Community Programs Office
Connections Newsletter
The Lab's Connection to the Northern New Mexico Community!
December 2012/January 2013

When most people think of the word “archives,” they tend to think of rows of dusty books and papers. In the case of the Laboratory’s archives, nothing could be farther from the truth. Read more

New Record for Employee Giving Campaign

The Lab’s annual employee giving campaign broke two records this year. First, employee contributions totaled more than $2.1 million, surpassing last year's $1.8 million by $300,000. Read more

Gift Tag Drive Benefits Local Children and Seniors

Each year, Lab employees and contractors work to make the holidays brighter for local children and seniors through its Holiday Gift Tag drive. Read more

Helping Make the Holidays Happier

This year’s LANL food drive collected enough donations to provide 11,600 meals for those in need. Read more

Assets in Action Community Award Nominations Open Until December 17

If you know people who support building a strong community for youth in Los Alamos, you have until December 17 to nominate them for an Assets in Action Community Award until December 17. Read more

Big Brothers Needed in Northern New Mexico

If you can spare one lunch hour per week for a year, you can make a real difference in the life of a child through the “Lunch Buddies” program operated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Mexico. Read more

$165,000 Awarded to Regional Businesses by LANS

Los Alamos National Security, LLC’s Venture Acceleration Fund (VAF) will help four regional businesses with awards totaling $165,000. The companies Mustomo, Inc. (Los Alamos), IX Power (Los Alamos), Synfolia (Santa Fe), and Tape-Ease (Santa Fe) represent two biotech start-ups, a water and power company, and a hardware inventor. Read more

The Valles Caldera is Ready for its Close-up

The first of three documentaries on the Valles Caldera could air on the local Public Broadcasting System (KNME) as soon as January. The piece, called Valles Caldera: The Science, explores the potential impact of climate change and the 2011 Los Conchas fire on the sensitive ecosystem in the area. Read more

LANL Subcontractor Supports the Region: SOC

Day & Zimmermann’s SOC Los Alamos organization, a Lab major subcontractor and supplier of security services, takes its commitment to the regional community so seriously that last year it hired Liddie Martinez as its full-time Community& Economic Development Director. Read more

Los Alamos Public Schools Recommended for Accreditation

While virtually all high schools in the country are accredited so their students can qualify for admission to a full array of colleges, Los Alamos Public Schools has taken the unusual step of working to obtain accreditation for its entire district. Read more

Santa Fe Community College Offers New Welding Program

Due to increased national and local demand (including LANL and Caterpillar Santa Fe), Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) will begin offering an Associate in Applied Science degree in welding for the Spring 2013 semester through its Applied Technologies Department. Read more

Building Operator Certification offered in Santa Fe Next Year

Beginning in January, Santa Fe Community College will offer a nationally recognized training and certification program for facility managers, operators, and technicians. Read more

Chimayo Elementary School Performs Well in Fuel Cell Challenge

In mid-November, 47 teams from 26 schools from all over New Mexico came together at Highland High School in Albuquerque as part of the New Mexico Alternative Fuel Challenge. Read more

Lab Employees Don’t Treat Their Trash Like Garbage

Last year, the Lab recycled 47 percent of its solid, non-hazardous waste (which translates to about 1,275 metric tons of paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, and aluminum cans) by placing it in the recycling containers that dot the Laboratory landscape. Read more

New Tool Helps Reduce Use of Hazardous Chemicals

During the course of their scientific work, Lab employees have used a wide variety of chemicals, ranging from acids to etch metals to baby oil (really), to delve into the secrets of the universe. A new tool, the “Green Chemical Alternatives Purchasing Wizard,” will begin to help Lab employees choose the most benign substances possible for their work. Read more

New Lab Program Reinforces Safety Behavior

In November, the Lab initiated a new program to encourage safe behavior by employees and contractors. Called “LANLgram,” it uses memo-style notes that managers and employees can use to acknowledge activities, such as spreading deicer on slippery sidewalks or removing a trip hazard, that help create a hazard-free workplace. Read more

New Laboratory Fellows Announced

Three distinguished members of the LANL scientific staff are being honored with appointment as Laboratory Fellows for 2012. The new Los Alamos Fellows are: Charles Farrar, Steven Elliott, and Mikhail Shashkov. Read more

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