Second LDRD Day showcases Lab's scientific research

September 8 at Buffalo Thunder Resort

August 24, 2010—The Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program will host the second LDRD Day on September 8 at the Hilton Hotel at Buffalo Thunder Resort in Pojoaque. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and lasts until 3:30 p.m. LDRD day is a chance for LDRD-funded researchers to showcase their work to the public.

LDRD funds high-risk and potentially high-payoff research at the discretion of the Laboratory director. This program allows the Laboratory to make strategic investments in research that could help LANL reach long-term scientific goals and anticipate new national security challenges.

One of the goals of LDRD Day is to present the science of the projects in an approachable, understandable way. This year’s LDRD Day will feature 44 poster presentations from some of the Laboratory’s top researchers. The public has the opportunity to see how taxpayer money is used to fund cutting-edge research, and vsitors also can hear talks by Laboratory science leaders.

“In the LDRD Office, we are in the privileged position of seeing the full breadth of the Lab’s innovation every day,” said Program Director William Priedhorsky. “After three years on the job, I am still excited by what our scientists and engineers create, and what it means for our future. LDRD Day is the chance for everyone to spend a little time sharing our excitement with the citizens who make possible everything that we do at the Laboratory.”

Key speakers this year include Weapons Programs Principal Associate Director Charles McMillan, Theory, Simulation and Computation Associate Director Alan Bishop, Chief Scientist for International Space and Response Herb Funsten, and former New Mexico congresswoman Heather Wilson.

More information, including how to register, is on the LDRD Day Web page. And listen to LDRD Program Director Bill Priedhorsky talk about LDRD Day at 7:30 a.m. Thursday (August 26) on Los Alamos radio station KRSN.