SUMMER• 2002

A QUARTERLY RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT JOURNALVOLUME 4, NO. 2

SOLID-STATELIGHTINGA Bright Future

Tools forWater Policy

Looking atBorder Issues

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

Sandia Technology is a quarterly journal published bySandia National Laboratories. Sandia is a multiprogramengineering and science laboratory operated by SandiaCorporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for theDepartment of Energy. With main facilities in Albuquerque,New Mexico, and Livermore, California, Sandia has broad-based research and development responsibilities for nuclearweapons, arms control, energy, the environment, economiccompetitiveness, and other areas of importance to the needsof the nation. The Laboratories’ principal mission is tosupport national defense policies, by ensuring that thenuclear weapon stockpile meets the highest standards ofsafety, reliability, security, use control, and militaryperformance. For more information on Sandia, see ourWeb site at http://www.sandia.gov.

To request additional copies or to subscribe, contact:Michelle FlemingMedia Relations Communications Dept.MS 0165Sandia National LaboratoriesP.O. Box 5800Albuquerque, NM 87185-0165Voice: (505) 844-4902Fax: (505) 844-1392e-mail: meflemi@sandia.gov

Sandia Technology Staff:Laboratory Directed Research & Development ProgramManager: Chuck Meyers, Sandia National LaboratoriesEditor: Will Keener, Sandia National LaboratoriesWriting: Chris Burroughs, John German, Howard Kercheval,Mike Janes, Neal SingerPhotography: Randy J. Montoya and Vipin Gupta,Sandia National LaboratoriesDesign: Douglas Prout, Technically Write

ON THE COVER:Sandia researcher Art Fischer holds a sapphire substrate with indium galliumnitride layers -- a revolutionary new light for the world. This is thebase material for a semicionductor light-emitting diodes that emit green,blue, and near-ultraviolet light. See story beginning on Page 2.Photo: Randy J. MontoyaDesign: Doug Prout

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

Dear Readers: Our belated Summer Issue hasarrived at last and offers examplesof some of the breadth and depthof research at Sandia NationalLaboratories. Sandia researchers are at theleading edge of a revolution inlighting that will effect how we seethe world, the cost of our futureelectric bills, and could well lead toa cleaner environment. Anothercritical issue for the world — water— is also taken up here. Sandiaresearchers have not onlydeveloped a model to help citizensunderstand water quality andscarcity issues, but are busy apply-ing their work close to home. Mean-while, along the US-Mexico border,researchers are studying issues thathave applications for internationalboundaries around the globe. We hope you find something ofinterest in this variety of stories,punctuated with a number of smaller"news notes," a feature we haverevived in these pages from time totime to highlight the variety ofresearch at the Labs. For those of you expecting anissue dedicated to Sandia sensorwork (promised in our Spring Issue),we haven't forgotten. Those articlesare in development and will beavailable in our Fall publication. As these articles reflect, it's beena busy summer around Sandia.

Will KeenerEditor

F R O M T H EE d i t o r

T A B L E O FC o n t e n t s

2

5

6

8

10

Let the Revolution Begin...Solid-state Lighting

In the Heat of the Light

Water

by the Numbers

Anatomy of a River

Peace and Economic DevelopmentOn the Border

NEWS NOTES9, 15 & 16

Scientists at Sandia are addressing oneof the world’s most vexing and importantpower problems — low electrical efficiencyand high costs of traditional lighting. Tiedclosely to improved lighting costs andefficiency are a bundle of environmentalissues associated with global powergeneration. In a revolutionary approach, Sandiaresearch is under way to develop a scienceand technology base to replace the country’sprimary lighting source — incandescentbulbs and fluorescent tubes — with solid-state lighting. Some other researchers at the Labs aretaking an even more revolutionary approachto improve an old technology, exploringthe potential of a microscopic tungsten

lattice to improve the efficiency oftraditional lighting sources.(See page 5.) In the solid state approach, about 25Sandia researchers are working on a projectthat will establish the fundamental scienceand technology base to replace incandescentbulbs and fluorescent tubes with semi-conductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs.)Senior Scientist James Gee and managersJerry Simmons and Bob Biefeld, head upthe project. “In some ways the revolution in lightingcan be compared to the revolution inelectronics that began 50 years ago and isonly now reaching maturity,” Gee says.“Just as for electronics, glass bulbs andvacuum tubes are giving way to

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A revolution isquietly occurring

in the way welight our homes,

offices and theworld. Sandiais among the

research entitiesat the forefront

of this effort.

Let the Revolution Begin...

Solid-state Lighting

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

LEDs - the future of lighting?

semiconductors. And as in the micro-electronics revolution, many of the possibleapplications for solid-state lighting will occurin ways that have not yet been envisioned.” LEDs are already found in toys,electronics, traffic lights, automobile signals,and large outdoor displays — devices thatrequire durability, compactness, and cooloperation. In some applications they alsoenable significant cost savings due to theirlower consumption of energy: LED-based

red traffic lights, for example, consume one-tenth the energy of their incandescentcounterparts, enabling them to pay forthemselves in as little as one year. As LED technology matures, revolutionleaders expect solid-state lighting to alsorapidly outdistance conventional lightingsources in both performance and cost. “Thisnew white light source could change theway we live, and the way we consumeenergy,” says Simmons, who managesSandia’s Semiconductor Materials andDevice Science department. “LEDs couldbe 10 times more efficient than incandescentbulbs and two times more efficient thanfluorescents. Clearly, LEDs’ replacementof conventional light sources wouldsignificantly reduce worldwide energyconsumption.” Lighting is presently responsible forroughly 20 percent of electricityconsumption. Researchers believe that thedevelopment and adoption of solid-statelighting technology could reduce the nation’selectrical consumption by about 10 percent. General Electric first demonstrated LEDsin 1962. The first products were introducedin 1968 — indicator lamps by Monsantoand an electronic display by Hewlett-Packard. LEDs were limited to small-signalapplications until 1985 when LED powerwas increased, resulting in new applications.In 1993 researchers at several universitiesin the US and Japan developed a blue lightLED — based on gallium nitride. Efficiencyimprovements followed quickly. Today,energy-efficient LEDs are available in red,

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

“This new whitelight source

could changethe way we live,

and the waywe consume

energy.”

Sandia researchers James Gee (left) and Jerry Simmonsexamine an image of light emission from an indiumgallium nitride LED. A new substrate for the LED,developed and patented by Sandia, reduces defectdensities. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

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green and blue light, making it possible togenerate white light for illumination. However, LED-based light sources areexpensive — more than two orders ofmagnitude more expensive than commercialincandescent light bulbs — and will not bepractical until their costs are reduced andefficiency is further increased, Gee says. As part of the project, Sandia researchersare exploring ways to make LEDs more ef-ficient and less costly, using Sandia’s uniquecapabilities. Among the challenges are:

• Developing an improved understandingof the physics of the gallium nitride basematerials of the LEDs,

• Improving optoelectronic devices andmaterials for abundant photon generationand high light extraction efficiency,

• Improving wavelength conversion andcolor mixing technologies for generatingwhite light, and

• Improving packaging for high-power LEDs.

Numerous industrial companies, as wellas universities, are working to developtechnologies for solid-state lighting, explainsBiefeld, who manages Sandia’s ChemicalProcess Science department. However, henotes, “in many respects Sandia is unique,due to our extensive capabilities insemiconductor growth and processing,reactor modeling, and experimental andtheoretical materials physics, all located ata single institution.” “These are exciting challenges that willengage our scientists over the next severalyears,” Gee says. “Our work will positionSandia to become a leading developer of thescience and technology for this revolutionin lighting.”

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

Sandia researcher Art Fischerholds a sapphire substrate with

indium gallium nitride layers.This is the base material for

semiconductor light-emittingdiodes that emit green, blue,

and near-ultraviolet light.(Photo by Randy Montoya)

Sandia National Laboratories has launched anew website that will offer comprehensiveinformation on semiconductor light emitting diodes(LEDs) — solid-state lighting. The site can befound at: http://lighting.sandia.gov/ The site covers everything from up-to-datescience and technology and business news to acalendar of industry events. Also provided arebackground articles and updates on the proposednational initiative to accelerate progress in solid-state lighting.

Another feature of the website will be a searchabledatabase of relevant patents — a bonus for thoseinterested in tracking the intellectual property inthis field. The site is sponsored and maintained by aninternal Sandia research and development teamthat is working on solid-state lighting. Fulfillingthe need for a single, comprehensive source ofinformation, the site will be kept current and focusedon this fast-paced technology area. For moreinformation and for cross-linking opportunities,please contact Jeff Tsao at 505-844-7092 orjytsao@sandia.

Lighting Up the Web

Now a microscopictungsten lattice —afilament fabricated atSandia with aninternal crystallinepattern —has beenshown to havepotential to reducethe amount of wastedinfrared energy (heat)when generatinguseful visible light. This developmenthas the potential to

raise the efficiency of an incandescent bulbdramatically from its current 5 percent rate.The first step toward this goal was achievedat Sandia by researchers Shawn Lin and JimFleming and reported in a spring issue ofNature magazine. Fabrication of the tungstenlattice was accomplished by use of well-known technologies derived from thesemiconductor industry. This meansfabrication of such devices could eventuallybe relatively cheap and easy. The original idea for the use of photoniccrystals — postulated more than a decadeago — was to transmit beams of light atselected frequencies and bend their paths.The lattices, which can for example be madefrom silicon, consist of tiny bars fabricatedto sit astride each other, somewhat like achild’s Lincoln Log set, at pre-set distancesand angles to form in effect an artificialcrystal. Spacing of the bars allows passageof only certain wavelengths. Otherwavelengths cannot pass through. With assistance from colleagues at AmesLaboratories in Iowa, Sandia researchers

shifted emphasis from the lattice’s ability toguide light to its capability of trapping somefrequencies inside the lattice structure. Whathappens to the energies of the frequenciesthat are trapped and cannot radiate out ofthe lattice, they asked. The researchers built a crystal of tungsten— fabricated at Sandia’s MicroelectronicsDevelopment Laboratory — by creating astructure of silicon embedded in silicondioxide, removing the silicon, and then usingchemical vapor deposition to deposit tungsteninto the resulting mold. This work was doneon commercially available silicon wafers bymodifying standard integrated circuitfabrication processes. Experiments funded by the LaboratoryDirected Research and Developmentprogram show that energy underwent amarked absorption increase. This means thatenergy was being preferentially absorbedinto a selected frequency band. Resultsindicate that the lattice is ideally suited forsuppressing undesirable frequencies –thereby increasing the efficiency of energyemitted into the useful visible spectrum. For further information, contact ShawnLin, 505/844-8097, or slin@sandia.gov

It’s no secret:tungsten-

filament bulbs—the most

widely used lightsource in theworld — will

burn your handsif you try to

unscrew onewhile it’s lit.

The bulbs areinfamous for

generating moreheat than light.

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

Images of a Sandia 3-D tungsten photonic crystal,taken by a scanning electron microscope. The imagestaken with and without oxide are shown in (a) and (b),respectively. The spacing of the rods acts to transmitcertain frequencies of light. The structures show greatpromise for generating useful visible light.

In the Heat of the Light

6

Researchers at Sandia NationalLaboratories have developed softwaremodels they think might help regions withcritical water shortages, through sound watermanagement. The computer simulations,called Dynamic Water Budget Models, allowdecision makers to see how water policyoptions selected today would affect asociety’s water resources in the future. The models are based on commerciallyavailable simulation software Sandia hasused to study everything from summerblackouts in California to global nuclearmaterial inventories. Testing various water policy optionsis as simple as fiddling with a few knobs,says Dick Thomas, one of the Sandiacreators. The research simulations provideimmediate extrapolation and visualizationof results. Each model is a complexrepresentation of the relationships amongground and surface water sources, rechargerates, groundwater pumping, irrigation,climate, environmental impacts, waterquality, economic productivity, and an area’ssocial and cultural foundations.

“The models ask what the water resourcepicture might be 20 years down the roadgiven today’s choices,” says Thomas. “Thisis the only model we’ve found that allowsfor big-picture, long-term planning.” Sandia built the first water model in themid 1990s to examine water trends forChina’s 10 major water basins. Resultsshowed that water will become a limitingfactor in the country’s ability to feed itselfduring the next two decades as China’s majoragricultural areas run increasingly largewater deficits. The simulations were part ofa Harvard University study that helped alterthe way some experts now think aboutChina’s future. According to the National IntelligenceCouncil’s “Global Trends 2015” report, halfthe world’s population will lack access tofresh water by 2015. Scarcity of resourcesis a primary cause of geopolitical tension inmany regions of the world, it says. “We must do something now to preventwater resources from instigating politicalinstability, or prepare for the inevitabilityof conflict over water,” says Sandia

Along with theprecious little

water found in aridand drought-

stricken parts ofthe world, often

come the politicsof scarcity. Politics

that mean badpolicy decisionstoday may welllead to supply

crises and politicaltensions inthe future.

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

WATER by the Numbers

“Different usershave different ideasabout what optimal

use of the waterresource is.”

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

co-developer Steve Conrad. “It is in ourinterest to help these governments.” The team next used the Middle RioGrande Basin, the primary water supply forthe Albuquerque, N.M., metropolitan area,to develop the tool further. (See page 8.) “It’s a way of helping our communitywith sustainability issues while also creatinga tool that could help the nation and theworld,” says Thomas. The team continues to work with cityand state officials to apply the tool toAlbuquerque-area policy making efforts. A similar model of another water basinin rural northern New Mexico is helpingfarmers and developers see the possibleresults of various development schemes andagricultural practices. “Different users havedifferent ideas about what optimal use of thewater resource is,” says Thomas. “We helpedget them talking sooner about realisticapproaches rather than dwelling onunworkable, unsustainable options.”

The team is now exploring the possibilityof modeling water issues for basins sharedby countries of the Former Soviet Union, fornine countries that border the Nile River,and for the U.S. and Mexico in the ElPaso/Cuidad Juarez border area.“Anybody can play their own ‘what if’game,” says Conrad. “It allows people withdifferent stakes in the outcome to rapidlytest the long-term effects of policy options.It’s very democratizing.”

Better water management tools, suchas Sandia's Dynamic Water BudgetModel, could have applicationsworldwide as fresh water suppliesdiminish, says Dick Thomas, who isa co-developer of the model. Othersare now applying his work in real-world situations.

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Vince Tidwell and Howard Passell areusing Sandia’s Dynamic Water BudgetModel – built originally by lab researchersDick Thomas and Steve Conrad -- to helpthe Middle Rio Grande Council ofGovernments and the Middle Rio GrandeWater Assembly meet their goal ofestablishing a comprehensive water plan bynext year. This planning process involveslocal government agencies working withregional stakeholders in Bernallio, Sandoval,and Valencia Counties. It’s an area withlimited water resources and high waterdemands from industry, agriculture and agrowing population. In trying to develop a water plan membersof the Rio Grande Water Assembly are askingtough questions:• How can we reduce agricultural water

consumption in the valley?• How will low-flow appliances impact

residential consumption?• Are desalination technologies economically

viable for the region?• How much water can we harvest

from rooftops?• How much water can we save by

eliminating non-native trees from theriparian forest?

“Fortunately, many of these questionscan be answered in a very quantitative way,and the model can help us do that” explains

Passell, who works in Sandia’s InternationalSecurity Initiatives Department. He seeseven wider potential for the modeling in agrowing number of international settings. Passell and Tidwell have been workingwith a modeling team from the assembly ona regular basis to refine the model for theMiddle Rio Grande area. “There is a diversityof constituency groups participating on theteam, including environmentalists, agri-culturalists, and urban developers,” saysTidwell, of Sandia’s Geohydrologydepartment. “Together we explore the issuesand the team helps us to understand andconceptualize systems for which we don’thave expert knowledge.” Then the tworesearchers can develop models to reflectthe realities of the specific situation. “In this way, the people developing theplan understand how the model works,”Passell notes. “They know what assumptionsare involved, what data went into the modeland what limitations exist. In this way webuild consensus in the model among theteam members. It’s not just a black boxproducing mysterious numbers.”

Calling it“cooperative

modeling,” twoSandia researchers

have taken theLabs’ DynamicWater Budget

Model and begunthe difficult work ofapplying it to a real

life situation inNew Mexico.

Anatomy of a

RIVER

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

The Rio Grande Rivernear Albuquerque,

New Mexico.

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Packing aPunch

Working withmultiple computers inparallel on problems toolarge for a singlecomputer, it’s called a“portable clustercomputer.” Sandia ResearchersRob Armstrong andMitch Williams built anddemonstrated the port-able cluster computer.They made it largelyfrom commodity com-puter parts, but smallones normally intendedfor use in cars, cellphones and watches,rather than desktopcomputer components. Armstrong actuallystowed the Linuxcluster of four centralprocessing units in anoverhead bin on hisflight to Denver last yearto demonstrate the

device at Supercomputing 2001. “It’s useful for tutorials, demonstrationsand road shows,” Sandia’s Williams says.“The alternative for folks who want to go toan exhibition with a cluster computer is tospend months coordinating the shipment ofa rack of up to eight full-size personalcomputers. “In addition to use at remotelocations and exhibitions, the cluster mayfind a niche with those seeking a compactway to capture high horsepower computing,he adds. In the case of the Sandia version, all thecomponents, except for the clear Lexan casewere purchased off-the-shelf from embeddedsystem vendors.

The California researchers have createda web site for those interested in creatingtheir own cluster computer:http://eri.ca.sandia.gov/

Assessing Building Risks

Sandia has awarded a worldwide licensingagreement to NeoSafety, a Dayton, Ohio-based risk solutions company, to marketRAMPARTTM software and co-developcomplementary products. RAMPARTTM, an acronym for RiskAssessment Method — Property Analysisand Ranking Tool, is a screening programdeveloped by Sandia researchers to rate therisk to a building by natural hazards, crimeand terrorism. Sandia initially designed thesoftware to help the General ServicesAdministration assess the risk of variousthreatening events to the nearly 8,000 federalbuildings it manages nationwide. A group ofindustry advisors found the RAMPARTTM

software to be highly effective in determiningfacility risk. NeoSafety became interested in the projectlast year. The company, which was foundedin 1997, assists government agencies,insurance companies, property owners andindustry in identifying and managingworkplace risks. Regina Hunter, Sandia’stechnical lead on the project says she ispleased at the prospect of working withNeoSafety to develop further software.

For further information:www.neosafety.com orRegina Hunter505/844-5837rlhunte@sandia.gov

It’s the size of abread box. It fitsin the overhead

compartment onmost airlines.And it packs a

powerful punch.

NEWSNOTESS A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

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Sandia’s long interestin preventing global

conflict is takingregional expressionwith the Bi-National

SustainabilityLaboratory. It’s an

effort with worldwideimplications for peace

and a strongerborder economy.

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

The US-Mexican border: Poverty, lackof basic services such as public health,adequate water supplies, and other resources.These difficulties, combined with thecollision of different cultures, easily providethe makings for conflict. Researchers atSandia looked at the situation and asked atough question: Can these difficulties beovercome in a peaceful way to nurture atechnology-based, sustainable economy? Their answer: The Bi-NationalSustainability Laboratory (BNSL), aconcept designed to create a new engine foreconomic development on both sides of theborder. Further, the experience with Mexicocan serve as a template for other regions ofthe world; regions in or on the verge ofviolent conflict. Sandia Vice President and PrincipalScientist Gerold Yonas, with U.S.-MexicoFoundation for Science Director GuillermoFernandez signed a memorandum of

agreement early this year to pursue

the project. Felipe Rubio Castillo, ofMexico's National Council on Science andTechnology witnessed the document. In themonths since, a number of activities havehelped begin a focus for the BNSL concept. “The signing of the MOU was animportant step,” Fernandez said of theevent. “The Foundation is interested in theBNSL as a concrete way to strengtheneconomic and other ties on the border.” TheMexican National Council on Science andTechnology represents a group of 29 Mexicanresearch centers, which are now partneringwith Sandia. “We have a big vision,” says VipinGupta, Sandia researcher in the AdvancedConcepts Group who has spent the past yearand a half working on the BNSL concept inthe Paso del Norte. “It is getting the attentionof people in both the US and Mexico.” The project has now widened from itsorigins in Sandia’s Advanced ConceptsGroup to other Labs organizations. “Whileothers work these issues, I’m looking at

global border issues — moving to anapplication of the BNSL concept to

places like the Middle East,”Yonas explains.

Peace and Economic Development

On the Border

“...the bottomline for the

border com-munities will be

an improvedquality of life.”

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

From Idea to Program

Transition from idea to program is nowunder way in Sandia’s Energy and CriticalInfrastructure Strategic Business Unit andSandia’s Corporate Business Developmentcenter. Gary J. Jones, manager of theInternational Partnerships department inSandia’s Corporate Business Developmentcenter, cites a number of goals. Amongthem are:• Foster long-term, sustainable economic

development on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border;

• Prevent conflict by creating communitywealth and well-being across physical andpsychological boundaries;

• Help create new small- and medium-sizedenterprises, and to strengthen existing ones,resulting in increased numbers of higherpaying jobs; and

• Bring new, advanced technologies tocommercial fruition.

“Because of its unique role, it is difficultto envision the BNSL as a facility captive toany given US or Mexican government

agency,” says Jones. “Rather we anticipatethat the BNSL will be managed by a non-profit entity capable of accepting fundingfrom public and private institutions in bothcountries.” He acknowledges that theeconomic goals will take years to fullyachieve, but the bottom line for the bordercommunities will be “an improved qualityof life.” A spring meeting with both Sandia andMexican representatives helped to identifysome potential projects for BNSL. Five focusareas have been identified to take to a“workshop” level, where participants willconvene to discuss specific areas and projectsthat might be feasible, explains Dan Horschel,manager of the Labs’ EnvironmentalMonitoring and Characterization department.“A lot of people are starting to engage andactivities are getting under way. It’s good tosee us pulling together,” Horschel says. The focus areas identified to date include:• Water and agriculture• Public health issues• Secure commerce• New product development• Energy and critical infrastructure

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In Ciudad Juarez,Mexico’s fourth

largest city,effluent from two

new watertreatment plantshas only recently

begun to meetEnvironmental

ProtectionAgency minimum

standards forUS water.

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

“There is tremendous interest in seeingthis initiative work,” says Lucinda Vargas,director of Plan Estrategico de Juarez.“Leaders in Juarez — speaking mostly froma private-sector perspective — have beenpresent for briefings on how the initiativeis progressing and have shown a willingness,desire, and even eagerness to commit theirefforts at making this work.”

Water Quality and Delivery

Gray Lowrey, a researcher in Sandia’sSolar Thermal Technology department, spenta month this summer traveling with a groupof scientists to look at water issues in theborder state of Chihuahua, Mexico. On his3,000-mile trek with other scientists fromNew Mexico, Lowrey saw numerousproblems with water delivery and treatment. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico’s fourth largestcity, effluent from two new water treatmentplants has only recently begun to meetEnvironmental Protection Agency minimumstandards for US water. There is also

speculation that the main fresh waterresource for the city — the Hueco aquifer— may run dry within the next few years.In other parts of Chihuahua there are nowater systems at all, he reports. Peopleretrieve water from wells that are unprotectedand often contaminated. These problems have negatively affectedthe Mexican economy and driven ruralworkers into cities and north across the US-Mexican border. The trip was part of a Rotary InternationalGroup Scientific Exchange. Upon itsconclusion, US and Mexican representativesmet at Taos, New Mexico, to discussimproved water delivery and purity for theborderlands. They generated a reportoutlining 15 projects Rotary Clubs couldpossibly implement over the next few years. Another public health related projectunder way is the deployment of a Sandia-developed system to detect diseaseoutbreaks. Deployed in southern NewMexico with the state’s Department ofHealth, the Rapid Syndrome Validation

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S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

“Even a delayof one day in the

early recog-nition of unusual

patterns canmean the dif-

�ference betweensaving or losingmany lives with

certain highlycommunicable

diseases”.

Project (RSVP) can provide timelyinformation to physicians even before amajor upswing in patient visits. The systemtracks “syndromes” – which are carefullychosen combinations of signs and systemthat may reflect any of a myriad of specificdisease types – rather than specific diseases.The latter requires laboratory testing (andthe selection of the correct tests, of course)and thus is inherently delayed. “Time is ofthe essence in tracing any infectious diseaseoutbreak,” says Senior Sandia Scientist AlanZelicoff, a physician/physicist whodeveloped the system. “Even a delay of oneday in the early recognition of unusualpatterns can mean the difference betweensaving or losing many lives with certainhighly communicable diseases”. Working with Dr. Gary Simpson of theNew Mexico Department of Health, thesystem has been deployed at the MemorialMedical Center, the largest comprehensivemedical-care campus in Las Cruces,New Mexico.

Dr. Catharine Torres, pediatrician andcommissioner on the US-Mexico BorderHealth Commission, recently demonstratedthe system by entering a case she washandling — a child with influenza-likesymptoms. Thirty-three doctors, nursepractitioners and nurses have access to thecenter’s RSVP system. Each case takes about30 seconds to enter.

A Valuable Aid

“The system is a valuable aid, Says Dr.Torres. “Before we never really knew whatthe rest of the state was doing. The reportingsystem was slow and difficult. Now we canjust push a button and get information.” Statistics indicate the system is catchingon with hospitals, Zelicoff reports. In theLas Cruces case, the data in the systemresulted in an alert to physicians about asudden increase in flu and RSV, even beforethey began to see patients in their offices.

This architectural concept of a Bi-National Sustainable Laboratory (BNSL) illustrates the idea that thisresearch effort should literally and figuratively straddle the US-Mexico border. Following formal agreementsearlier this year, researchers are now beginning to put programs in place to make the BNSL a reality.

14

Sandia’s missionis to help our

nation secure apeaceful and free

world throughtechnology. TheBNSL is a means

for achievingthat lofty goal

through conflictprevention.

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

“Inpracticalterms, thisprobablyavoided a lot ofunnecessary testsand unnecessarydrugs,” Zelicoff said. Dr. Torres hopes tosee the system functioning inat least 150 sites along both sides ofthe border. Currently, there are six sites nearBrownsville, Texas and six more comingon line to the north in the Lubbock, Texasarea, Zelicoff says. The BNSL focus onpublic health and the likelihood that thesecure commerce focus will include a publichealth component offer the possibility ofintroducing the RSVP system on theMexican side of the border, he suggests. There is a long ways to go with theBNSL concept, says Jones, but it’s off to agood start. “Sandia’s mission is to help ournation secure a peaceful and free worldthrough technology. The BNSL is a means

for achievingthat lofty goal

through conflictprevention. Sandia

wants to contributetowards the US aim of

building a strategic partnership with Mexico.The BNSL is vehicle for making such asubstantive contribution.”

(Photos by BNSL team.)

A strategic partnership

15

Explosives experts at Sandia have been workingwith a Colorado company to come up with atechnique that will help police officers at a crimescene to quickly narrow the list of suspects in ashooting to those who have recently fired a gun. “The speed in being able to focus on a morelimited array of suspects in critical to lawenforcement’s ability to solve a crime. The fasterwe are able to identify them, the more likely we areto convict them,” says Greg MacAleese. He headsLaw Enforcement Technologies (LET), Inc. inColorado Springs. Whenever a gun is fired, the shooter gets sprayedwith an invisible blast of chemical residues that arebyproducts of the incomplete combustion ofgunpowder, primer, and lubricants from the weapon.Sandia worked with LET to develop a method todetect gunshot residue on an individual’s hands,arms, or clothing.

“With this technique a police officer could swabsomebody right at the scene and have a reading inseconds,” says Sandia principal investigator PamWalker. Sandia has licensed the technique to LET,which is now marketing kits under the name “InstantShooter ID Kit.”

For more information:Greg MacAleese,Law Enforcement Technologies Inc.,770 Wooten Rd, Suite 109, Colorado Springs, CO80915, phone 719/380-5557, or email atgmacaleese@aol.com

NEWSNOTESS A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

“With thistechnique a

police officercould swabsomebodyright at the

scene and havea reading in

seconds.”

Finding the Shooter

16

The project ispart of the

Department ofEnergy Russian

TransitionInitiative.

S A N D I A T E C H N O L O G Y

Reducing Back Pain

Sandia is working through government andindustry partners to commercialize a unique backsupport cushion. The cushion relieves lower backpain and offers relief to a range of users — fromoffice workers and truck drivers to quadriplegicsand others immobilized by reason of occupationor health. The device makes use of 16 pre-formedinflatable bladders to help muscles in the backthat are intended by nature to support the spine.There is no direct contact between the chair-backdevice and the spine, explains Sandia ResearcherMark Vaughn.

Los Angeles-based Numotech will market thepatented support. Sandia has been involved withelectronic work on the device to improve reliability,Vaughn says. Another goal has been to shrinkpumps, batteries and circuits. The current auxiliarybox measures about a foot square and four inchesdeep, but the goal is to incorporate it into thesupport itself. The back support work is being done inconjunction with a Russian manufacturingcorporation, Spektr-Conversion, and M.R. Beal,a New York investment bank. The project is partof the Department of Energy Russian TransitionInitiative. The initiative aims at providing workfor Russian weapon scientists who otherwisemight be hired by unfriendly countries or groupsto make nuclear weapons.

For more information:Mark Vaughn505-845-9159 ormrvaugh@sandia.gov

NEWSNOTES

Sandia project lead Mark Vaughn with aprototype back-support system. The high-techsupport is intended to reduce lower back pain.(Photo by Bill Doty)

“This new white light source couldchange the way we live, and the way

we consume energy.”

Jery SimmonsSemiconductor Materials Device Science

Sandia National Laboratories

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