Sandia National Laboratories
听听Mission and Vision
To render exceptional service in the national interest has been 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 core purpose since 1949.听Networking with universities is a crucial component for talent pipeline development that allows Sandia to work with and recruit top graduates with innovative ideas and unique perspectives to full-time work at the national level.
Universities within 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 University Partnerships network possess areas of expertise that are complementary to those of Sandia and may include unique capabilities. Conversely, 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 broad scope can guide institutions to vector research relevant to national security needs. Together, these academic teams and Sandia go from innovative ideas to implemented solutions that solve problems neither institution could fully accomplish by itself.
Sandia National Laboratories is a U.S. Department of Energy and听National Nuclear Security Administration Federally-Funded Research and Development (R&D) Center with a ~$4B budget to advance the frontiers of science and engineering for societal impact.
Sandia and 91福利社 maintain an academic partnership that enables collaboration on research and development projects aimed at benefiting the national security mission. 听
厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 recruiting team works to attract, hire and build a strong pipeline of critical and diverse top talent for the laboratory. The growing partnership between our institutions promotes engagement with the next generation of scientists and engineers and development of capabilities that enhance the trajectory of the scientific landscape.
听听CU can bring to Sandia cutting-edge ideas and top-notch science and engineering, in the form of collaborative projects as well as in the form of students who come to Sandia as interns, postdocs or employees. The regional proximity is a very helpful factor in fostering this relationship as well.鈥
鈥Mike Descour, senior manager and Sandia National Laboratories鈥 University of Colorado campus executive
听听The national laboratories perform critical work to support our nation and the world. The growth of partnerships being developed with the national laboratories speaks to the lasting value that 91福利社 employees and alumni bring to helping the world solve some of its biggest problems.鈥
鈥Gijs de Boer, director for national laboratory partnerships, senior research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) and associate director for science for the Integrated Remote and In Situ Sensing initiative
Key Areas of Collaboration
Research Focus Areas
Sandia and 91福利社鈥檚 current research focus areas include:听
Research Foundations
厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚听Research Foundations address the extensive national security challenges within 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 mission space. Each of the Research Foundations focuses on stewarding unique capabilities in seven areas.
- Biosciences: Biothreats, Biomanufacturing, Biosurveillance, Biosecurity听and Biocontainment
- Computing & Information Sciences (CIS): Computational Science, Computing Systems, Information Science, Trusted AI, Generative AI听and Human Trust
- Earth Sciences: Subsurface sensing, Climate intervention, Greenhouse gas monitoring, Climate impact analysis听and Extreme weather prediction
- Engineering Sciences: Digital Engineering, Coupled/Multi Physics, Scientific Discovery, Experimental test/ diagnostics, Design, Qualification, Validation & Verification, Uncertainty Quantification听and ML/AI
- Materials Sciences: Advanced Manufacturing, Materials Discovery, Materials Sustainability听and Extreme Environments
- Nanodevices and Microsystems: Semiconductors, Microelectronics, Quantum
- Radiation, Electrical听& High Energy Density Sciences: Radiation Effects, Electrical Sciences, High Energy Density, Dynamic Materials Properties听and Inertial Confinement Fusion
Mission Foundations
Sandia also oversees five major portfolios that address national security mission challenges. LDRD Mission Foundations conduct the applied research needed to develop capabilities and demonstrate solutions.
- Advanced Science & Technology: Supports our DOE Office of Science (SC) program, using unique, scientific, and cross-cutting capabilities 鈥 e.g., facilities, people, and experimental and computational platforms 鈥 to support SC鈥檚 scientific priorities and DOE鈥檚 missions. (Climate, Discovery, Computation, Interfaces, Materials.)
- Energy & Homeland Security: Secures the nation鈥檚 critical infrastructures and environment against attacks, threats, and climate change by performing world-class R&D. (Energy Supply Chain, Reduce Carbon Intensity, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Data to Decisions, Physical Security, and Threat-informed Cybersecurity.)
- Global Security: Sponsors research advancing 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 ability to deliver technical innovation that advances security and peace around the world. (Sensors, Detection, Data Fusion, Modeling & Simulation, 听and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction.)
- National Security Programs: Innovative R&D that enables trusted, threat-informed, pathfinder technologies and systems across four domains to provide Integrated Deterrence and Defense options for the Nation: Cyber Innovation; Heterogeneous Integration & Trusted Strategic Radiation-Hardened Microsystems; Innovation for Proliferation Assessment; and Radiation Frequency Supremacy & Hypersonics. (Autonomous Sensing, Threat detection/assessment, and Radio frequency).
- Nuclear Deterrence
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200+ Sandia employees have a degree from 91福利社
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30+ interns and 15 employees (including postdocs) hired by Sandia since 2021
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50+ joint publications听penned听since 2021
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Multiple 91福利社 students and postdocs听currently involved in LDRD collaborations
Success Stories
Heterogeneous Integration for Harsh Environments
Exploring heterogeneous integration for miniature optical data busses in harsh environments is key to delivering future microsystems.
PI: Christopher Nordquist
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Advanced Finite-Rate Ablation Predictions with Quantified Uncertainty for Hypersonic Flight
Accurate predictions of ablation and thermal performance of heat shielded materials are critical to the design of thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles.
PI: Erin Mussoni
Tunable Metamaterials for Impact Mitigation
Traditional methods of shielding fragile goods and human tissues from impact energy rely on isotropic foam materials. The mechanical properties of these foams are inferior to an emerging class of metamaterials called plate lattices.
PIs: Robert MacCurdy, Brandon Hayes听and Lawrence Smith with 91福利社;听David Flores, Elizabeth Smith, Kurtis Ford with Sandia
Opportunities at Sandia
For Students
A three-year fellowship to attract听nationally recognized new PhD scientists and engineers
A three-year appointment to encourage women considering leadership in national security as scientists and engineers
A one- to two-year postdoctoral fellowship in applied and computational mathematics relevant to a broad range of science and engineering problems
A two-year appointment in pulsed power physics and/or engineering as they apply to radiation, electrical听and high-energy density sciences
A two-year appointment with the potential for a third year for fellows in general data science techniques and autonomous aerospace systems
Postdoctoral appointees conduct leading-edge research, publish and present their findings, collaborate with others in academia and industry, and contribute to the advancement of technology in a wide variety of scientific fields
For Faculty Collaborators
厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 Academic Programs Office promotes faculty collaborations in several ways:
- We collect input for our yearly LDRD research needs to facilitate potential university collaborations.
- Our program also supports Joint Appointments in the following ways:
- University faculty members participating in the Joint Appointments Program at Sandia remain employees at their institutions but have access to Sandia resources (including experimental and computational capabilities), staff expertise听and possible LDRD funding.
- Joint appointees gain insight into 厂补苍诲颈补鈥檚 strategic landscape and can also participate on 鈥淒OE Lab-only鈥 projects and proposal opportunities.
- Sandia staff can also participate in the Joint Appointments Program, which allows them to work part time at a host university while remaining a full employee at the Labs.听