Computer models helping resolve conflicts over water

Sandia’s Information Design Assurance Red Team ishosting a conference in Washington, D.C., focus-ing on infrastructure security. Story on page 4.

Also inside . . . • Hydrogen research at Sandia goes HYPER with new partnership involving

European consortium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3

• Labs hosts Defense Science Study Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3

• Energy & Water Showcase puts Labs research front and center . . . Page 5

• Secretaries of Energy, Defense, and State issue joint document regardingfuture of US nuclear deterrent and the weapons complex . . . . . 1

• High school photonics academy named for Art Guenther . . . . . Page 14

• Cadets from US military academies get immersed in research duringSandia internships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 16

Vol. 59, No. 16 August 3, 2007Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration

New tools help Sandians manage, protectunclassified information of all types

Imagine a world where a machine creates a“virtual you” by modeling how you think

and your expertise on a subject. Or one whereyour car’s computer assesses your drivingskills and compensates for your limitations.

That’s the world Sandia has entered fullthrottle through its Cognitive Science andTechnology Program. Lab News writer ChrisBurroughs explores this important new fieldof Sandia research in a series of storiesbeginning on page 8.

Last June, flows in the Rio Mimbres in south-ern New Mexico were insufficient to meet thedemands of farmers. It had irrigators — those

whose families have farmed the land along theriver for centuries — wondering how they couldkeep their fields green until fall. Then the rainscame.

Another couple of dry weeks and the courtswould have refereed a disputepitting farmers on the “seniorditch” (the senior water rightsholders) with upstream farm-ers and domestic well owners,who likely would have had toseverely curtail their water useto allow the downstream usersaccess to water.

The worst did not cometo pass last summer, thoughall agree that at some pointthe junior rights holders inthe Mimbres basin will beordered to cut back.

A familiar scenarioIt is a scenario that is

playing out across the westernUnited States, portions ofwhich are in an extendeddrought, says Vince Tidwell ofGeohydrology Dept. 6313.

In several recent cases,

Computer models helping resolveconflicts over water Collaborative projects explore long-term solutions to water shortages

By John German

MAP OF THE GILA/SAN FRANCISCO river basin showing locations of flowmeasurement stations. Models are helping users determine what to do withadditional water allocated to New Mexico. (Continued on page 4)

AN AERIAL PHOTO of the Rio Grande near Albu-querque showing an irrigation canal and nearby urbandevelopment. (Photo by Will Keener)

Like workers everywhere, Sandians areawash in information. We are deluged withmemos, project reports, and, of course, emails —ranging in sensitivity from the most benignemail about an award received by a coworkerto, for some of us, classified national securityinformation.

For many of us, managing the informationthat falls into the middle of the spectrum — out-side the classified realm — is the most challeng-ing. Things like procurement records, “newsnotes” on project status, and perhaps humanresources-type information — often raise vexingquestions: Is this sensitive, and if so, how sensi-tive? Can this information be released to theoutside world? How do I properly manage thisinformation?

“We are increasingly challenged by the abun-dance and diversity of unclassified information,”

By Julie Hall

“We are increasinglychallenged by theabundance and diversity ofunclassified information.”

Chief Information Officer Art Hale

says Chief Information Officer Art Hale (9600).“Yet this information often has a level of sensi-tivity that makes its protection increasinglyimportant.”

To help members of the workforce manageunclassified Sandia information, the CIO’soffice, in conjunction with experts in RecordedInformation Management, Legal, Human

(Continued on page 5)

Employee Recognition Awards

54 INDIVIDUALS and 69 teams have been hon-ored in the 2007 Employee Recognition Awardsprogram. See individual photos and team cita-tions starting on page 6.

As I began to put together this column last Friday morning, I couldidentify with Obi-Wan Kenobi: I felt a great disturbance in The Force.The network was down. No email. No Google. No state of the stock market.Nothing.

It was a frustrating and aggravating reminder of how extensivelythe cyber world is integrated into our living world. Or an extension ofour living world. Or, maybe, an actual component of our living world.

The web is our friend, colleague, advisor,teacher, and entertainer, no matter what role we play atwork or home. In the role of our group — producing theLab News, Sandia Daily News, Sandia Technology magazine,and other publications — the web has becomeindispensable. If we need to check a fact with aresearcher, we open the directory and type in the nameand get the phone number and, bingo — got it. Need someinformation about something outside the lab? Google it.Somebody in the group need information you have in anelectronic file? Address an email message, attach theinfo and, as Chef Emeril says, “Bam!”

I don’t know what it was like in your office whenthe network went down for that brief time last Friday, but we were alittle like a surprised Linus watching Snoopy streak away with theblanket in his mouth. After the few short years we’ve had the web, andhave become so dependent on it, imagine now trying to work without it.

It’s enough to send you to the fridge for a giant bowl of moosetracks ice cream.

* * *I don’t have one of those customized sign-offs for my email

messages like a lot of people have. I just type in my name. But peoplewho do have them show a lot of creativity, using fancy type fonts andcolors and even illustrations to identify themselves. The folks who usethem usually also identify themselves by title or function.

I got one recently that made me wonder. Along with the name, phonenumber, email address, etc., it identified the sender as a “functional”team lead.

I wondered if the sender had a “nonfunctional” or “dysfunctional”counterpart, or the sender was functional while other members of thegroup were not. Or if it just meant the sender was the leader of thefunctional team and that there was a counterpart group that wasnonfunctional or dysfunctional.

If the network hadn’t been nonfunctional, I probably could havegotten a quick answer.

* * *As I was coming out of the base post office a few days ago, a UPS

guy was going in with a package. It was only one, relatively smallpackage, but when UPS is delivering to the post office, what can thatmean?

— Howard Kercheval (844-7842, MS 0165, [email protected])

What’s what

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: John German (844-5199), Neal Singer 845-7078), Stephanie Holinka (284-9227), Howard Kercheval(columnist, 844-7842), Iris Aboytes (844-2282), Michael Padilla(284-5325), Julie Hall (284-7761), Rod Geer (844-6601),Patti Koning (925-294-4911), Michelle Fleming (Ads, Milepostphotos, 844-4902), Darrick Hurst (intern, 844-8009), JacquelineCieslak (intern, 284-8432), Dept. 3651 Manager: Chris Miller(844-0587).Lab News fax ................................................505/844-0645Classified ads ................................................505/844-4902

Published on alternate Fridays by Media Relationsand Employee Communications Dept. 3651, MS 0165

HOWARD KERCHEVAL

Tim Moy known forproviding science,history perspectives

Tim Moy will always be known as the guypeople would turn to for unbiased answers aboutscience and history.

“Tim had a profound understanding of tech-nology and how it affected history,” Gerry Yonas(700) says. “Tim had an absolutely brilliant wayof combining technology, history, and science —past and future.”

Tim, 44, drowned Sunday, July 23, while tryingto save his son Luke in the surf at Kailua, Hawaii.Tim was attending a professional conference inOahu.

Tim is survived by his wife, Sandia corporatehistorian Rebecca Ullrich (9532), and 12-year-oldson Luke, who is on the road to a full recoveryfrom the near-drowning in Hawaii.

Gerry contracted Tim to consult on nationalsecurity issues and emerging threats in the late1990s. Soon after, Tim helped establish theAdvanced Concepts Group at Sandia.

“Tim was a tremendous asset in helping theACG broaden and deepen our perspective ofcomplex issues,” Gerry says. “Tim was always verycalm, collected, and thoroughly professional aboutall of the analysis he carried out in the ACG.”

Neal Singer (3651), who helped recruit Tim toSandia, said Tim was an outstanding member ofthe ACG. “He was deeply interested in nationalsecurity and brought a fine mind to bear on sub-jects of great interest to Sandia,” Neal says.

Mark Boslough (1433) would visit Tim in hisACG office and have long conversations aboutscience and history. He also knew him fromextracurricular activities.

“Tim’s vast enthusiasm and talents as ateacher, researcher, and speaker are well known,but his commitment to education went farbeyond these high-profile activities,” Mark says.

“Tim was also part of a core group of scien-tists and educators involved in promoting theproper teaching of evolution in science classes,”Mark says. “Sometimes discussions among mem-bers would become heated, and it was Tim whowas always able to put his politics and emotionsaside, be objective, and get conversations back ontrack with his eternal good humor.”

Tim also was an associate professor of historyat the University of New Mexico, where col-leagues said he wasn’t afraid to take a stand. Hepushed hard for evolution to be taught in class-rooms, lobbying the legislature unsuccessfully tomake it a requirement in the state’s high schools.

Tim volunteered at Montezuma School withthe chess club and PTA, and served as a modelfather for a number of fatherless kids.

— Michael Padilla

Note: Patents listed here include the names ofactive Sandians only; non-Sandia inventors are notincluded. Following the listing for each patent is apatent number, which is searchable at the US Patentand Trademark Office website (www.uspto.gov).

Robert Moore (6771) and D. RichardAnderson (6772): Arsenic Removal from Water(Patent No. 7,247,242)

Edward Thomas (12337) and TimothyDraelos (5614): Authenticating ConcealedPrivate Data While Maintaining Concealment(7,237,115)

Clifford Ho (6313): Portable Vapor DiffusionCoefficient Meter (7,229,593)

Richard Schroeppel (5614) and Lillian Snyder(6322): Anonymous Authenticated Communica-tions (7,234,059)

Jason Shepherd (1421) and Scott Mitchell(1412): Method for Generating a Mesh Represen-tation of a Region Characterized by a Trunk and aBranch Thereon (7,219,039)

David Teter (243), Patrick Brady, and JamesKrumhansl (both 6316): Inorganic Ion SorbentMethod (7,244,359)

Yifeng Wang (6782) and Charles Bryan(6785): Method for Absorbing an Ion from a Fluid(7,238,288)

Nancy Clark (257), Stanley Atcitty, and JohnBoyes (both 6336): Enhanced Distributed EnergyResource System (7,239,044)

Founding Sandia ACG memberdrowned saving son

TIM MOY with his wife Rebecca Ullrich and son Luke.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 3, 2007 •

Sandia gets HYPER about hydrogen research

A global effort is underway to make hydrogenone of the dominant carriers of energy. Thoseinvolved are optimistic that the so-called “hydro-gen economy” will become a reality soon. Thatoptimism, of course, is driven by the realizationthat developing alternative sources of energy isno longer a choice but a necessity.

Sandia is playing a large role in this effort,thanks to its Codes and Standards work for theDepartment of Energy’s FreedomCAR and FuelsPresidential Initiative. This DOE domestic efforthas now gone global; late last year Sandia joineda European consortium called “HYPER”, forHYdrogen PERmitting.

Working toward a similar goal Hydrogen Program Manager Jay Keller (8367)

says that this international research effort isessential. “We’re all working toward a similargoal, of making hydrogen a dominant energy car-rier sooner rather than later,” he says. “We’re bet-ter off all working together than alone.”

Sandia is involved in two specific work pack-ages for HYPER, one on modeling and the otheron barrier interaction experiments.

HYPER has 15 partners from France, Ger-many, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the RussianFederation, the United Kingdom, and the UnitedStates. HYPER’s research focus is on small (10kilowatts), stationary hydrogen fuel cells thatcould be used to provide power to homes. Eventhough this differs from the FreedomCAR focuson transportation, there is enough overlap for afruitful collaboration.

Sandia is addressing the science and technol-ogy that goes into understanding unintendedreleases of hydrogen. This work will ultimatelyaid in developing codes and standards that willsuggest how to design and operate a hydrogenfueling station in the safest possible manner. (See

the March 31, 2006 issue of Sandia Lab News formore.)

This year DOE has asked Sandia to focusspecifically on barriers, most likely a wall, andhow they might impact safety. Several HYPERpartners are collaborating with Sandia on thisbarrier work.

“Today everyone considers barriers as a miti-gation strategy,” says Bill Houf (8757), a principalinvestigator forSandia’s work withHYPER. “Thequestion we aretrying to answer isdoes a barrier miti-gate the effects ofan unintendedrelease, or does itcreate conditionsthat exacerbatethe release?”

An unin-tended release ofhydrogen at 2,500psi could result ina 12 foot long jet flame. A barrier would blockthat flame but could cause unintended detrimen-tal effects, such as a significant and possibly dam-aging overpressure.

The overpressure, explains Bill, could inducea more dangerous situation than a jet flame. Ifthe overpressure gets high enough it could break

glass, damage walls, or shatter ear drums.Modeling is key to hydrogen research, so a lot

of the experimental results will go towards vali-dating models. Modeling is also used to refinetests to maximize use of money and resources.

“We can’t test everything. Most of our testsare done for supply pressures of 2,500 to 6,500psi, but vehicles may be fueled at 10,000 psi,”says Bill.

Each partner brings strengthsAlong with Sandia, the University of Ulster,

University of Pisa, the UK’s Health and SafetyExecutive (HSE), Germany’s ForschungszentrumKarlsruhe GmbH (FZK), and Russian’s KurchatovInstitute are collaborating on the two work pack-ages. Each partner brings its own strengths to theproject.

For example, Jay points out that FZK’s model-ing capability will be used to complement San-dia’s efforts in understanding the overpressureissue. HSE has large test facilities that will allowconsequence and behavior work on a massivescale—what Jay calls the “big bang.” KurchatovInstitute has enclosed facilities capable of testingexplosive mixtures.

“Europe has been pretty aggressive at push-ing hydrogen into their infrastructure,” says Jay.“This partnership helps us leverage internationalactivities in science. The energy problem is tooimportant to work in isolation.”

By Patti Koning

Defense Science Study Group visits Sandia

Last month Sandia played host to 15 emerg-ing science and technology leaders as part of theDefense Science Study Group (DSSG). The groupmet with Div. 8000 VP Paul Hommert, toured theChemical and Radiation Detection Laboratories(CRDL), participated in a BioDAC exercise, andmet with mentors at Sandia.

Paul gave an overview of Sandia, followed bya question-and-answer session. The academicsgot right into the tough problems — why thereisn’t more research towards defeating improvised

explosive devices — IEDs — and the critical rolenuclear power could play as a source of energy.

On the CRDL tour, Rajat Sapra (8321) dis-cussed the latest Laboratory Directed Research andDevelopment-funded research in enzyme engi-neering and synthetic biology for enhancing bio-fuel production. Ken Patel and Thomas Perroud(both 8324) spoke about their work in theMicroscale Immune Studies Laboratory (MISL)Grand Challenge, focusing on thedevelopment and integration of anoptical-based cell sorter for the analysisof macrophage cells. Bob Crocker(8125) briefed the group on Sandia'sbiodetection instrumentation pro-grams including the Department ofHomeland Security/BioBriefcase, TenixUnattended Water Sensor, and others.

Ben Wu (8125), Marilyn Hawley(8116), Donna Djordjevich (8116),and Paul Nielan (8116) facilitated thegroup through a BioDAC workshopthat allowed the group to workthrough a computer-simulatedanthrax release in the San Diego area.

DSSG is a Defense AdvancedResearch Projects Agency (DARPA)-sponsored program of education andstudy for young professors of scienceand engineering who have achievednational recognition in their fields.The program seeks to develop stronglinks with the national security com-munity and introduce DSSG membersto the operations and capabilities ofthe national labs.

“The purpose is to train newly tenured pro-fessors so they are qualified to serve on nationalsecurity advisory boards,” says DSSG DirectorPhilip Gould. “This is an investment in the future.”

The program is conducted over a two-yearperiod with eight sessions that include visits tomilitary bases, defense laboratories, and industrialfacilities. The sixth session brought the group toLivermore, where they spent a total of six days atSandia and Lawrence Livermore National Labora-tory followed by three days at the National Train-ing Center in Fort Irwin, Calif.

Paul Cremer of the Department of Chemistry

at Texas A&M University was especially interestedin visiting Sandia because of its work in chem/bio.

“I didn’t know much about national securityneeds before participating in DSSG,” he says.“Now I have an overall global picture.”

By Patti Koning

CALIFORNIA VP Paul Hommert shakes hands withPhilip Gould, who has served as the director ofthe Defense Science Study Group since its incep-tion in 1986. (Photo by Patti Koning)

“We’re all workingtoward a similargoal — makinghydrogen a domi-nant energy carriersooner rather thanlater.”

Jay Keller, HydrogenProgram manager

DEFENSE SCIENCE STUDY GROUP members Eric Blackman (Universityof Rochester), John Hogenesch (University of Pennsylvania), SarahLisanby (Columbia University), and Minami Yoda (Georgia Institute ofTechnology) check out Sandia’s BioBriefcase. (Photo by Patti Koning)


Water disputes(Continued from page 1)

Sandia computer models that simulate the com-plex interrelationships among surface flows,groundwater dynamics, and water demands,rights, and laws are being used to help localsdetermine which tradeoffs result in the best long-term outcomes.

To develop each model, the researcherswork alongside local authorities, water users,and decision makers as part of a process knownas computer-aided dispute resolution (CADRe).The project is a joint effort of Sandia, the USArmy Corps of Engineers’ Institute for WaterResources, and several universities. Its funding,in part, was arranged by US Sen. Pete Domenici,R-N.M.

The models allow authorities to run hundredsof different versions of the future and see theeffects of their choices decades away, says Vince.The simulations can be run on a PC, and each runtakes 10-15 seconds after the inputs are set.

In the Mimbres basin, for example, modelshave helped create a “water bank” whereby localusers trade credits with each other, not onlywithin the same ditch but across ditches and withdomestic well owners. A defined set of tradingrules helps minimize conflict.

“It has allowed people to play a water trading

game in a virtual environment to find out whatwill work and what won’t work without losingany real water,” says Vince.

The model incorporates a four-mile stretch ofthe Rio Mimbres, the associated groundwater sys-tem, nine acequias, a reservoir, and adjudicatedwater rights for the basin. Partners in the project

Reclamation (USBR), Corps of Engineers, and USGeological Survey.

Similar Sandia projects are underway in Ari-zona, Texas, Oregon, and the Middle East. (See“Where models are helping set water manage-ment direction” above.)

Collaborative processThe greatest value of the computer models

might be in the collaborative process itself, Vincesays. Local decision makers are involved in build-ing a model from the ground up for the specificwater resource in question.

“We meet regularly with the stakeholders todiscuss what’s important for the area, how deci-sions are made, and what the alternatives are,” hesays. “When people see how the whole thing isbuilt and how it works, they are more likely toaccept its results.”

Helping develop the models forces many col-laborators to confront inaccurate assumptionsabout water, he says. With a healthy level of dis-agreement at the table, participants often begin tounderstand the perspectives of those they arecompeting with.

“It forces them to look at water as a systemand to deal with its physics,” he says. “Withoutsomebody cramming it down their throats, theycome to understand the complexities and theneed for a multidisciplinary approach.”

The project is part of Sandia’s Water Program,which seeks to improve the water supply safety,security, and sustainability of US water resourcesthrough the development of technologies that cre-ate new sources of water, decrease demand throughefficiency, and provide decision tools to the institu-tions responsible for balancing supply and demand.

Other Sandia contributors to the projectinclude: Ray Finley, Tom Lowry, Amy Sun, LenMalczynski, Jesse Roach, Will Peplinski, GeoffKlise, Jim Brainard, Beth Richards, Amy Coplen,Chau Dam, Suzanne Pierce, Marissa Reno, andAlison Williams (all 6313).

include the New Mexico Office of the State Engi-neer, Mimbres Water Users Group, and the Uni-versity of New Mexico.

Competing demandsIn another project along the Middle Rio

Grande Valley in central New Mexico, govern-ments are grappling with the competing waterdemands of sprawling residential development,agricultural irrigation, and the needs of theendangered silvery minnow.

In 2001 Vince and Howard Passell (6313),with support from Sandia’s Small Business Assis-tance program, began working with the MiddleRio Grande Water Assembly to develop an inte-grated surface water and groundwater modeladdressing agricultural, urban, and environmen-tal interests in a three-county region. The waterplan resulting from the project was accepted bythe state engineer’s office in late 2003 as part ofa statewide water management plan.

More recently the Middle Rio Grande modelwas expanded to include 17 river reachesstretching from the Colorado state line to Ele-phant Butte Dam in south-central New Mexico,plus six reservoirs and three integrated ground-water basins. The plan is available to water man-agers as a tool to help them home in onregional water solutions.

Partners in the project include the New Mex-ico Interstate Stream Commission, US Bureau of

As part of a project to allocate waterawarded to New Mexico in the 2004 ArizonaWater Settlements Act, Sandia worked withseveral stakeholder groups to develop and testa computer-aided decision tool for theGila/San Francisco River basin that straddlesthe New Mexico/Arizona border.

The model is helping authorities put thewater to the best long-term use while preserv-ing environmental resources. The effort hasgenerated interest in expanding the model toaddress water issues in southwestern NewMexico more broadly, says Vince Tidwell(6313).

Partners in the project include the NewMexico Interstate Stream Commission, USBureau of Reclamation, US Fish and WildlifeService, environmental organizations, andthe Southwestern New Mexico Water Plan-ning Group.

Near Austin, Texas, as part of a coopera-tive project with the University of Texasfunded by the Laboratory Directed Researchand Development program, Sandia

researchers helped couple system-level mod-els, which allow for rapid analysis, with a spa-tially detailed US Geological Survey ground-water model to study part of a major aquifer.

Joining the two modeling platformsallowed for collaboration by state and federalagencies and helped involve stakeholders inthe decision process, says Vince.

Farther away, on the Willamette River inwestern Oregon, regulators, resource man-agers, city government representatives, indus-try officials, and environmentalists are usingthe models to devise a system of barter for“thermal credits” whereby heating of riverwater by communities and pulp and papermills that use the water is traded for restora-tion projects that cool water elsewhere alongthe river, to improve salmon habitat.

The work has an international compo-nent as well. Howard Passell (6313) and ateam of Sandia researchers are using commonwater concerns to foster cooperation amonggovernments at international borders, partic-ularly in the Middle East.

Where models are helping set watermanagement direction

Critical infrastructuredefenders attending a con-ference this month inWashington, D.C., willlearn from government “redteams” and intelligence pro-fessionals how to better pro-tect their systems. TheAug. 28-30 conference is hosted by Sandia’sInformation Design Assurance Red Team(IDART) at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel.

Multidisciplinary red teams have long helpedprivate and government customers understandhow adversaries could harm their systems andmissions. Assessments from an adversary’s pointof view help defenders understand the threat,avoid surprise, and adapt, plan, and train foradversary actions.

For the past two years, IDART has hostedconferences for the government red-teaming

community to exchange ideasand foster cooperation.REDTEAM2007 will bring thiscommunity together to shareits knowledge and experiencewith government, military,and commercial infrastruc-ture defenders.

As a bonus to attendees, on the last day ofthe conference Sandia’s IDART will present theRed Teaming for Program Managers (RT4PM)methodology, built on Sandia’s 50 years of expe-rience conducting multidisciplinary assessments.The process defines a red team’s objectives, com-position, and approach to match each customer’sneeds. Sandia has taught the RT4PM course tohundreds of program managers, analysts, deci-sion makers, and commanders.

For further information and registration, seewww.sandia.gov/redteam2007. — Neal Singer

Infrastructure security against globalthreats taught at Sandia-hosted conferenceUnderstand your adversaries and defend against them

MAP SHOWING the Gila River basin (gray) and RioMimbres basin (black).

“It [the computer water model]forces them to look at water as asystem and to deal with its physics.Without somebody cramming itdown their throats, they come tounderstand the complexities andthe need for a multidisciplinaryapproach.”

Sandia researcher Vince Tidwell


Information(Continued from page 1)

Resources, Information Security, Classificationand Export Control, Cyber Security, Human Fac-tors, and Sandia/California Security Operations,has rewritten and beefed up the policy andguidelines governing information protection atSandia. The revised policy, “Management ofInformation Throughout its Life Cycle”(CPR400.2.20), is expected to be published onSandia’s intranet later this month.

The revision contains an expanded Section 4addressing the protection of unclassified infor-mation, a diagram showing how the varioustypes of information relate to one another, and anew process document and flow chart designedto guide employees step-by-step through theprocess of determining the sensitivity and typeof information (Unclassified Unlimited Release(UUR), OUO, Sandia Proprietary, etc.).

The revision emphasizes the need for Sandiansto be constantly aware of the sensitivity of theinformation they are handling and to make a con-scious determination of its sensitivity prior to theinformation potentially leaving Sandia’s control,such as when it’s included in an email or publicpresentation. Any information released publiclymust go through Sandia’s Review & Approvalprocess.

“The overall goal of this revision was toincrease our level of assurance that sensitiveunclassified information is consistently recog-nized and properly protected,” Art says.

According to Mike Gomez (9601), the pro-ject lead for the policy revisions, some impor-tant changes to note are:

• The UCI category formerly known asCompany Sensitive is now called Sandia Propri-etary. The revision formalizes the protection ofcompany-owned information, provides guid-ance from the Legal organization, and includes

examples of government-owned vs. company-owned information.

• The revision establishes consistent termi-nology for unclassified information groups.

• The revision clarifies the requirements forprotecting various types of unclassified informa-tion through “minimum requirements” docu-ments. Each section contains references to other

resource materials as well as contacts for con-tent-related questions.

Sandians will be able to obtain more infor-mation on the policy revision and protectingunclassified information at two presentationsplanned for later this month. Watch forannouncements of presentation dates and timesin Sandia Daily News.

Sandia is engaged across a broad front in thenation’s quest for solutions to long-standingenergy and water challenges. The Energy andWater Showcase Open House, scheduled forWednesday, Aug. 15, from 1-3 p.m. in Bldg. 6585,will bring information about the Labs’ work inthese areas together under one roof.

The showcase will display energy- and water-related articles and information including windblade technology, a revolutionary geothermaldrilling tool, boiling water reactor experimenta-tion results of a reactor fuel rod assembly fire, var-ious solar technology apparatus, and much more.

“The showcase is really to make our energyand water technologies visible to our customersand our Sandia colleagues,” says Margie Tatro(6200), Fuel and Water Systems director. “Insteadof showing people what we do through view-graphs, we want to show them through realtechnology.”

Technologies from more than 10 organiza-tions from both the New Mexico and Californiasites will be on display. Docents in the lobby ofBldg. 6585 will provide information and answerquestions, and van service from the Steve SchiffAuditorium will shuttle visitors to Bldg. 6585every 15 minutes, beginning at 1 p.m.

The showcase, which has been in the makingfor the past two years, will remain on display inBldg. 6585 after the open house, with displayschanging to reflect advances in technology.Margie says she hopes the showcase will bringincreased support to the Energy Resources andNonproliferation Strategic Management Unit,both in the form of sponsors and new ideas fromSandians who have an interest in the energy andwater missions.

“I’m convinced that Sandia is an incrediblyrich place in terms of technical ideas, and I thinkif we can bring people to see what we’re working

on, they can possibly help contribute to our mis-sion,” she says.

Tom Salazar (6032) says one of the goals ofthe showcase is to target a broad cross-section ofpotential audiences, from the public and privatesector, on a technical and nontechnical level.

“Our intent is to educate at the various levelsof understanding,” he says.

The following organizations contributed to

the showcase: Geothermal Research (6331); EnergySystems Analysis (6332); Wind Energy Technology(6333); Solar Systems Dept. (6335); Energy Infra-structure and Distributed Energy Research (6336);Solar Technologies (6337); Geoscience Research &Applications (6310); Geochemistry (6316); Experi-ments & New Programs (6763); Advanced NuclearConcepts (6771); Applied Nuclear Technologies(1384); Engine Combustion (8362).

Energy and Water Showcase to open Aug. 15Display in Bldg. 6585 highlights long history of Sandia’s energy and water research

A BIT MORE TO THE RIGHT — Tom Salazar (6032) puts final touches to a display at the Energy and Water Show-case in Bldg. 6585. The showcase, a series of static displays, highlights several decades’ worth of Labs research intoenergy and water issues. (Photo by Bill Doty)

McFarland talks about radical Islamand threat to US energy supply

Robert McFarland, national security advisorto President Ronald Reagan, told a standing-room-only audience at the Steve Schiff Audito-rium that radical Islam, with millions of adher-ents around the globe, aims to conducteconomic warfare against the West by attackingMiddle East oil resources. The resulting disrup-tion in global energy prices, he asserted, wouldwreak havoc on the economies of industrializednations. To minimize the impact such an attackcould have, he argued, the US needs to pursuealternative sources of energy much moreaggressively than has historically been the case.

McFarland, speaking last month at a SandiaTechnology Symposium, cited statistics indicat-ing that most trips in US automobiles are lessthan 20 miles. If so-called plug-in hybrids usinga new generation of super-efficient batteriescould be brought into common usage, he said,oil consumption would plummet, along withthe corresponding demand for oil from volatileregions of the world.

McFarland praised Sandia for its contribu-tions to ending the Cold War, saying he was“humbled” by the warm welcome he hadreceived at the Labs. “And I’ve had some expe-rience in being humbled,” he joked. “I workedfor Henry Kissinger.”

By Jacqueline Cieslak

Photo by Bill Doty

More than 300 Sandians — individuals, teamrepresentatives, and their guests — gathered July 21at the National Hispanic CulturalCenter in Albuquerque for the2007 Employee RecognitionNight, Sandia’s annualcelebration of exceptionalservice, leadership, technicalaccomplishment, andteamwork.

This year, the awards honored54 individuals and 69 teams for their contributionsto Sandia’s mission success.

Each year, the gala event is built around atheme; this year it was “Surrounded by Stars.”

Labs Director Tom Hunter, who served as hostand awards presenter, wrote in the awards programthat the ERA winners are seen by their colleagues as“strong leaders, dedicated citizens of the Labs, tech-nical pioneers, and outstanding teams.

“Your contributions,” Tom wrote, “are part ofSandia’s collective, unfaltering effort to provideexceptional service to the nation.”

The individual recipients are pictured over thenext few pages. A complete listing of team winnersand team citations and the names of individual teammembers begins below, right. Individual citations areon the internal web.


54 individuals, 69 teams

Melecita Archuleta2736

Carrie Burchard8529

Peter Feibelman1130

Richard Baird9542

Callie Butler3331

Julia Garner4848

Daniel Fonte8230

Joshua England9328

Access Delay Development TeamFor demonstrating a novel access-delay technology within a

short time frame despite limited resources.John Smith, James Van De Vreugde, Daniel Yee, Joel

Groskopf, Anne Barrows, Stephen Eisenbies, Robert Hillaire, LarryThorne, Leo Mara, James Ross, Thomas Raber, John Brockmann,Ronald Dykhuizen, Scott Ferko, Charles Greenholt, ChristianHartwigsen, Steven Highland, Patrick Knight, Daniel Lucero,Raymond Page, Brian Patterson, Scott Stafford, Michael Tootle,David Zanni, Bill Swansiger

Advanced Flight Telescope TSU-SA TeamFor unprecedented dedication and technical excellence as a

team in delivering the AFT Telescope Sensing Unit Subassemblyon time while meeting all performance criteria.

Eric Shields, Barry Boughton, Peter Stromberg, Robert Pahl,Edward Winrow, Rosetta Florentino, Derek Anderson, TheodoreSalas, Tammy Henson, Molly McCandless, Jane Laflin, KendallKey, Dave Baiocchi, Harold Radloff, John Cresap, Chris Lanes, JacPier, Craig Boney, Bob Crain, Michele Davila, Steven DeBlassie,Anthony Geller, N. Glenn Rackley, Johnny Silva, James Hickman

AM/PM Personnel Moves Process TeamFor designing and implementing a process that enables

individual office moves to be completed within 2 ½ hours,reducing downtime and allowing for greater productivity.

Ken Keahbone, Leland Byers, Nicole Morgan, Mary AlicePadilla, Gail Hughes, Robert Shinn, Bob White, Patsy Rowland,Dana Striker, Wayne Shirley, Pat Manke, Julie Perich, GwennHampe, Natalie Lopez, William Carpenter

ARC Modeling & Simulation TeamThe multi-organizational ARC modeling team accepted the

challenge of developing a model/simulation to solve complexphysics problems critical for fundamental understanding of neu-tron generator physics.

Benjamin Cole, Russell Hooper, Matthew Hopkins, MichaelEatough, Edward Barnat, Paul Crozier, Steven Plimpton, RichardBuss, Juan Elizondo-Decanini, Joel Lash, Paul Miller

ASC Software Quality Support TeamGuided the ASC Program in implementing NNSA guidelines

for producing quality software in transitioning test-based confi-dence to computational and simulation-based confidence in theUS nuclear stockpile.

Tameka Barrentine, Patricia Hackney, Jennifer Turgeon, C.Michael Williamson, Robert Heaphy, Raymond Trechter, MichaelTownsend, Molly Minana, Pamela Harris, Martin Pilch, TimothyTrucano, Paul Yarrington, Susan Moore

ASC Tri-Lab L1 Milestone: Deliver Advanced ASCPhysics and Engineering Simulation Capabilities toSupport the W76-1 and the W80-3 LEP

The milestone team demonstrated significant advance-ments in the predictive capability of ASC codes for weaponsapplications through the application of formal V&V and UQprocesses.

Vicente Romero, Martin Pilch, Amalia Black, Michael Starr,

Wil Holzmann, D. Gregory Tipton, Thomas Blanchat, BarryBoughton, Alexander Brown, Dean Dobranich, Stefan Domino,Kevin Dowding, Nicholas Francis, Cecily Glissman, MichelHobbs, Lubomyra Kmetyk, Christine Northrop-Salazar, TolulopeOkusanya, Thomas Paez, Garth Reese, Brian Resor, DanielSegalman, Laura Swiler, Sheldon Tieszen, Angel Urbina

ATE TVAC IT&L TeamFor exceptional teamwork and leadership in the planning

and execution of a complex and highly visible test series for aSandia-developed, space-based national asset.

James Knecht, Robert Mathews, Donald Wilcoxon, RonaldAkau, Patrick Barney, Troy Gourley, Michael Maness, EdwardMartinez, John Morasco, Christopher Schumacher, RobertShirey, Bernard Soules, Michael Vickers, Donald Wilcoxon,James Scott

Audit Backlog Value Stream Mapping (VSM) TeamThe Audit Backlog Value Stream Mapping Team identified

process and system changes that will effectively reduce the Con-tract Audit backlog and unallowable cost risk.

Delfinia Salazar, Jo Cunningham, Tazmin Ralph, MarianArmijo, Richard Baird, Jacquelyn Rambo, Jim Green, PatriciaSena, Armani Vadiee

Automated Quasi-Metallize Spray Application(AQMSA) Team

Recognition of the AQMSA Team’s development of a lean,low-cost commercial spray application alternative to the currentlabor-intensive, hand-paint Quasi-Metallize process.

Paul Morrison, Phyllis Rice, Gary Mueller, Sergio Gonzalez,Rosalie Lopez-Spinello, Frank Chavez, Charles Bundy, MariaGalaviz, Maryann Olascoaga, William Pasco, Martha Perez,John Stuecker

The 2007 Employee Recognition Awards program, con-tinuing a trend begun several years ago, again this year showsdivisions placing a special emphasis on team accomplish-

ments. The teams listed over the next few pages were deemedto have made exceptional contributions to an important pro-gram or process. A few representative teams are pictured.

Individual honorees

(Continued on next page)

John Dillinger5616

Beth Dick2027

2007 Employee Recognition Awards program honors teams, individuals for exceptional contributions

Mark Boslough1433

Angela Cabanillas5900

Theresa Brown6322

Monica Martinez-Canales8964

Wendy Clayton6753

Greta Congable12420

Team honorees

AM/PM PERSONNEL MOVES PROCESS TEAM

Not pictured: Kenneth Vitto (5711), Susan Vosburg (4137)


Amy Herr8321

Robert Hanzlik5626

Sherron Hirdman2733

Gary Hoe4864

Janet Iafonaro2025

Tan Chang Hu9338

Nathaniel Gleason8114

Linda Holle6037

B61 ALT 356/8/9 SRM TeamFor demonstrating exemplary dedication, personal sacrifice

and overcoming significant technical and programmatic chal-lenges to meet component and system production deadlines.

Douglas Hodge, William Erikson, Rachel Carson, WilliamShelton, Neil Sorenson, Duane Richardson, John Lorio, AdamWadin, Walter Wolfe, Paul Hooper, Thomas Massis, GeraldKnorovsky, Marlene Uribe, Kenneth Gwinn, Thomas Hafen-richter, Phil Hoover, Roger Kite, Vincent Loyola, Frank Paulic,Jeffrey Payne, Donald Potter, Raymond Sanchez, Sara Szarka,Gilbert Theroux, Richard Apodaca

CDM Cost Estimating Tool Development TeamThis integrated team successfully developed and imple-

mented the new CDM Cost Estimating tool that is now in fulloperation.

Richard Berget, Wesley Bruno, Odelia Griffin, Donna Bauer,Richard Baird, Damon Stafford, Leland Clise, Sharon Dobias, KimGallagher, Thomas Garner, M. Elena Holland, Kathleen Johns,Tana Lucy, Mary K.C. Phillips, Frederick Salas, Ian Bailey, RachelCardona Brown

Center 4500 Rational Unified Process DecisionAnalysis Resolution Team

The team used a CMMI Level 3 process — Decision Analy-sis and Resolution — to basis an important Center decision touse Rational Unified Process.

Manuel Ontiveros, Sunita Moonka, David Suyle, Boris Starr, Jr.

Center 6300 Move teamTransforming the face of Sandia’s energy image.Bradford Skinner, Sandra Weaver, Julia Archibeque-Guerra,

Mary Alice Padilla, Ana-Marie Mollo, Tom Salazar

Center 6400 Office Administrative TeamFor providing outstanding service to the 6400 Center Office

during the long-term absence of the Senior Management Assistant,they demonstrated teamwork, dedication, and professionalism.

Jessica Cardoza, Tracy Knowlton, Denise King, Robin Thomp-son, Judy Sesma, Tayna Freier, Christine Johnson

Clovelly Site SPR Expansion GeomechanicsAnalysis Team

For completing complex geomechanical analyses on a high-priority DOE SPR project, which were pivotal in site selection,averting a $2 billion investment into a site with unacceptable risk.

Jonathan Rath, James Bean, Brian Ehgartner, Jose Arguello, Jr.

Compute Process Allocator R&D 100 Award TeamThe CPA team’s allocator is the first to balance individual

job allocation quality with future allocations, significantlyimpacting processing time and efficiency over 10,000 processors.

Kevin Pedretti, Vitus Leung, Cynthia Phillips, Michael Bender,David Bunde

Cyber Forensics Response TeamThe team is recognized through the Department of Energy,

National Nuclear Security Administration and other agencies asbeing experts in responding to network cyber intrusions.

Jeffrey Heller, Nellie Ward, Jessica Dillinger-Hale, Carrie Black,Douglas Kayatt, Jr., Daniel Chavez, Alex Quintana, Alex Berry,Kevin Nauer, Kenneth Will, Dominique Kilman, Tracey Lamee,Randy McClelland-Bane, Roger Suppona, Eric Thomas,Peter D. Warner

DARPA Navigation Grade Integrated MicroGyroscopes (NGIMG)

The Sandia/Northrop Grumman NGIMG Team successfullydemonstrated a nuclear magnetic resonance-based microgyro-scope within 12 months leading to award of a Phase II program.

Kent Geib, Christian Arrington, Victoria Montano, Kelly Neely,Rick Kellogg, John Williams, Darwin Serkland, Jim Hudgens, GregoryPeake, Thomas Swiler, Rusty Gillen, Christopher Apblett, RobertBoye, Jay Brotz, Adam Rowen, Peter Schwindt, Adam Stanford,Jason Verley, Hank Abbink, Thomas Lemp, Carrie Schmidt

DARPA Strategic Hardened Facility Defeat(SHFD) Proposal Team

The SHFD team crafted the winning proposal in response toa DARPA BAA for development and demonstration of anadvanced concept for hard-target defeat.

Laurence Costin, Mark Grubelich, Wendy Shaneyfelt, MarkYee, Douglas Blankenship, Yarom Polsky, David Holcomb, K.Terry Stalker, Phil Chamberli, William Escapule, Arthur Mansure,Sheldon Tieszen

Defect-Free Manufacturing TeamFor significant predictive science-based engi-

neering impacts on Pantex and KCP manufacturingprocesses, completion of a Level II Milestone, andsupport of AT-3.4.2 in the PEP.

Carlton Brooks, Amy Cha-Tien Sun, Rekha Rao,Lisa Mondy, Anne Grillet, Patrick Notz, DouglasAdolf, Ryan Berry, Jaime Castaneda, Raymond Cote,Richard Givler, Andrew Kraynik, David Noble, MaryWhite, Kathryn Berchtold, Paul Brooks, Alan Graham,Holly Haines, Bobby Mack, Jim Mahoney, JenniferPolitano, Cindy Welch, Edward Wilkes

Disaster Recovery/Business ContinuityProject Team

For creating a comprehensive, integrated Disas-ter Recovery Program/Strategy for centralized Infor-mation Technologies, balancing risk, cost, and prac-ticality against the overwhelming size/complexity ofSandia’s IT infrastructure.

Joe Brenkosh, Mike Kutzer, Don Bragg, Linda Garcia,Stephanie Fellows, Mike Gomez, Steve Carpenter, DavidChacon, Phil Kuhlman, Chris Morgan, Warren Cox, Jerry Friesen,Mark Gutscher, Cathy Houf, Joel Ammons, Lew Cox, AliHadizadeh, Ken Hunkler, Ryan Layton, Peter Laz, Bob Sibik,Greg Stevens

EDA TeamThe EDA team completed design changes in a timely fash-

ion for 28 different electronic modules required for the HiFESR&R/Nexus effort.

Richard Wilson, Richard Schaetzel, Gerald Prudencio, JohnBaney, Andrea Scott, Fred Turrieta, Joel Blend

Electromagnetic Launch and Operation of NavalCountermeasures

A first-ever electromagnetic launch and successful operationof a war-reserve naval countermeasures cartridge that includedenergetics and fusing, demonstrating payload compatibility withelectromagnetic launch systems.

Garyson Kinchen, Charlie Eberle, Janise Baldo-Pulaski, JohnJojola, Walter Nickerson III, Edward Vieth, Matthew Aubuchon,Gilbert Gonzalez, Les Basak, Richard DeFelice

Electromagnetics and Plasma Physics ASC CodeDevelopers

For significant and important progress in the develop-ment, new applications and transfers of ASC EM and plasmaphysics codes.

Jennifer Powell, Rebecca Coats, Lorena Basilio, C. DavidTurner, David Seidel, William Langston, Larry Warne, MichaelPasik, William Bohnhoff, William Johnson, Roy Jorgenson, JosephKotulski, Robert Mariano, L. Paul Mix, Jr., David Peters, TimothyPointon, Filippo Capplino, Brian Grant, Don Wilton

EPIC Application Specific Integrated CircuitProduct Team

For outstanding service in the delivery of the EPIC ASICchipset for use on the HIFES and NEXUS satellite focal planepayloads.

Sarah Everist, Patricia Snipes, Kurt Sandquist, Dana Shaw,Debra Ebbesen, Ronald Grant, Jose Rodriguez, Gregory Dinger,Thomas Gurrieri, Marty Shaneyfelt, Paul Dodd, Adam Brewer,Donald Bradley, David Campbell, Edward Dibello, Randolph Kay,Katherine Myers, Cathleen Reber, Patrick Candelaria, DavidCordova, Otho Fogwell, Gerald Hash, Bradley Havener, KennethMcGuire, Thomas Sanchez, Maurice Serna

Facilities Control System (FCS) TeamThe FCS team employed a team approach in order to sup-

port the construction, startup and operation of multiple newfacilities in 2006.

John Garcia, Dave Bryant, Edward Gore, Michael Swalby,Michael Rocco, Ronald Rymarz, Randy Lanier, James Whatley,David Dobias

Global Security Engagement and InternationalSafeguards Business

This team developed a series of business tools required by anew DOE customer resulting in enhanced trust and rapport andsecuring organizational mission space.

Marla Clary, Benjamin Bonin, Nora Tankersley

Global Security Programs Technology, Training& Demonstration (TTD) core team

The TTD core team simultaneously conducted a dramaticupgrade of the TTD area and remained fully operational formultiple high-level international projects.

Ruth Duggan, Connie Bodmer, Sally Bangora, ManuelTrujillo, Peter Havey, Faye Monaco

Ground Segment Testing (GST) Team for SensorSystems in Thermal Vacuum Chamber

The GST Team software engineers’ over-and-above effortssupported the Flight Segment hardware engineers during ThermalVacuum testing of an engineering grade sensor system prototype.

Eric Brock, Todd Ritterbush, David Cunningham, MaikaelThomas, Steven Gardner, Steve Kubica, Timothy Ericksson,Stephen Young, Todd Giles, Judy Beiriger, David Bodette, EthanChan, Thomas Loughry, David Miller, Clark Poore, David Strong,Robert Warrick, Guillermo Bonilla

Heavy Penetrator Sled Test TeamFor tremendous teamwork that resulted in successfully com-

pleting two sled tests at Holloman Air Force Base and meeting anear-impossible schedule.

Ben Welch, Doug Dederman, Eric Klamerus, Jeff Tong,

Team awards recognize achievement

(Continued from preceding page)

Roger Kite10242

William Jenkins Jr.12920

Scott Jones1344

Thomas Karas12140

Douglas Lawson243

Elmer Klavetter11501

DEFECT-FREE MANUFACTURING TEAM

(Continued on page 12)

Editor’s note: The following story is thefirst in a series of articles on Sandia’s Cogni-tive Science and Technology Program. Arti-cles in future issues of the Lab News willdiscuss various individual research projectsunderway at Sandia in this growing area.

* * *Imagine a world where a machine

creates a “virtual you” by modeling howyou think and your expertise on a sub-ject. Or one where your car’s computerassesses your driving skills and compen-

sates for your limitations.That’s the world Sandia has entered

full throttle through its Cognitive Sci-ence and Technology Program (CS&T).

A revolution is at hand, says ChrisForsythe (6341), member of the Labs’cognition research team. It’s not one ofjust better guns and weapons fornational security. Instead, “It’s a revolu-tion of the mind — of how people think and howmachines can help people work better.”

“I believe that a fundamental level, science-based understanding of human cognition will,indeed, revolutionize the world,” says SteveRoehrig, director of Energy, Resources, & SystemsAnalysis Center 6300 and Sandia’s CS&T pro-gram lead. “Our long-term CS&T programemphasizes teaming with outside institutions toresearch and apply the spectrum of scienceunderlying human cognition — from neuralbasics to the integrated brain, to understandingthe mind and individual behavior. With anemphasis on national security, Sandia can havemajor impacts ranging from aiding neural scien-tists with new technologies and computationalapproaches to developing cognitive aids forhumans on the other end of the spectrum.”

Focus on the individualA large portion of Sandia’s program today

focuses on the uniqueness of the individual inter-acting with others and with machines. It involvesusing machines to help humans perform moreefficiently and embedding cognitive models inmachines so they interact with users more likepeople interact with one another. The result is theability for researchers to take advantage of thebasic strengths of humans and machines whilemitigating the weaknesses of each.

Cognitive projects and research at Sandiaspan the gamut from student training to assisting

with Yucca Mountain licensing, fromdesigning “smart” cars to using video-like games to train military personnel,and from determining how neuronsgive rise to memory to global terroristthreat detection.

Funding for the research has comefrom the Office of Naval Research,Sandia’s Laboratory Directed Researchand Development (LDRD) program,DOE, the Defense Advanced ResearchProjects Agency (DARPA), and othergovernment agencies. The CS&T pro-gram also benefits from collaborationswith the University of New Mexico, theMIND Imaging Center in Albuquerque,and most recently the University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Cognition and national securityThe initial decision for Sandia to

develop cognitive technologies is basedon the belief that “there are numerouspositive impacts cognitive systems tech-nologies can have on our national secu-rity,” says Russ Skocypec, senior man-ager of the Human, Systems, andSimulation Technologies Dept. 6340.

“Everything in the world is becom-ing more individualized, includingconflicts,” Russ says. “You see this all

the time in Iraq and other places where terroristsare taking their toll. Security threats are morepersonalized.”

Russ believes that today’s conflicts are unlikeothers over in the past century. He says thatalthough all wars are driven by humans, majorinfluences on the outcomes have differed. WorldWar I was a chemists’ war, World War II a physi-cists’ war, and the Cold War an economic war.Today, he believes, “we are engaged in a humanwar that is influenced primarily by individualhuman beings rather than technology orbureaucracy.”

That is why he considers it appropriate forSandia, a laboratory with national security as its mis-sion, to use its resources to better understand theminds of this country’s adversaries, as well as to usemachines to enhance the Labs’ abilities to recognizepatterns, deal with massive amounts of data, solveperplexing problems, and perform complex activities.


Cognitive Science and Technology Program becomes Sandia initiativeLabs’ experience in diverse fields critical in emerging cognitive revolution

The new cognitive technologies promise a great future — machines helpingpeople learn faster, better; new ways for experts to share information; and moreefficient ways for people to work using machines. But potential danger lurks inthe shadows if these technologies are misused or misunderstood.

“We are talking about a whole new level of ethical and legal considerationsthat may have impacts in ways we can’t yet even comprehend,” says WendyShaneyfelt (6341), member of the cognition research team who began thinkingabout these issues early in the research.

Russ Skocypec, senior manager of the Human, Systems, and SimulationTechnologies Dept. 6340, says he credits staff members, like Wendy, who recog-nized the potential for ethical and legal concerns.

“They brought their concerns to the attention of management, which hasbeen very supportive of advancing these objectives directly and objectively,” hesays. “It is our hope to educate ourselves and society early on these issues to mit-igate the potential for purely or highly emotional responses later.”

Many questions emerge when thinking about these systems, Wendy says.Who owns a cognitive model that represents a human (cognitive agent) and isresponsible for its behavior? Can a cognitive agent be licensed? Can a cognitiveagent legally act on a person’s behalf? How can access to a cognitive agent becontrolled? What if a cognitive agent performs a business transaction on behalfof a deceased person? Who is responsible for erroneous information supplied bya cognitive agent? What if a cognitive agent shares personal information it isnot authorized to share?

In an effort to be ahead of the game and be prepared with answers beforethe cognitive revolution reaches fruition, Wendy led a grassroots effort toexplore how other emerging and well-established scientific disciplines con-fronted similar issues and what it would take to develop cognitive systemsresponsibly.

“We wanted to learn from the experiences that the biotechnology andnanotechnology communities have had as they confront ethical and legal issuesin their respective rapidly expanding fields,” Russ says.

The result was the evolution of seven ethical principles and guidelines (seebelow) for the development of cognitive systems.

Working with the cognitive science researchers on her team and consultingwith ethicists and psychology professors from the University of New Mexico, aframework was established to provide guidance and practical strategies to proac-tively address both real and potential ethical issues.

“In general, the principles vary in terms of the specificity of their content,”Wendy says. “Some are broad, like respect for persons, while others are more lim-ited in scope — protecting the confidentiality of a research participant’s data.”

Ethical principles for the development of cognitive systems• Cognitive system developers will remain knowledgeable about and apply

their respective established professional/ethical codes and guidelines asappropriate.

• Cognitive systems developers will proactively consider the intended usesand impacts of their specific technologies, as well as the potential for acci-dental use, misuse, and abuse.

• Cognitive systems developers will provide inherent safety features to theextent considered reasonably possible to maximize the prevention of acci-dents, misuse, and abuse.

• Cognitive systems developers will proactively initiate ethical discussionsamong themselves and support public engagements as these technologiesdevelop.

• Cognitive systems developers will provide human test subjects with a clearunderstanding of the personal information acquired and how it will bestored, analyzed, and applied.

• Cognitive systems developers will responsibly handle any personal informa-tion obtained from test subjects.

• Cognitive systems developers will respect the limitations of a cognitivemodel as an imperfect representation of a test subject.

Ethics and cognitive research

SANDIA RESEARCHER ROB ABBOTT uses a joystick and plays the role of a student ina training exercise driving an amphibious assault vehicle simulator used by the Navyand Marines. The second monitor is an instructor/operator application calledCDMTS. In the background is a thermal image of a student’s face used for investigat-ing biometrics to monitor the student in various ways including the level of engage-ment and focus of attention. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

“I believe that at a fundamentallevel, science-based understandingof human cognition will, indeed,revolutionize the world.”

Steve RoehrigCenter 6300 director


Stories by Chris Burroughs


While Sandia dipped its toes in cognitiveresearch in the late 1990s, the Labs’ real effort inthe area started in 2002 when the program wonan internally funded LDRD grand challenge. Basedin part on the success and path set by the grandchallenge in 2005, the former Mission Council —a group that consisted of senior Sandia vice presi-dents — selected cognitive science and technology(CS&T) as a research focus area for the Labs.

Most people who are well-versed on cognitiveissues — like Danny Rintoul, manager of Compu-tational Biology Dept. 1412, whose departmenthas several people involved in cognitive researchefforts — believe that the “near-term high-impacteffect of cognitive science research would be toenable people to do complex, dangerous tasks ina safer manner.”

“This includes, of course, protecting and aug-menting the warfighter, but eventually could beused to help people with a broader set of tasksthat are not just dangerous, but unpleasant andtedious,” Danny says. “In the long-term, the realgoal is understanding the inner workings of themind. This is probably a 100-year goal, but thepayoff for this would probably revolutionizehuman life as we know it.”

The largest complex problemHe adds, “Sandia is one of the premier places

in the world where disparate groups of researchershave been able to work together to solve largecomplex problems. Cognitive science is probablythe largest complex problem that scientists areconsidering right now, and our ability to bringtogether computational scientists, engineers, andneural scientists to tackle this problem is criticalin solving it.”

Deputy Labs Director for Integrated Tech-nologies and Systems Al Romig says Sandia’smove to emphasize cognitive research is “notunlike what we did when we decided to go intobiotechnology in 1999.”

“Many people believe cognitive science willbe a major focus of scientific research and tech-nology development over the next several years,”he says. “Just like biotechnology is not the biol-ogy of our grandparents, cognitive science is notthe science of even your older sibling.”

He calls this a “new frontier” that will growrapidly over the next 10 to 20 years.

“Right now we can’t really know what willcome out of a radical new area like cognition,” hesays. “We may not see an impact tomorrow. Tenyears from now may even be optimistic. But it’sour responsibility to be at the forefront.”

Strategic planning for CognitiveScience and Technology

During the spring and summer of 2006, thecognition team conducted two investigations.The first looked at what cognitive capabilitiesexist at Sandia.

The second examined opportunities involv-ing the convergence of Sandia’s initiatives in theareas of cognition, biotechnology, and nanotech-nology. This led to a Cognitive Science and Tech-nology Plan with three technical objectives — a

The fields of cognition and neuroscience are poisedfor the same major unifying breakthroughs experi-enced by the physics and biology communities of thelast century and a half, saysJohn Wagner, manager ofCognitive and ExploratorySystems Dept. 6341.

“In physics, complex dis-parate observations were rec-onciled based on simple unify-ing fundamental principles.Examples include electricityand magnetism, thermody-namics and statistical mechan-ics, and Newtonian dynamicsand relativity,” he says. “Simi-larly, the biological revolution started when theextreme complexity and variability of the biologicalworld was unified based on the replication and applica-tion of simple rules embodied in the geometry ofDNA.”

Today, John says, there is some understanding ofthe brain (neuroscience) and mind (cognitive psychol-ogy and behavior) at various levels, but there is no uni-fying basic understanding of them or the fundamentalprinciples of structure and function that apply to them.

“Seeking this fundamental understanding from firstprinciples, not just empirical observations, helps set thescientific direction for the CS&T program,” John says.

Cognition, neuroscience poisedfor major breakthroughs

JOHN WAGNER

One goal of Sandia’s cognition program is tocreate simulated humans that interact with eachother, their environment, and with actual humansin a realistic and psychologically plausible manner.

For several years SandianMichael Bernard (6341) and othershave been working with cognitiveexperts from universities around thecountry to develop computationalmodels of memory, decision mak-ing, reason, emotion, and stress. Forexample, his group is attempting tocomputationally represent episodicmemory (memory of our unique,personal experiences), prospectivememory (remembering to perform an intendedaction — e.g., pick up some milk on the wayhome from work), and semantic memory (fac-tual information independent of the specificepisodes in which that information wasacquired).

Michael says this is not an easy task.“We’ve had to include a variety of aptitudes in

the computer framework that are found primarilyin humans and other higher primates,” he says.

This involves such abilities as “to dynamicallyrespond to both environmental and social stimuli,perceive relationships among characters, have psy-

chological and sociological plausibility, andaccount for different types of human emotions atvarious levels.”

To create software to accommodate this type ofcomplex data, the team started withbuilding blocks of memory: concept,the most fundamental element of theSandia architecture; and contexts, mean-ingful perceptual representations basedon recognizable patterns of stimuli.

“One of the milestones for thepast fiscal year was to develop initialreasoning algorithms in the form ofdeductive, inductive, and abductivelogic,” Michael says.

Deductive reasoning is the process of reason-ing in which the conclusion is reached from previ-ously known facts. Inductive is the process of rea-soning in which the premises of an argument arebelieved to support the conclusion but do notensure it. Abduction is the process of selecting ahypothesis that would, if true, best explain theobservation.

Michael says that the ultimate the goal of thiseffort will be to build the groundwork for humansimulation models that can be fielded as next gen-eration modeling and simulation training, behav-ioral forecasting, and tactics development tools.

Cognition modeling no easy task

Cognitive science(Continued from preceding page)

basic science understanding of the human brain,mind, and behavior; improved human perfor-mance; and advanced human-machine systems atall scales.

“The plan is at the level of ‘send a man to themoon’ — beyond the scope of what any one insti-tution can possibly do,” Chris says. “It’s a synthe-sis of ideas. Now, our intent is to home in on afew areas in which the labs can make a uniqueand profound contribution.”

Chris says there are two elements to Sandia’s(Continued on next page)

To further study the legal and ethical ramifica-tions of cognitive research, Wendy Shaneyfelt(6341) and David Peercy of Sandia’s System andSoftware Quality Engineering Dept. 12341 estab-lished a multidisciplinary team of researchers fromSandia and the University of New Mexico. The teamwas charged with characterizing a range of actual,potential, perceived technical, and nontechnicalrisks associated with the development of cognitivesystems.

The team participated in a series of workshopsand conducted several focus groups to help under-stand what threats both scientists and the public per-ceived to be involved in cognitive research. Focusgroup participants included nontechnical people,such as University of New Mexico professors who hadno scientific and technical expertise in this field and awell-educated public from the Albuquerque commu-nity; technical people including UNM, The MINDInstitute, and Sandia personnel who were researchersin the field of cognitive sciences; and Sandia employ-ees working in the area of surety.

“All participants agreed there was some threat

with the cognitive technologies, in particular in theareas of privacy, legal, ownership, and reliability ofsystems,” Wendy says. “This was across the board —something unusual in this type of survey. The con-cerns of the scientists were not that dissimilar fromthe concerns of the public.”

Based on the findings from the focus groups,the team started looking at Sandia’s surety model asa possible way of mitigating risks.

“The model has been dispersed around theworld to prevent the mishandling of nuclearweapons,” Wendy says. “We wanted to do to thesame thing with cognitive technologies to avoidpotential future abuses and accidents.”

Sandia’s surety model — which centers aroundsafety, reliability, security, human factors, quality,and surveillance — has been extensively studied andapplied within the Labs’ weapon/weapon-relatedareas as well as for other technologies.

“Our exterior advisory board believed Sandiahas a unique ability to utilize surety techniques tohelp mitigate risks in this field,” Russ says. “Theystrongly encouraged us to apply them.”

Investigating surety methodologies for cognitive systems

COGNITION SCIENCE TEAM AT WORK — (Left to right) Steve Verzi, Justin Basilico, Charlie Gieseler, Chris Davis(2nd row) Jon Whetzel, Russel Waymire, Ann Speed, Patrick Xavier, Zach Benz (right to back) Matt Glickman, FredRothganger, Brian Clark, Wendy Shaneyfelt, and Brian Titus. (Photo by Tiana Chavez)

The ultimate goal ofthis effort will be tobuild the groundworkfor human simulationmodels for a number ofapplications.


strategic planning for cognition.“What makes most sense is for Sandia to

select areas where we have unique, collectivetechnical strengths, areas that few others in theworld can do as well,” Chris says. “These includesuch capabilities as high-performance computing,nanotech, physics-based modeling and simulation,and surety.”

The human factorThe other element involves a focus on oppor-

tunities where specific national security problemshave a human factor.

“As a national security lab, we have a respon-sibility to apply this emerging science and tech-nology base to provide innovative new solutionsto these problems,” he says.

In speaking about the importance of under-standing the brain, Sandia VP and Principal Sci-entist Gerry Yonas notes, “Our best role is to har-ness the power of our computing and modeling,as well as sensors, to assist in the rapidly advanc-ing field of neuroscience for national securityapplications. Sandia can apply neuroscience tonational security problems in a variety of ways —by improving our understanding of brain func-tions and of the implications of stress, confusion,and ambiguity on decision making, all in aneffort to enhance our own performance anddegrade the performance of our adversaries.”

John Wagner, manager of Cognitive andExploratory Systems and Simulations Dept. 6341,says the new area of research means “profoundopportunities exist for the Labs.”

“CS&T’s ambitious direction may not be real-ized for many decades, but the informationrequired for progress is emerging today,” he says.“It is reasonable to expect future discoveries will

become the Nobel-class achievements for the cog-nitive and neuroscience communities at large inthe years to come.”

What is a cognitive system?The term “cognitive systems” has been used

worldwide to identify a variety of programs, ini-tiatives, and technologies. However, so many var-ied uses have led to ambiguity of meaning. Sandiahas established its own definition: “Cognitive sys-tems consist of technologies that utilize as anessential component one or more computationalmodels of human cognitive processes or theknowledge of specific experts, users, or otherindividuals.”

“It is important to note in this definition andin all of Sandia’s work in the area of cognitionthat the human is always part of the equation,”Chris says. “Technology might try to take thehuman out of the system, but the human ele-ment never goes away. A machine might be ableto do the work 10 humans can do. But a humanhas to be in the loop — there was a human whodesigned it, most likely, a human who uses andmaintains it, and in the end, a human will probablydispose of it.”

To Russ, “the goal is to have seamless and sophis-ticated unions between humans and computers.”

“Extending human cognition in such a wayoffers people the unprecedented ability toincrease their productivity as well as improve thequality of their work,” Russ says.

Further research, he says, on how behaviorand the mind work together is needed beforeresearch can go much farther. Knowledge of thebrain is deep in specific areas but much is stillunknown, particularly in understanding brainfunction at different scales and as integratedsystems.

John says that cognitive research at Sandia —like most worldwide — is in its infancy. He antici-pates that within the next decade research thatseems like science fiction today will be a daily

• Sandia researchers help to make carssmarter

• Sandia models how people use analyti-cal thinking to solve problems

• Sandia works with Army to use videogame-like technique to train soldiers

• Sandia works on project where nano-electrode arrays are injected in an animal’sbrain to provide data concerning neuronactivation

• Sandia researches brain injury• Yucca Mountain certification process

uses Sandia cognition program software

Upcoming stories in augmentedcognition series

part of everyone’s lives. The cognitive revolutionwill be in full bloom.

“Once that happens, the best of both worldscan happen,” John says. “If we understandhuman cognition better, we can work togetheras a nation to reduce tension, find problemsbefore they turn into armed conflict, and worktoward actions that establish and maintainpeace worldwide.”

Automated knowledgecapture

Sandia initiated its cognitive modelingefforts in 1999. It involved many hours inter-viewing people and reviewing records.

“We realized from the beginning that cog-nitive modeling may be a wonderful technol-ogy, but doing it by traditional methodsrequired too much time and cost too muchmoney for the technology to ever be broadlyapplicable or to realize its true potential fornational security,” says Chris Forsythe (6341),member of Sandia’s cognition research team.“There was a concern that our technologywould only be applied for a handful of exoticapplications where cost was not an issue. It wasapparent that we had to automate the develop-ment and updating of models of individuals.”

As a result, research spearheaded into threedifferent research arenas for building models —text-based models, training applications, andmachine transactions. These became the basisfor building models through “automatedknowledge capture.”

Text-based models involve taking docu-ments, papers, and emails and looking forinformation, including key words and wordpatterns — anything that might provideinsight — to what a person is thinking or inter-ested in. This also gives researchers the oppor-tunity to look at changes across time. Whenthey see new key words emerge, somethingmight have changed. Heading up this effort isTravis Bauer (6341).

Training applications, headed by RobertAbbott and Elaine Raybourn (both 6341), areanother major part of automated knowledgecapture. Sandia has been working with the USNavy to develop a tool that can be part of itsaviation training exercises. This involves build-ing a model that can record students’ actionsduring training exercises. Computers monitorlarge numbers of people at once, detect whensomeone is doing something inappropriate,and bring it to the attention of the student orinstructor.

The machine transactions segment ofautomated knowledge capture uses sensors togather information about how a persondrives. This information is put into a com-puter model. While a person is driving, thecomputer can detect when the driver is in ademanding driving situation (e.g., entering ahigh-speed roadway or preparing to passanother vehicle). This recognition allows thecar to delay nonurgent communications suchas cell phone calls until the driver can betterhandle the extra activity. Leading themachine transitions research are Chris andKevin Dixon (6341).

Cognitive science(Continued from preceding page)

Tied closely to the development of cognitive computer models are the validation and verification tech-niques to ensure the models are correct.

That’s where Tim Trucano (1411), validation and verification expert, steps in. He is in the early stagesof developing ways to make sure the cognitive models are working as they should.

“I work on developing methods to generate and use information that allow cognitive modelers to vali-date their models,” says Tim, who has spent many years working with the NNSA Advanced Simulation &Computing Program.

He and his team, consisting of George Backus (1433), Alex Slepoy (4014), Laura McNamara (1433), andScott Mitchell (1412), are seven months into a Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) pro-ject. They are attempting to create a validation methodology that “makes sense for cognitive and groupinteraction modeling,” Tim says. In particular, they are researching mathematical methods and computa-tional procedures for scientifically comparing cognitive models with empirical observations as part of thevalidation process.

Ultimately they hope to develop a verification and validation strategy for the CS&T program, as well asspecific insight into one or more projects.

Validation and verification play important role

JONATHAN McCLAIN (6341) demonstrates use of an EyeTracker system, a way for the computer to know where aperson is looking on the monitor screen. It’s part of an integrated workstation designed for machines to interprethuman cognitive and emotional states. (Photo by Brian F. Clark)


Editor’s note: Last weekthe secretaries of Energy,Defense, and State issued ajoint document outlining therole of nuclear weapons as adeterrent in the 21st centurystrategic environment. Becausethe document addresses issuesrelated to the future of thenuclear weapons complex anddiscusses the potential role theReliable Replacement War-head could play in modernizing the nation’s nuclearweapons arsenal, it is of fundamental interest toSandians. The document, reprinted here in itsentirety, was released to Congress, the news media,and the public. The electronic version of the docu-ment is available at the NNSA website atwww.nnsa.doe.gov/docs/factsheets/2007/NA-07-FS-04.pdf.

(Subheadlines have been added by the Lab News.)* * *

A principal national security goal of theUnited States is to deter aggression against our-selves, our allies, and friends. Every Americanadministration since President Truman’s day hasformulated US national security policy in muchthe same terms, making clear to adversaries andallies alike the essential role that nuclearweapons play in maintaining deterrence. Sus-taining US deterrence policy has requireddecades of dedicated service from the men andwomen of our armed forces, skilled representa-tion by America’s diplomats, and painstaking,often dangerous work by America’s nuclear sci-entists, engineers, and technicians. The exten-sion of a credible US nuclear deterrent has beencritical to allied security and removed the needfor many key allies to develop their own nuclearforces.

A decades-long, bipartisan partnershipAbove all, maintaining a credible deterrent

has required a decades-long, bipartisan partner-ship with Congress. Some in Congress haverecently expressed the view that we lack a coher-ent nuclear weapons strategy that provides thedirection and rationale for the post-Cold War USnuclear force structure. To address these con-cerns in more depth, a detailed report will fol-low this summary paper. The report will lay outthe data and methodology used to determineour nuclear weapons force structure, outlineknowledge points for measuring progress intransforming our nuclear stockpile, and dispel anumber of myths that have grown up around USnuclear forces.

It is the policy of this Administration toachieve an effective strategic deterrent at the low-est level of nuclear weapons consistent with ournational security and our commitments and oblig-ations to allies. In 2001, President Bush directedthat the United States reduce the number of oper-ationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons fromabout 6,000 to 1,700-2,200 by 2012 — a two-thirds reduction. Corresponding reductions in thenuclear stockpile will result in the lowest levelsince the Eisenhower Administration.

Several factors have permitted these dra-matic reductions from our large Cold Warnuclear arsenal built and maintained from the1950s to the 1990s. For several decades, theSoviet Union represented a large, intractable,ideologically motivated adversary; its fall hasallowed us to reassess our nuclear force require-ments. In 2001, the President also directed thetransition to a new set of military capabilitiesmore appropriate for credible deterrence in the21st century. This “new triad” of strategic capa-bilities, composed of non-nuclear and nuclearoffensive strike forces, missile defenses, and aresponsive national security infrastructure,reduces US reliance on nuclear weapons whilemitigating the risks associated with drawingdown US nuclear forces.

However, other contemporary factors lead us

to conclude that nuclear weapons will continueto be required for the foreseeable future. Thefuture security environment is very uncertain,and some trends are not favorable. Rogue stateseither have or seek weapons of mass destruction,including nuclear weapons, and the risk of futureproliferation cannot be ignored. The futuredirection that any number of states may take,including some established nuclear powers withaggressive nuclear force modernization pro-grams, could have a dramatic effect on US secu-rity and the security of our allies. We seek toassure our allies that the US nuclear arsenal con-tinues to serve as the ultimate guarantor of theirsecurity, thus obviating any need for them todevelop nuclear weapons of their own. Indeed,the nuclear weapons programs of North Koreaand Iran underscore the importance of US secu-rity guarantees to key allies around the world.Credible US nuclear capabilities and our securitycommitment to allies remain an indispensablepart of deterrence and an important element inour effort to limit proliferation.

A responsive nuclear infrastructureThe Administration believes that an opera-

tional force between 1,700 and 2,200 strategicwarheads, while much smaller than our ColdWar arsenal, still provides sufficient capabilityto achieve these goals. This force will demon-strate to allies and adversaries alike that theUnited States has the necessary means, and thepolitical will, to respond decisively againstaggression and the use of weapons of massdestruction.

The current plan preserves options forfuture administrations to make additionaladjustments in the US nuclear force posture aschanges in the international security environ-ment warrant.

We are at a critical juncture that requires theUS to invest now in the capabilities needed tomaintain a credible deterrent at the lowest levelof nuclear weapons. Without assuming seriousrisk, further reductions in the total stockpile areonly achievable with a responsive nuclear infra-structure. Without a responsive nuclear infra-structure, the United States must continue tomanage the technical risks associated with anaging stockpile of Cold War-era nuclearweapons, and the geopolitical uncertainties ofthe years ahead, by maintaining a sizable inven-tory of reserve weapons to support the opera-tionally deployed force. This is an increasinglyexpensive and potentially risky approach tostockpile stewardship. Successive efforts atextending the service life of the current inven-tory of weapons drives these weapons fartheraway from the original source data derived fromunderground nuclear tests, and risks incorporat-ing or accruing technical changes that could,over time, inadvertently undermine their relia-bility and performance.

Refurbishing older weapons difficultThe skills and technologies needed to refur-

bish and maintain these older weapon designsare increasingly difficult to sustain or acquire.Furthermore, some of the materials employed inthese older weapons are extremely hazardous.Moreover, it is difficult to incorporate modernsafety and security features into Cold War-eraweapon designs.

Finally, as the United States continues to

US National Security and Nuclear Weapons:Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st Century

observe a moratorium onunderground nuclear test-ing, it becomes increasinglydifficult to certify the exist-ing stockpile of weapons.

To address these issuesof sustainability, safety,security, and reliability, andto achieve a smaller yetcredible nuclear deterrentforce, the United Statesneeds to invest in the Reli-

able Replacement Warhead (RRW) program. Pur-suit of this program is critical to sustaining long-term confidence in our deterrent capability —especially as the US reduces its nuclear forces,the total number of weapons in the stockpile,and the size of the nuclear weapons infrastruc-ture. RRW is a replacement warhead — it willhelp reduce the size of the nuclear stockpile andwill not provide new military capabilities.Instead, RRW will make US nuclear weaponssafer and more secure against unauthorized useby incorporating state-of-the-art security fea-tures that cannot be retro-fitted to olderweapons. RRW designs will provide more favor-able reliability and performance margins thanthose currently in the stockpile, and will be lesssensitive to incremental aging effects or manu-facturing variances.

Reducing likelihood of nuclear testsThus, RRW will allow the United States to

manage the risks and challenges of the 21st Cen-tury while reducing the likelihood of returningto nuclear testing to certify reliability. Overtime, RRW will enable the United States to tran-sition to a smaller, more responsive nuclearinfrastructure that will enable future administra-tions to adjust the US nuclear stockpile as geo-political conditions warrant. RRW is key to sus-taining our security commitment to allies, and isfully consistent with US obligations under theNuclear Nonproliferation Treaty — includingArticle VI.

Without Congressional support for the Reli-able Replacement Warhead program we are con-cerned for the long-term ability of the UnitedStates to sustain its strategy of deterrence, meetits security commitment to allies, and pursuefurther reductions in nuclear weapons withoutassuming additional risk. Delaying progress onRRW will force the United States to maintain alarge stockpile of nuclear weapons and sustain itthrough increasingly costly and risky Life Exten-sion Programs. Delays on RRW also raise theprospect of having to return to undergroundnuclear testing to certify existing weapons.

Transforming & reducing nuclear forcesMaintaining a credible deterrent has

required a decades-long, bipartisan partnershipwith Congress; this partnership will be no lesscritical in the future than in the past.

Over the next two decades Congress willmake many decisions, including decisions onRRW, that will help determine how fast andhow far the United States can go in transform-ing and reducing its nuclear forces, nuclearstockpile, and nuclear infrastructure to makethem smaller, safer, more secure, and moreappropriate to managing the risks and chal-lenges of the 21st century. We must makeprogress toward creating a nuclear weaponsinfrastructure that can respond quickly andeffectively to emerging threats and to technolog-ical surprise. This will assure our ability to main-tain deterrence over the long term, and enablefuture reductions in both the operationallydeployed force and the overall nuclear weaponsstockpile. The sooner Congress authorizes andfunds transformative programs like RRW, thesooner the United States and its allies can realizethe benefits this approach holds for maintaininga credible and effective deterrent with the lowestpossible level of nuclear weapons.


Michael Padilla3651

Richard Lucero6753

Norm Padilla5353

William Peters10241

Jerry Smith9328

Jeffrey Scheffer5425

Thomas Loughry5531

Randy Rembold5736

Steven Thornberg1825

Jerome Stofleth5434

William Stygar1671

Katherine Sutton5711

Bob Franssen, Bruce Kistler, Steve Buck, Linh Thai, Scott McDonald,Tim Shelton, Ron Carr, Paul Booker, John Andersen, Ming Lau,’David Faucett, Jerry Fordham, John Foster, Mark Higuera,Rigoberto Ledezma, Felipe Reyes,Judith Sylva

High Energy DensityLaser Welding Char-acterization andModeling Team

For significantadvancement of the phys-ical understanding andmodeling of a highlydynamic laser weldingprocess and completion ofa complex Level 2Milestone.

Mario Martinez, JeromeNorris, Peter Duran, R.Allen Roach, CharlesRobino, Danny MacCallum,Mark Reece

Integrated StockpileEvaluation Team (ISE)

The ISE Team devel-oped a novel approach for responsible stockpile stewardship. ISEwas successfully adopted by NNSA through its SurveillanceTransformation Plan.

Cheryl Rivera, Siviengxay Limary, Kathleen Diegert, SherylHingorani, Suzette Beck, Janet Sjulin, Colette Bristol, BernardGomez, Daniel Sherman, Todd Sterk, Jeffrey Braithwaite, JerryMcClellan, Ronald Hartwig, John Arfman, Jr., Jason Bowie,Heather Brown, Ronald Hahn, Jeanne Lewis, Gary Nordyke,Elizabeth Parker, Robert Paulsen, Jr., William Reutzel, RonaldSauls, Dawn Skala, Rena Zurn

Integrating Pollution Prevention into SNL/NM SiteOperations

The pollution prevention group of the Environmental Plan-ning Department reaches out broadly to helpline organizations integrate pollution preven-tion into their site operations.

Sylvia Saltzstein, Diana Goold, Jeffery Miller,Sherron Hirdman, Margie Marley, KristinKlossner, Ralph Wrons, Matt Shain, Doug Vetter,Samuel McCord, Morgan Gerard, MiguelAtencio, Matthew Brito, Corey Campbell, DavidCastillo, Mark Crawford, Christopher Evans,Larry Hatcher, Phillip Rivera, Lucille Roybal,Sharon Sanders, Dwight Stockham, MaryBultmann, Ron Chapman, Gary Tilley

JAEIC FISMAT Analysis TeamThrough technical excellence, diligence,

and community culture, the JAEIC FISMATSecurity Team delivered a landmark, national-level study assessing the security status offoreign fissile materials.

Ike Izenberg, Ernestine Morris, PatriciaBuckles, Kimberly Herrmann, Eugene Taylor,Jeffrey Martin, Robert Follis, Charles Craft, PeterCollins, Rubel Martinez, Lara Adams, JohnFranklin, Linda Konkel, Anna Nichols, AnnSmith, Brian Stallard, Ron Andree, Ona Bailey,Perry Gore

Light Initiated High Explosives (LIHE)W76-1/Mk4A Impulse Test Team

The LIHE team culminated an extensivetest-capability-development effort by conduct-

ing two successful explosive-impulse qualification tests on aW76-1 test unit.

Edward Mulligan, Anthony Gomez, David Wackerbarth,W. Gary Rivera, Tony King, Patrick Hunter, Todd Simmermacher,Christian O’Gorman, Brad Boswell, Timothy Covert, LarryDorrell, Daniel Dow, Randall Mayes, Mike Skaggs, John Liwski

Lockheed Martin Shared Vision Program TeamFocusing on “Operational Excellence,” this team provided

outstanding value/impact tocritical national security cus-tomers, as indicated by 45Xprogram investment growth($0.3M to $15M/yr) in 10years.

David Goldheim, GlennBaird, Kevin Murphy, PaulSmith, Earl Stromberg, BruceThompson, Carol Ashley,Dorothy Stermer, Rita Betty,Deborah Payne, Paul Smith,Scott Reed, Nathan Golden,Kevin Abshire, Hongyou Fan,Linda Cleland-Ortiz, RobertCranwell, Madelynne Farber,John Jackson, KerryKampschmidt, Tom Fowler,Andy Green, Jack Hammond,Mary Jo Heckart, Michael Long

Mock HE TreatmentTeam

For the safe and effec-tive treatment of a problematic mixed waste, meeting a NMEDimposed deadline and resulting in savings to Sandia.

Luis Amezcua, James Thompson, Michael Spoerner, Eric Dinsmore, Pamela Schorzman, John Pieniazek, Phyllis Peterson,Diana Muller, Linda Gonzales, Michael Vallejos, Dann Meyer, EdFinley, Chris Eckstein, Jay Farr, Bill Bixby, Howard Seeley, PamelaJames-Lipponer, Gary Bender, Martin Brennan, Susan Carson,Mark McNellis, Patrick Murphy, Leland Phillips, George St. Clair,John Longley

Navy Analysis TeamThe Navy Analysis Team, tirelessly and with great devo-

tion, applied a rigorous analysis methodology to evaluate thesystem effectiveness of US Navy strategic weapons facilities.

Team honorees(Continued from page 7)

Jack Menako5919

In Mccann9514

Carla Moncayo10501

John Mounho10544

Daniel Sanchez10263

Kathleen Sauer4232

Gloria Zamora12124

Jeffrey Tsao1120

Robert Urias4864

Joanne Volponi8321

MOCK HE TREATMENT TEAM

THE SANDIA MEMS Variable Emittance Louvers Delivery Team hasbeen named a recipient of a Lockheed Martin NOVA award for 2007in the teamwork category. In the individual category, Theresa Brown(pictured on page 6) won for her full spectrum leadership in theNISAC program. The NOVA awards were established in 1995, uponLockheed Martin’s formation, to recognize outstanding contributionsto the corporation’s mission and business objectives.

Theresa Brown, MEMS louvers teamwin Lockheed Martin NOVA awards



Michael Itamura, Laura Whittet, Liz Jaramillo, Liz Affeldt,Brady Pompei, Vernon Koonce, Mark Murton, Rich Grochowski,Andrew Walter, James Rivera, Dean Dominguez, Pamela Dawson,J. Dixon Patrick, Dale VanDongen, John Wharton, Dianne Cannon,Kim Ice

Nuclear Weapon Transportation SafetyAnalysis Team

In recognition of outstanding performance successfullydeveloping and defending the safety basis for offsitetransportation of nuclear explosives.

Nazir Khaul, John Hancock, Toni Molina-Horn, FrankAntonich, Joseph Howard, Mark Mundt, Robert Waters,Marcus Billings, Lih-Jenn Shyr, Steve Thompson, Kenneth J.R.Padilla, Larry Schoff, Richard Aguilar, Ricardo Beraun, JohnClauss, Gerald Crowder, Stephen Dwyer, Robert Gross, DavidHarding, Robert Kalan, Stuart Rogers, David Adair, Wendy Baca,Vince Dandino, Jemes McCarrick

Numerical Modeling of High-Power Fiber LasersFor developing state-of-the-art numerical modeling and

simulation tools to advance the development of next-generationfiber lasers and amplifiers.

Arlee Smith, G. Ronald Hadley, Roger Farrow

NWSMU ISO 9001: 2000 TeamThe NWSMU ISO 9001:2000 team created a management

system that meets an international standard.Timothy Cohen, Julie Kesti, Meghan Moore, Gay-Ming Moy,

Karen Marlman, Dexter Boone, Jeanne Evans, Allison Kane, FredericMarch, Judith McKinney, Charles Meyers, Kathleen Schultz,Bobbie Williams, Rick Rios, Sonny Sahi

Onsite Transportation Documented Safety Analysisand Technical Requirements Document for HazardCat3

This team successfully developed a DSA and TSRs for theonsite transportation of Hazard Category 3 material.

Gabriel King, Paul Homan, Bonnie Shapiro, Francine Vigil

Packaging Recycle and Transfer TeamSignificant reductions in cost, waste, energy, and water are

realized by recycling packaging and using a simple cleaningprocess.

Victor Baca, Antonio Silva, Eileen Rios, Patricia Hebert, ReginaJaramillo, Joseph Trujillo, Cynthia Kajder, Riyaz Natha, EugeneTenorio, Lenore Partridge, John Sayre, Toby Garcia, CarleenBardwell Shirk, Fred Clark, Anne Lacy, Benjamin Moya, LorraineSena-Rondeau, William Silva, David Tarango, Jessica Weems,Terrance Witt, Bill Givens, Roland Kelley, Stacy Kubasek

PII Response Team (PIIRT)On three occasions, on short notice, PIIRT notified coworkers,

retirees and survivors of exposure to PII. The team informed andconsulted 300+ individuals in establishing protective measures.

Dora Lovato-Teague, Andrea Rael, Lupita Serna, RamonaCordova, Mark Davis, Kelly Thoesen, Kelly O’Bryant, Janice Gauna,Ellen Howard, James Stephens, Julian Sanchez, Melissa Eakes,Judy Jewell, William Knowles, Jannifer Levin, Victor Lovato,Timothy Madden, John McAuliffe, Kathy Silva, Holly Smothers

Program Infrastructure Recovery Implementation(PIR) Team

The 5059 business team, Center 5900 management team,DS&A business office, and CFO organization successfully devel-oped, implemented and disclosed the PIR allocation process.

Richard McLendon, Judy Jones, Dorit Tesfay, Samuel Felix,Veronica Argo, Maryanne Heise, Jeffrey Kallio, Ami Peterson,Mario Pino, Linda Ristvet

QASPR Cryogenic Test Development TeamThe team developed and demonstrated use of a new cryo-

genic for the cooling system at Sandia Pulsed Reactor to look atearly-time transient damage in semiconductor devices.

Robert Fleming, J. Kyle McDonald, Edward Bielejec, JonathanCampbell, Edward Parma, Jr., Milton Vernon

Reliable Replacement Warhead/CA Design TeamFor successfully completing three integrated reentry vehicle

designs considered pivotal for moving the Nuclear WeaponsComplex into the future.

Jeff Tong, Jennifer Chan, Alfredo Morales, Scott Faas, DanielLevy, Jeremy Cornwall, Janson Wu, Paul Mark Booker, PhillipBryson, Steven Bunn, William Rorke Jr., Peter Van Blarigan, AnnaWilliams

Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) ComponentFabrication

Team was successful for the fabrication of classified highrigor/high consequence pieces of hardware and assemblies tosupport the RRW Hydrodynamics test at LANL.

Dominic Pohl, Kraig McKee, Phil Aragon, Mark Kumpunen,David Calkins, Clarence Esquibel, Terrance Smith, Philip Eslin,Mark Forster, Richard Miller, Kurt Tomlinson, Aaron Otzenberger,Johnny Montano, Ronnie Albers, Jose Barela, Johnny Casias, Jr.,Mathew Donnelly, Charles Hill, Frederick Hooper, Gregg Jones,Jonathan Lee, Teresa Maynard, Walter McLain, James Pankey,Thomas Togami

RRW-1/NM Design TeamIn recognition of exceptional service and personal commit-

ment to the development of the innovative yet highly modularconceptual design for RRW-1.

Joel Wirth, Jerry Adams, Eddie Hoover, Melissa Schooley,Ronald Pedersen, Thomas Togami, John Sichler, Monica Eylicio,Whitney Lacy, Dennis Helmich, William Chambers,

Robert Bradley, Thomas Denman, David Greene, Judd Rohwer,Michael Sjulin, Colin Smithpeter

ROBO ASIC TeamThe ROBO team designed Sandia’s most complex ASIC and

met project needs in spite of an aggressive schedule with littlemargin for error.

Bradley Gabel, Daniel Savignon, John Vonderheide, JamesWalkup, Judy Jones, Tom Mannos, Ronald Espinoza, StephenBabicz, David Dell, Brent Meyer, Kevin Nichols, Michael Holmes,Ephraim Arquitola, Richard Berget, William Cavanaugh, RitaGonzales, Vivian Kammler, Chad Lackey, Russell Mikawa, SeanPearson, Kerry Sturgeon, Karen Tatum, John Teifel, KathleenWilkel, Jeanne Green

Safeguards Control and Communications System(SCCS) Modernization Team

This team addressed repeated findings with SCCS (Sandia’sMission-Critical Intrusion Detection System) by designing andimplementing a novel solution under budget and ahead ofschedule.

Daniel Stump, Walter Smith, Robert Barbera, Jr., MartinaBaldonado, Robert Dooley, William Gallegos, Joseph Gullick,Larry Millington, Wallace Widerkehr, Tim Cochrane, Greg Snider

Sandia/CA 50th Anniversary Event TeamFor dedication and enthusiasm in the planning and imple-

mentation of an outstanding event to honor and celebrate50 years of exceptional service.

Ken Ball, Pat Falcone, Lizeth Lafferty, April Cunningham,Chuck Oien, Norma Calderon-Zablocki, John Ellison, JohnGoldsmith, Ron Stoltz, Jennifer Hallstrom, Mindy Hutchings,Gregg Andreski, Herman Armijo Jr., Edward Cull Jr., DonaldHardesty, Michael Janes, Theresa Price, Sheryl Stewart, MaryStoddard, Anne Yang, Walter Bauer, Chuck Hartwig, Joe Lewis,Steffan Schulz, Daniel Strong

Sandia STAR TeamFor the STAR Team’s dedication and commitment to estab-

lishing partnerships and ensuring excellence in the orientation ofnew Office Management Assistants in Division 8000.

Deanna Agosta-Lazares, Lee Anna Koitmaa, Jeanie Lee,Cindy Kuffner, Gigi deCastro, Pat Burkhart, Kim Sandoval,Noel Richamon, Melanie Steadman, Donna Blevins, Kelly Doty,Jennifer Bamberger, Ann Stayton

Sandia Contractor Review & Evaluation TeamProcess and System Improvements due to your Team Mem-

ber Dedication and Contributions to the Sandia ContractorReview and Evaluation (SCORE) Program

Michelle Davila, Maria Armijo, Margeri Martinez, M. LouiseBritton, Daniel Stafford, Lynne Adams, Marie Myszkier, GaryRomero, Karen Archibeque, John Beitia, Cynthia Caton, VictorChavez, Ian Cheng, Perry D’Antonio, Bertha Denman, JenniferGalasso, David Gibson, Lilia Marquez, Angela Martinez, AndreaRomero, Melanie Tapia, Craig Hansen

Sandia Energy Management TeamThis team strives to implement programs which will

reduce energy consumption, increase water conservation,reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support renewableenergy use at SNL.

Jack Mizner, Miquel Atencio, Lucille Roybal, Erika Barraza,Sharon Sanders, Mary Bultmann, Isabel Martinez, ChristopherEvans, Anthony Baca, Israel Martinez, Norman Wasson,Lynnwood Dukes III, Morgan Gerard, Michael Rocco, JohnGarcia, David Rabb

Sandia MEMS Variable Emittance LouversDelivery Team

This team delivered the first fully qualified, operationalMEMS device for a spacecraft within the time and budgetconstraints.

Frank Loudermilk, James Allen, Harold Stewart, JeromeJakubczak II, Edward Syckoff, Seethambal Mani, David Sandison

Sensor Dart TeamFor exceptional dedication, creativity, synergy, and shared

responsibility in completing the DARPA Sensor Dart project.David Toledo, Hung Nguyen, Mark Howard, Mark Yee, Jeremy

Giron, Patrick O’Malley, Michael Bukaty, Rebecca Campbell,Maricela Pimentel, William O’Rourke, Daniel Gallegos, K. TerryStalker, David Gardner, Jonathan Van Houten, Edwin Chamberlin,Raleigh Bates, David Craft, Lonnie Diehl, Robert Fogler, SimonHathaway, Jason Krein, Dale Lipke, Randal Lockhart, JasonMillard, Robert Williams

Spartan Rocket Motor Controlled Burn TeamFor scaling and executing a prototype explosive ordnance

disposal technique in support of the US Army rocket demilita-rization program and reducing Sandia’s onsite explosivesinventory.

Raymond Peabody, Martin Jinzo, Steven Yesner, CharlesEberle, Matthew Heine, Charles Jensen, Sarah Mahoney, GregoryScharrer, Gregory Shelmidine, Roger Smith, Caesar Echeverria,Chance Hughs, William McKinley, Stephen Polisar, Martin Valdez

Team honorees(Continued from preceding page)

Strategic Petroleum Reserve — 1 Billion BarrelExpansion Team

For completing the high-priority DOE project — StrategicPetroleum Reserve Site Selection and Assessment — to guide thefuture development of the Reserve.

Jonathan Rath, James Bean, Anna Snider Lord, Brian Ehgartner,Jose Arguello, Jr., Christopher Rautman, John Duffield, Karl Loff

TAVS (Telemetry Analysis and Visualization Suite)Development

For exceptional creativity and responsiveness in developinga user-friendly interface for the analysis of Flight Test Surveil-lance data.

Gary Ashcraft, Tamera Bravo, Wesley Crownover, EdenTadios Belinda Garcia, Shawn Garcia, Dennis Mowry, AdamPeters, David Pinto

Technical Team Responsible for AchievingSandia/Rockwell Collins MiniSAR DevelopmentPartnership

For achievement of a milestone event — the creation of aSandia/Rockwell Collins partnership to develop and produce afieldable version of Sandia’s MiniSAR system.

Freddie Heard, Nikki Angus, Robert Bugos, Armin Doerry,Dale Dubbert, John Fuller, David Harmony, Michael Holzrighter,Richard Hurley, Peter Karnowski, Joe Lucero, Michael Pedroncelli,George Sloan, Daniel Sprauer, Bernd Strassner, April Sweet

Truman Fellowship TeamThe team developed and implemented a process for recruit-

ing and selecting some of the best young scientists and engineersto the newly developed Truman Fellowship Program.

Roberta Rivera, Yolanda Moreno, Kimberly Ross, RonaldLoehman, Patrick Brady, Lyndon Pierson, Juan Abeyta, C. JeffreyBrinker, David Chandler, Marie Garcia, David Gartling, DrewParsons, Larry Rahn, Anita Renlund

Vulnerability Assessment (VA) TeamThe VA Team performed a number of critical analyses in

support of activities within TA-V and TTR, and in support ofSandia’s nuclear material de-inventory efforts.

Jose Salazar, Anthony Aragon, Paul Keller, Mark Smith

W76-1 MC4702 Region 3 High Voltage ModuleEncapsulation

For exceptional teamwork, dedication, and technicalachievement in successfully addressing a Class D producibilityencapsulation process for the W76-1 Region 3 High VoltageModule.

Patrick Smith, Howard Arris, Manuel Trujillo, Douglas Adolf,Clifton Briner, Albert Hart, Marc Polosky, Mark Stavig, RobertWinters, Brad Baumgartner, Tim Chandler, Steve Condron,Mike Gerding, Brad Pearce

W76-1 Stronglink Product Qualification TeamThe W76-1 Stronglink Product Qualification Team sup-

ported the fabrication and testing of hardware for the MC4710ISL and MC4711 TSL which resulted in acceptable QERs.

Todd Hinnerichs, Kenneth Eras, Jennifer Lindblom, MaryGonzales, Carl Rhinehart, Michael Dvorack, Jeffrey Dabling,Jamey Bond, Aaron Ison, Benjamin Garnas, Ray Thornton, RobertBoney, Henry Apocada, Susan Camp, Kelvin Diaz, Kelly Klody,Dennis Kuchar, Timothy Locke, Jared McLaughlin, MichaelPlowman, Christopher Sorensen, Kenneth Strasburg, PatriciaBarthelmes, Arin French, Ken Varga

W78 Structural Dynamics Model — DART Pilot ProjectThe W78 Structural Dynamics Model Team created the first

full-system simulation model using the DART toolset, exhibitingteamwork and collective dedication to achieve their goals.

Thomas Carne, Cathy Alarid, Rick Garcia, Amy Rice, DarrylMelander, Howard Walther, Mark Lobitz, Sean Brooks, JonManuel, Ramon Pacheco, Michael Borden, Robert Clay, ZacharyDorosh, Edward Hoffman, Wilbur Johnson, Daniel Sherman,Robert Whiteside

Weapons Evaluation Test Laboratory Relocation TeamThe WETL team successfully completed the relocation of

the Weapons Evaluation Testing Laboratory (WETL) while per-forming all required testing and completing all Level II milestonesfor FY06.

Jeffrey Jarry, Stephen Artho, Paul Beachamp, Wendel Clements,Rhonda Fraser, Edilverto Fuentes, David Gibson, Thomas Hieb,Brandon Hill, Linda Hubbart, Larry Kuykendall, Frank Love, DeanMartin, Rene Ramirez, Keith Snyder, Steven Spinhirne, GeraldThomason, Jon Walker, Mark Watkins, James Kannolt

Yucca Mountain Transition TeamThe Yucca Mountain Transition Team successfully assem-

bled/implemented the business processes, PM, and technical exper-tise to successfully support the Yucca Mountain Project as Lead Lab.

Rebecca Jaramillo-Contreras, Michelle Barela, KatherineRivera, Randolph Shibata, Dorean Archuleta, Tami Burroughs,J. Delene Cox, Anthony Fasulo, Steven Gossage, Francis Hansen,M. Kathryn Knowles, Michael Maurer, Stanley Orrell, CharlesPechewlys, Timothy Spears, Joann Tamashiro, Palmer Vaughn,John Zepper, Randy Lang, Mel Marietta, Mike McGowan, JackTillman, Raymond Shaum, Cynthia Huber, Peter Swift

2006 Diversity Maturity Model (DMM)AssessmentResponse Team

A team of multitalented and multitasked collaborators whodemonstrated dedication, expertise, and passion in implement-ing a “systems approach” to Sandia’s 2006 DMM assessmentsubmission.

Amy Tapia, Rochelle Lari, Roberta Rivera, Lori Carroll,Elizabeth Gonzales, Margaret Harvey, Julian Sanchez, ManuelOntiveros, Charline Wells, Maria Armijo, Richard Alexander,Rebecca Burt, Michael Clough, Karen Gillings, Arthur Grimley III,Kenneth Holley, Robin Jessen, Barbara Jones, Charles Meyers,Mary Nation, Johnnina Ortega, Polly Owens, Anna Schauer,Kimberly Adams, Ileana Bulcan

SANDIA STAR TEAM

Toff Garcia20 8517


New Mexico photos by Randy MontoyaCalifornia photos by Randy Wong

Winalee Carter25 8511

Allen Salmi35 8367

Jerry Friesen20 8963

Tabo Hisaoka46 8514

Tony De Sousa20 8239

Dale Boehme30 8248

Rita Shortman25 10502

Sam Cancilla20 9324

Laura Owens15 5055

Nancy Martinez15 5525

Susie Rodriguez15 3522

Ed Saucier25 9531

Peter Chauvet30 12336

Tom Carne30 1525

David Gallegos20 5533

Joselyne Gallegos20 9510

Julie Hall15 3651

Something pretty special has been going on at West Mesa High School forthe past several years. The school, on Albuquerque’s West Side, has a photon-ics academy — sponsored by Sandia — that introduces kids to the math andscience skills they’ll need as they pursue careers in fields related to optics andphotonics.

The academy, the only one of its kind in the western US, has just beennamed the Arthur Henry Guenther Photonics Academy. The facility was dedi-cated to Guenther in recognition of his early support and ongoing passion

and long association with the academy. Present atthe dedication were students and faculty from WestMesa High School, representatives from Sandia, theNew Mexico congressional delegation, the Albuquerquemayor’s office, a photonics industry group, andmembers of Guenther’s family.

Guenther (his thousands of friends around NewMexico and in the international photonics commu-nity called him Art) died in April. During his career,which included jobs at Los Alamos National Labora-tory and the Air Force Research Laboratory, Guen-ther was internationally recognized as a laser expert,served as science adviser to three New Mexico gover-nors, and was an energetic champion of education.

Guenther worked closely with Sandia and othersto help start the West Mesa academy, which he wasconvinced would provide New Mexico students with

skills that would prove valuable in the workplace. He was right: According toOP-TEC, the National Center for Optics and Photonics Education, the pho-tonics and optics industry is seeing a burgeoning demand for qualified techni-cians and engineers nationwide. Photonics and optics jobs include applica-tion of cutting-edge uses of lasers, optics, fiber optics, and electro-opticaldevices in diverse fields of technology,

Dominique Foley Wilson (1012), who represented Sandia at the dedica-tion ceremony, helped West Mesa launch the academy in 2000 as part of theLabs’ critical skills development program. The purpose of the academy, shesays, is to develop a pipeline for photonics technicians and technologists withthe skills needed to enter the local workforce. Since its launch, more than 50graduates of the program have been hired in related fields.

The academy, Dominique says, guarantees math and science proficiencyamong its students and offers courses that coordinate with photonics offerings(leading to an associate degree) at Central New Mexico Community College.

The photonics academy — now the Arthur Henry Guenther PhotonicsAcademy — has proven to be an extremely popular option for West Mesa stu-dents. Dominique says there are currently more than 200 students enrolled inthe program with a waiting list of kids who want to get in.

Dominique says Sandia — by design — has been less involved in the acad-emy over the past year or two than it was when the program was firstlaunched. The idea of programs like the academy, she says, is that theybecome self-sustaining, a threshold West Mesa’s photonics academy has met.

Dominique recounts a conversation she had with an individual who as astudent had been mentored by Guenther, subsequently graduated fromNew Mexico Tech and entered the workplace as an engineer — with helpfrom Guenther.

“There were three things that summed up Art Guenther,” the formerstudent told Dominique. “New Mexico. Technology. And education. I can’tthink of a better tribute to him than having the photonics academy dedicatedin his memory.”

Sandia-supported academy at WestMesa High School renamed ArthurHenry Guenther Photonics AcademyPopular program honors memory of longtimechampion of science and math education

ARTHUR GUENTHERsits among some of hismany students at theacademy.

The Council of the American Physical Society (APS) has electedRichard Fye as an APS Fellow. Richard received a PhD in physics fromthe University of California (UC), San Diego, followed by postdoc workat UC Santa Barbara. He became a Sandia staff member in 1993. At thetime he went on long-term physical disability leave, he was in Dept.1425 with supervisor Grant Heffelfinger. The department has sincegrown to become departments 1409, 1412, and 1435.

“Election to APS Fellowship is recognition by your peers of youroutstanding contributions to physics,” states a letter from APS Execu-tive Officer Alan Chodos. Richard’s nomination came from the Divi-sion for Computational Physics. The citation and general award infor-mation appear on the APS website.

At Sandia, Richard worked on numerical approaches for highlycorrelated electron systems, materials modeling, computational biol-ogy, and multiscale material simulation methods. In this work he col-laborated with researchers now in departments from Center 1400 anddepartments 1814, 6338, and 6771; UC Santa Barbara; and Mount SinaiMedical School.

Richard has been ill for a number of years, but is still workingtoward and hoping for a full recovery.

Richard Fye named APS Fellow

SANDIA LAB NEWS • August 3, 2007 • Page 16

When Air Force Academy cadet AustinBergstrom graduates next spring as a physicsmajor, he’ll go on to work as a pilot in the US AirForce, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be done withscience.

“Hopefully, eventually I can get back into thescience community,” he says. As one of fourcadets who interned at the Labs this summer,Austin has hopes for an eventual career in scienceafter his military duty. His five-week internshipwas the first opportunity he’d had to gain profes-sional technical experience in science.

The nation’s military academies and Sandiahave worked together in the past to provide expe-rience for interested cadets, but before this sum-mer it hadn’t been done in many years, accordingto Lt. Col. Rick Yaw (0513). Rick, who taught atWest Point prior to working at Sandia, helpedfacilitate internships for the cadets.

“These students often grow up into nationalleaders, either in the Defense Department or inscience and technology,” Rick says. “It’s in theLabs’ best interest to educate them on what we doto contribute to defense technologies, and it’s intheir best interest to know what Labs science cando for them as defense leaders.”

While Austin was from the Air Force Acad-emy, the other three cadets were from the US Mil-itary Academy. Cadets Brian Czarnecki and JamesJohnson worked at Sandia/New Mexico, whileCadet Korey Cook worked at Sandia/California.All four spent one week in May and four in June

at the Labs before heading off todo military training for the restof the summer.

“We expected to be treatedlike tourists,” James says. But heand Brian, both nuclear engi-neering majors, found that tobe far from the case while work-ing for Thomas Haill (1641) onALEGRA code simulations.

“They treated us really welland they showed a lot of inter-est in developing us,” Briansays. “[Thomas] really dovedeep into the physics and madesure we understood everything.”

Thomas, who has workedwith both undergraduate andgraduate students at the Labsbefore, says the two cadets farexceeded his expectations basedon his previous work withundergraduate interns.

“These two cadets were verybright students,” he says. “Theycaught on extremely well to theconcepts I was trying to teachthem. It’s a testimony to both of these individualsand the education and training they had at WestPoint.” Like Rick, Thomas says this is an opportu-nity for Sandia to maintain its positive relation-ship with the military.

The cadets say their personal experiences thissummer will translate into their military training,

both during the remainder of the summer and inthe following years.

“It’s not necessarily that what we do at San-dia will directly affect our training, but it willenhance our ability to think critically as officers,”Brian says.

James agrees “The military in general isbecoming more technically advanced, and theskills we learned here help us see the importance oftechnology in our future roles as officers,” he says.

All three Sandia/New Mexico cadets say theymay consider coming back to Sandia later on intheir careers. Immediately after school, James willbecome an infantry platoon leader and Brian asan armor officer.

For now, the cadets plan to focus on theirtraining and education as they enter their senioryear. They recalled a quote from ancient Greekhistorian Thucydides that they felt was particu-larly applicable this summer: The nation thatmakes a great distinction between its scholars and itswarriors will have its thinking done by cowards andits fighting done by fools.

With continuing positive interactionsbetween the military academies and the nationallabs, that scene is likely something we’ll neverwitness, Rick says.

Military academy cadets gain technical experience at the Labs

WORKING IN THE LAB — Air Force Academy cadet Austin Bergstrom getshands-on experience in how science is done during his recent internship atSandia. Bergstrom was one of four military academy interns who spent sev-eral weeks at the Labs this summer. (Photo by Jens Schwarz)

By Jacqueline Cieslak

Gate 6 turnstile hard to operate;South Valley gate closes too early

Q: Why are the turnstiles for Gate 6 so difficult tooperate. I have arthritis and can hardly push my wayin or out.

A: In response to this feedback question,Technical Security Systems (TSS) checked theGate 6 turnstiles and they are properly set withinrequired tolerances. Because of other safety con-cerns, the turnstiles cannot be loosened. However,if the turnstiles are difficult to use due to medicalreasons, the bypass “swing” gate located adjacentto the Gate 6 turnstiles may be used as an alterna-tive. To use a bypass gate, you must first go to theBadge Office so your badge can be added to theBypass Gate Access List. — Scott Ashbaugh (4240)

* * *Q: Can the South Valley Gate closing time be

extended to 6 p.m.? It would make it consistent with theclosing time for the Carlisle and Eubank gates and makeit easier on those of us who don’t always get to leaveright on time and therefore miss the 5:30 p.m. closing.

A: I checked with the KAFB Security Forcesand, unfortunately, they cannot keep the gateopen longer. To extend the hours on the SouthValley gate would require a change to the contractthe base has with the civilian security forces. Theamount of traffic using the gate is not sufficient towarrant the extra cost. — Ed Tooley (10855)

ES&H and Emergency Management are introducingthe Sandia Safety Squad, cartoon charactersintended to represent the Sandia workforce andaddress in a lighthearted way the various safety-related issues Sandians encounter daily. The goal ofthe Sandia Safety Squad is to remind Sandians aboutthe work-related risks they face and to providereminders on how to keep safety first “so that we allgo home in the same condition as when we came towork,” says EM Senior Manager Bob Brandhuber.

Sandians will be seeing the Sandia Safety Squad —Scott, Sunee, Stu, Sandi, and Sal — appearingaround the Labs in posters and in safety stickers likethose shown above, says EM communications coordi-nator Debi Angeli. “They’ll be faced with varioussafety-related situations and will come to rely on oneanother to remember safe work practices and behav-iors. Look for them in the coming months, and in themeantime, please remember to keep safety first.”

(Poster and sticker designs by Michael Vittitow)

The Safety Squad is coming

Computer models helping resolve conflicts over water

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Transcript of Computer models helping resolve conflicts over water