Science

New Mexico Public Safety Forensic Laboratory Secures Coveted International Endorsement

March 30, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

NMDPS News:

SANTA FE ― The New Mexico Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Forensic Laboratory system has been acknowledged for its technical competence and accredited in the disciplines of biology (DNA-nuclear and body fluid identification), drug chemistry, firearms, toolmarks and serial number restorations, latent print processing, comparisons and impression evidence (footwear and tires) by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA).

“The accreditation process provides an essential, external, independent review of forensic services DPS provides.

PEEC: Explore Science Of ‘Interstellar’ 7 P.M. Today

March 29, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Join Peter Polko to explore the science and science-fiction in the film ‘Interstellar’ at 7 p.m. Friday, March 29 at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

When the film “Interstellar” came out, it was touted as the first physics-based science-fiction film. But not every part of it is plausible.

Join Peter Polko beginning at 7 p.m., Friday, March 29 in the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium to dive into the film. Polko will discuss which parts are scientifically accurate and which are pure sci-fi.

Polko will explore how the storytelling choices

Champions Of Youth Ambitions Awarded $1,500

March 29, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Chad Lauritzen, known as the Sci Guy does science with students from Dixon Elementary. Courtesy photo

C’YA News:

Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA) has received a $1,500 award from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation Board of Directors in support of educational hands on science, youth development and the Community Asset Awards.

“The LANL Foundation appreciates how Champions of Youth Ambitions celebrates community assets and achievements, and works to bring quality enrichment education to youth in Los Alamos,” C’YA Executive Director Bernadette Lauritzen

Nature On Tap: Science Vs. Science Fiction April 1

March 29, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

Join the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and the Los Alamos Creative District for a special April Fool’s Day edition of Nature on Tap at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 1 at UnQuarked Wine Room.

PEEC’s team of astronomers will present several stories and facts to the audience and it’s up to audience members to decide which is science and which is science fiction.

After hearing all the presentations, audience members will vote on which they think are real and which is the work of someone’s imagination.

On Tap is a

Two LANL Researchers Win Women In Tech Awards

March 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

New Mexico Technology Council 2019 Women in Technology Award recipients Laura Monroe, left, and Janette Frigo. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Electrical engineer and mathematician recognized as outstanding contributors to STEM fields

Two researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory were recognized with 2019 Women in Technology Awards by the New Mexico Technology Council.

Janette Frigo, an electrical engineer with the Laboratory’s Intelligence and Space Research division, and Laura Monroe, a mathematician with the Laboratory’s High-Performance Computing division, were recognized Read More

AGU: Laser Blasts Show Asteroid Bombardment, Hydrogen Make Great Recipe For Life On Mars

March 28, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

A portion of the experimental setup Dr. Rafael Navarro-González, an astrobiologist at the Institute of Nuclear Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City and a co-investigator with the SAM instrument, and his team of researchers used to simulate asteroid impacts in the early Martian atmosphere. The flask (center) contains a composition of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen gasses. A high-intensity infrared laser is focused into the flask from a lens (left), to simulate the high energy shockwaves produced by asteroids entering the Martian atmosphere.

NIST: The Case For Building Beautiful Instruments

March 27, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Even without the dramatic lighting, the NIST-4 Kibble balance that our team used to help redefine the kilogram is what I call a beautiful instrument! Courtesy/J.L. Lee/NIST

By STEPHAN SCHLAMMINGER

NIST News

I discovered my affinity for attractive instruments while working a job previous to my coming to NIST. My boss then had a love affair with the common hose clamp—the one with the worm gear. Whenever we had to fasten a component to an apparatus he said, “why don’t you use a hose clamp?” With every hose clamp that we added to the experiment, my hatred for them grew larger, and I started

Hubble Captures Birth Of Giant Storm On Neptune

March 25, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

This composite picture shows images of storms on Neptune from the Hubble Space Telescope (left) and the Voyager 2 spacecraft (right). The Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 image of Neptune, taken in Sept. and Nov. 2018, shows a new dark storm (top center). In the Voyager image, a storm known as the Great Dark Spot (GDS) is seen at the center. It is about 13,000 km by 6,600 km in size — as large along its longer dimension as the Earth. The white clouds seen hovering in the vicinity of the storms are higher in altitude than the dark material. Courtesy/NASA/ESA/GSFC/JPL

AGU News:

WASHINGTON D.C. – Images taken Read More

NOAA Spring Outlook: Historic, Widespread Flooding To Continue Through May

March 24, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

NOAA News:

Nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states face an elevated risk for flooding through May, with the potential for major or moderate flooding in 25 states, according to NOAA’s U.S. Spring Outlook issued today.

The majority of the country is favored to experience above-average precipitation this spring, increasing the flood risk.

Portions of the United States – especially in the upper Mississippi and Missouri River basins including Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa – have already experienced record flooding this year. This early flooding was caused by rapid snow

Scenes From BSMA Night With A Nerd

March 22, 2019 by Submitted by Carol A. Clark

Community members gather March 14 at Fuller Lodge for the Bradbury Science Museum Association (BSMA) presentation of Night With A Nerd. Featured speaker Tim Koeth presented ‘The Physicists in the Basement of the High Castle’, an intriguing talk about the race between WW2 United States and Germany to build the world’s first atomic weapon and how the United States succeeded where others failed. www.bradburyassociation.org for more information about the BSMA. Photo by KayLinda Crawford/ladailypost.com

Community members at Fuller Lodge for the BSMA presentation of Night With A Nerd. Read More