723) raced theirway up the 21-mile, 4,700-foot ascent of Mt.Taylor and then back down again in 3:45:58,competing in the male teams 40-49 age division.

Larry Walker (2110) and his teammate werethe second fastest male pair as Pokey Okies, andPam Walker (2555) helped out at the run-to-skitransition.

Doug Vangoethem (1534) was the 21st overallmale and 3rd in his age division. Jason, the LabRatitude biker who has competed at Grants seventimes, including solo, says: “This is just a greatevent and a great excuse to go up in the mountainsand get some exercise. The people who do it soloare so strong and motivated. I just love working ata place where the people are exceptional in bothintellectual and athletic pursuits, and us puttingthis team of working professionals together anddoing that well is a thrill for all of us.”

Sandia teams, individualsmake mark on Mt. Taylor

WINNING ATTITUDE — The Sandia team Lab Ratitudetook the top prize in the team race at the annual Mt.Taylor Quadrathlon. They are, from left, Ed Heller,Jason Strauch, Doug Deming, and Darrell Armstrong.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • March 16, 2007 • Page 16

Laptop stays behind as Ron Detry retires after 37 yearsBy Iris Aboytes

As an explorer scout at the Philmont ScoutRanch, VP Ron Detry (4000) thought to himself,“I could live here.” About 10 years later, he wasback, but this time he returned as a Sandian.

Ron was the head resident advisor at IllinoisInstitute of Technology when Frank Dean, a goodfriend who worked at Sandia, sent him some liter-ature to hand out to the best graduate students.He kept one for himself.Three months later hecame to Sandia for aninterview and got thejob. He had not com-pleted his dissertation;he had not even startedit. That was a problem,but Sandia waited.

Sandia’s appeal camein a basket filled with avariety of work, 24 daysof vacation, and highlytalented people.

The Eagle has landed Ron arrived at Sandia on July 21, 1969. It is

still fresh in his mind; he and his family went toSandia Crest the Sunday before he started. “Theeagle has landed,” they heard. Neil Armstrongand Buzz Aldrin had landed on the moon.

Ron worked in the applied mathematicsdepartment within the computing organizationand became its manager in 1973. He was familiarwith the work; his challenge was to learn aboutmanagement. In later assignments, he managedareas in which he did not know the technology —that was a bigger challenge. The biggest challengecame when he became manager of two centerswith two bosses. One center was in New Mexicoand the other in California.

During this period, Ron was also chargedwith consolidating the two supercomputer cen-ters into the New Mexico location, a very emo-tional change for the Sandians in California. Hewould fly into New Mexico and then back to Cali-fornia every week, working long hours on bothends. He thought he was handling the workloadreally well until Faye, his wife, told him his sonRich asked her why dad did not laugh anymore.

I have a problem saying ‘no’Ron returned to New Mexico as Executive

Staff Director and is currently VP of Security &Information. He says he is a VP because when then-Executive VP Joan Woodard called he answered thephone. “I have a problem saying ‘no,’ ” says Ron.

“When we needed leadership in the lab forsecurity, Ron said yes, show-ing again his selfless dedica-tion to service and to ournation's security,” says Joan.“He is one of my veryfavorite people. He bringswisdom and a very thought-ful perspective to almostevery topic. I will miss himtremendously.”

“Ron is without ques-tion an example of excep-tional service in the nationalinterest at its finest,” saysPresident and Labs DirectorTom Hunter. “He has beenan essential member of the Laboratory LeadershipTeam for many years. His leadership has been acritical part of our evolution into modern scien-tific computing, our operations in California, ourrole in nuclear weapons, and our commitment tosecurity at Sandia. He has been the articulatechampion of many efforts that have made us abetter place. We will miss him for what he hasdone and, as importantly, for who he is. He hasmade us all better. Ron, we thank you.”

Maybe he will buy me a roseIn his letter announcing his retirement, Ron

says, “I made a commitment to my wife Faye overa year ago that I would retire no later than the

end of March 2007, and that time is approaching.She has waited patiently for 42 years; I want togive her a much larger share of my time.”

“He has been married to me for 42 years,”says Faye. “He has been married to Sandia for 37years. It will be great going on vacation. It willjust be the two of us. For a while it has been thethree of us, Ron and me — and his laptop. Rondoesn’t turn on his cell phone, so it was on myphone that he would receive his business calls onour vacations. Imagine not having to plan every-thing 18 months ahead of time to work aroundhis calendar.”

“Maybe he will buy me a rose. Maybe he willopen a door for me,” Faye quotes lyrics from aKenny Rogers song about a man who workedhard. “These are the little things I need the mostin my life.” (She adds that he actually does openthe door for her!) “Ron is a man of integrity whois very, very kind,” she says.

Ron’s friend Frank attended Illinois Instituteof Technology. “There were us mortals,” he says,“and then there was Ron. He is good at every-thing. He is an excellent photographer and skier.Faye was very active in the Garden Club, and hewould participate in their skits. He can also artisti-cally carve a mean watermelon. We took himhunting and told him to sit down and wait. Sureenough, a deer ran up to him and he shot it. Hethought it was too easy, so he took up bow hunt-ing, but called it bow hiking. ”

Ron says he has no great plans, but knows itwill include enjoying and learning from his fourgrandchildren — Natalie, 13; Conor, 11; Anna, 7;and Olivia, 5 — the children of his son Rich anddaughter Deb. Anna would like him to take her toCliff’s Amusement Park. Olivia wants him to gosnowshoeing with her. He will also spend timewith his 94-year-old father in Wisconsin (see LabNews Oct.13, 2006). “I will have an opportunityto reacquire patience,” he says. “I would like toregain it permanently. Once it all settles, I know Iwill be helping people.”

“That was OK, my dad did”Deb says she thinks her father will need a

long period of adjustment. “He has worked manyhours for a long time,” says Deb. “As a child mydad came home on time after work. He wouldhelp us with our homework and after we weretucked in bed, he would go back to work. In highschool, he would show me how to do my mathand I would go show all my friends. My mathteacher did not explain math in a way I under-stood. That was OK, my dad did.”

“My dad attended all my baseball games andhelped me with my homework even when he hadsomething really important going on at work,”

says Rich. “As a kid, I enjoyedfamily days, and the guardboxes going into his officemade a big impression onme. I thought they werecool and mysterious. WhenI started working at Sandiain 1993, it was wonderfulwhen I first walked intohis office, not just as hisson, but also as his peer.People often ask me if weare related. When I tellthem I am his son, I seerespect in their eyes. Every-one has a story of some-

thing helpful, thoughtful, or special my dadhas done for them.”

Looking back at my career . . .“In James Autry’s book, Confessions of an

Accidental Businessman, the following could havebeen written by me,” says Ron.

“I worked hard but was surprised every time I waspromoted . . . a series of surprising decisions of mybosses followed by a lot of scrambling and self-educa-tion . . . Looking back at my career . . . I understandthe overall lesson: We frequently underestimate our-selves, we frequently know more than we think we do,and our instincts and judgement are more reliablethan we think.

PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENTAs husband and parent, I will provide for

the material, emotional, and spiritual needs of myfamily. I will try to avoid domination and willencourage the personal growth and independenceof my wife, daughter, and son.

As a grandparent, I will spend time with thechildren of my children, helping them experiencelife and develop in their unique ways while draw-ing wonder and enjoyment from them.

As a child, I will return the love my fatherhas given me by helping make his remaining yearscomfortable and fulfilling.

As a boss, I will improve my organization byinvesting my time and energy in the technical andpersonal development of its members.

As an employee, I will use all my knowledge,skill, experience, and energy for the benefit of myemployer. I will support the goals of my bossunless such action would conflict with my values,in which case I will openly discuss my reservationsand reasons for them.

As a neighbor and friend, I will accept oth-ers as they are in their wondrous diversity, and willstrive to know the feelings of their lives as well asthe facts.

As a child of God, I will live my life as thoughI am the only Gospel my neighbors will ever read.

To accomplish all this and because I am also aperson of intrinsic worth, I will invest in myself aswell. I will care for my physical health, and eachyear will learn something new and visit some-where new so as to become someone new.

And, in the spring of each year, I will rewritemy Mission Statement so it may bloom again anddraw attention to the many colors of my life.

Ron Detry, April 28, 1992

Last revisited Feb. 20, 2007

“The commitment to act beyond ego — to recog-nize when we are in denial, to retain humility, to cor-rect our mistakes, and to learn from others regardlessof their so-called status — is the commitment to growpersonally and spiritually through the work we havechosen to do.”

“These words have made me stop and thinkmore than once,” says Ron.

“I will miss the people at Sandia,” he says. “Itis hard to imagine a better set of people — thecaliber, nature, and philosophy.

Ron and Faye enjoy country and westerndancing and like to follow Syd Masters and Southby Southwest, two local country bands, so he sayshe will keep doing that. Deb says her parents aregroupies.

On March 30, Ron will leave his office, countthe 31 traffic lights back to his home and do whata Syd Masters song says — find the ones he loves.

FAYE AND RON DETRY

THE DETRY FAMILY

RON ON THE SLOPES at Taos Ski Valley.