Research Quarterly showcases Lab's national defense science and technology

Contact: Judy Goldie, goldie@lanl.gov, (505) 665-0297 (03-071)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., May 28, 2003 -- The spring 2003 issue of Los Alamos Research Quarterly, a Laboratory publication initiated last fall, and is now online [www.lanl.gov/quarterly/ and int.lanl.gov/quarterly] and being distributed to master management and an external audience of Laboratory funding agencies, congress and partners.

Covering a full spectrum of Los Alamos National Laboratory's science and research, this quarterly, a full-color publication, aims to communicate the Laboratory's goals and achievements and how they benefit the Lab's neighbors, the nation and the world.

In this issue's cover story, Muon Radiography, Lab researchers are exploring the use of cosmic-ray muons to detect nuclear contraband. On the front and back covers of the magaizne are images obtained by measuring muon deflections within a volume containing a steel C-clamp flanked by two steel support rails. The C-clamp in the image rests on a sheet of plastic inserted into channel slots in the rails, which are structural members of an experimental rack. The sequential images – at different planes below, through and above the C-clamp – show the points in space where the muons are deflected, that is, where the steel is located. When combined, these "slices" yield a 3-D reconstruction of the imaged volume. Steel was used in this proof-of-principle experiment as a surrogate for dense nuclear materials.

This issue's lead-off article details how Lab researchers are pioneering uses of superconducting quantum interference devices, or SQUIDS, for a variety of purposes from pinpointing brain tissue that causes epilepsy to monitoring fetal heartbeats. Included in the article is a history of the SQUID program and a profile of two researchers involved in the project.

BASIS, the Biological Aerosol Sentry and Information System used at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics to detect airborne pathogens, illustrates the best in national laboratory-private enterprise collaboration in the interest of public safety. BASIS, which is now deployed in cities across the country, was developed through a partnership among Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories and a New York manufacturer of air samplers, Rupprecht and Patashnick Co. With technologies developed in part at Los Alamos, it is possible to noninvasively detect some terrorist weapons before their use.

Also in this issue is an article that looks into modeling the impact of an asteroid, the impact's early time effects and the importance of the asteroid's impact angle. Mounting scientific evidence supports the theory that a large asteroid slammed into Earth about 65 million years ago – killing the dinosaurs and ending the Cretaceous Period; simulations developed at the Lab are providing new insight into this catastrophic event.

The regular segments, Dateline Los Alamos and Spotlight, Los Alamos in the News, feature brief articles on the Lab's increased ability to probe interactions at the atomic scale through the Electron Microscopy Lab. Another highlights the 130 Lab employees who received patent and licensing awards in 2002. In addition, there is a story about the kick-off event for the Laboratory's 60th anniversary's, a Lab directors' panel.

The quarterly's production team is led by Scientific Editor James L. Smith of Materials Technology (MST-6), Executive Editor Judyth Prono and Art Director Chris Brigman, both of Communication Arts and Services (IM-1).

For more information about Research Quarterly, contact either Smith at 7-4476 or Prono at 5-8383 or both by e-mail at larq@lanl.gov .

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.

Los Alamos enhances global security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health and national security concerns.