Pilot Sandia treatment system that removes arsenic from ......2005/10/28 · Pilot Sandia treatment...

Pilot Sandia treatment system that removes arsenicfrom water demonstrated at Rio Rancho well siteCost of cleanup statewide to meet new EPA standards expected to be $500 million

(Continued on page 5)

Vol. 57, No. 22 October 28, 2005


Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration

ECP donations help kidsat Peanut Butter and JellyFamily Services and otherUnited Way agencies.Story on page 16.

• Sandians continue to aid Katrina, Ritahurricane relief efforts . . . . . . . page 7

• Mike Tachias recounts demanding,rewarding tour in Afghanistan . . page 8

• ACG ponders future of war . . . page 11

Tom Hunter talks bud-get, safety, future inhis first CA site visitsince becoming direc-tor. Story on page 3.

New Mexico will be one of several westernstates severely impacted next year by new Envi-ronmental Protection Agency regulations that callfor a significant reduction in the amounts ofarsenic allowed in water supplies.

Some 80 communities in the state will beaffected, and costs for arsenic removal in NewMexico alone are estimated at $500 million.

This is according toPeter Davies, director ofGeoscience and Environ-ment Center 6100, whowas among the presen-ters at a news conferenceearlier this month at a Rio Rancho well site wherea Sandia research project designed to study waysto economically resolve the arsenic problem wasdisplayed.

On hand were Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M.,who secured $10 million for the research projectin his role as chairman of the Senate Energy andWater Development Appropriations Subcommit-tee; Rio Rancho Mayor Jim Owen; and Sandiaexecutives. The Rio Rancho pilot treatment sys-tem tests arsenic removal technologies suppliedby a number of vendors.

The project is part of a research programdesigned to find simple, inexpensive ways waterutilities can reduce arsenic levels from their watersupplies to meet the new EPA regulations that go

assessment programs to roll out. They will befollowed by other policy areas such as finance,facilities, and human resources. Data will beanalyzed and trended by and for all levels in allorganizations.

As part of its risk and issues management,Safeguards & Security has been evaluating variousperformance indicatorsover the past year toidentify the most benefi-cial areas for the line toassess. “These assess-ments identify Sandiasecurity’s state of health,” says Michael Hazen(4200).

Data collected through assessments will helpSandia understand performance trends, whenextra attention is needed in a certain area, andwhether controls put in place are effective. Assess-ment tools are being developed to provide Sandiawith a steady stream of information during thisnext year.

According to last year’s performance evalua-tion by NNSA/SSO, Sandia has made limited

Sandia is rolling out a corporate-wide selfassessment for all Sandians. According to LabsDeputy Director John Stichman, this assessment

is not unlike going toa physician for a per-sonal health assess-ment. “This assess-ment will help usunderstand what isor isn’t working.”says John. “What canwe change? Whatcan we improve?Most importantly itwill help us build asense of confidence

in the way the Laboratories are working to pro-vide service in the national interest.”

Corporate-wide self assessments will be con-ducted by line organizations to provide predictiveinformation on the “state of health” for a particu-lar policy area, like ES&H. Safeguards & Securityand ES&H will be the first standardized line self-

Sandia rolls out ‘total-body,’corporate-wide self assessmentBy Iris Aboytes

UT System extendsin-state tuition toSandians, families

Thanks to an agreement between Sandiaand The University of Texas System, Sandians,their spouses, and dependent children can nowattend schools within the UT System at Texas

in-state tuition and fees. The agreement tookeffect Sept. 1. It required special legislation bythe Texas Legislature.

The agreement with the UT System meansthat Sandians now have an education benefitsimilar to that enjoyed by Los Alamos NationalLaboratory employees for many years. BecauseLANL since its founding has been part of theUniversity of California system, its employeesand their spouses and dependents have beenable to attend UC schools at California in-stateresident rates.

The tuition agreement is the latest example of

SAFETY MATTERS: Labs VPFrank Figueroa talksabout a culture of safety.Story on page 12.

Would apply to LANL if bid goesto UT/Lockheed Martin team

By Chris Burroughs

JOHN STICHMAN


REIMBURSEMENT SPENDING ACCOUNTSSandia’s Benefits organization tells you all about Reim-bursement Spending Accounts, or RSAs, for healthcare and day care. The rules are a bit tricky, but if youuse RSAs properly, you could save thousands on yourtaxes. The article on page 10 gives you the full scoop.

By Bill Murphy

IT WORKS LIKE THIS — Malynda Aragon (6118) shows Sen. Pete Domenici the pilot arsenic water treatment technologythat has just been installed at a Rio Rancho well site. Domenici pushed for funds for affordable arsenic removal technol-ogy, and Sandia is helping communities around the state understand their best options. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

SANDIA TO HELP localcommunities tacklearsenic problems inwater supplies. Page 5.

Sandia National Laboratorieshttp://www.sandia.gov/LabNews

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185-0165Livermore, California 94550-0969Tonopah, Nevada • Nevada Test Site • Amarillo, Texas •Carlsbad, New Mexico • Washington, D.C.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated bySandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the US Departmentof Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.

Ken Frazier, Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/844-6210Bill Murphy, Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/845-0845Chris Burroughs, Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/844-0948Randy Montoya, Photographer . . . . . . . . 505/844-5605Nancy Garcia, California site contact. . . . . 925/294-2932Contributors: Janet Carpenter (844-7841), John German(844-5199), Neal Singer (845-7078), Larry Perrine (845-8511),Howard Kercheval (columnist, 844-7842), Will Keener (844-1690),Iris Aboytes (844-2282), Michael Padilla (284-5325), Julie Hall(284-7761), Rod Geer (844-6601), Michael Lanigan (844-2297),and Michelle Fleming (Ads, Milepost photos, 844-4902). ErinGardner (intern, 284-8432). Dept. 3651 Manager: Chris Miller(844-0587).Lab News fax ................................................505/844-0645Classified ads ................................................505/844-4902

Published on alternate Fridays by Media Relationsand Communications Dept. 3651, MS 0165

An office discussion about the increasing complexity of things moreand more of us use more and more — digital cameras, watches, GPS navigationaids, etc. — reminded me of a couple of things I noted recently.

I opened a box of frozen toaster waffles and learned from readingthe instructions (instructions? . . . for toasting waffles?!) that“toaster heating capabilities vary,” that I should “attend toaster whileheating,” and that “an adult should supervise heating by children.”

Also recently, I replaced a plastic pitcher that filters water andfound in the box an instruction manual. A manual for a plastic pitcher?!

When do you suppose you’ll buy some new shoes and find in the boxinstructions to “insert foot into the large opening at the top of theshoe. . . .” or buy a comb and find instructions describing the proper wayto pull it through your hair?

* * * * *Retiree Mimi Brunacini, who worked at Sandia 23 years, called to

suggest that since retiree picnics have been deep-sixed, the Labs mightconsider offering retirees computer training, setting up classrooms withequipment that would otherwise go to Reapplication.

She’s now running Brunacini Appliances, she says, and would like toknow about computers, and recycling hot dogs and potato salad into cyberclasses seems like a good idea.

* * * * *Recycling’s also on Jason Zuffranieri’s (6861) mind.“I'm into recycling,” he wrote recently, “and it appears we have

glass disposal receptacles near the white paper receptacles on my floor.But the containers specifically say ‘Broken Glass Disposal’ (in fourdifferent languages, no less).

“I would imagine that breaking my intact empties and thendepositing the remains would be an ES&H violation. My only other ideawould be to hurl the empty bottle down into the receptacle with such forcethat it shatters upon impact, thereby fulfilling the requirements of thecontainer. Or am I thinking too hard here?”

Well, I don’t know about “too hard,” Jason. More like bizarre. Butit’ll pass. The urge to hurl anything with great force is probably justthe result of stress over getting that critical LMC training finishedbefore the end of the month.

* * * * *We’ve read a lot in the last couple of Lab News issues about the

upcoming open enrollment period and the changes in our health careinsurance — more than we’d like to know, probably. And there’s still more:the latest on Reimbursement Spending Accounts (both health care anddependent care) on page 10 of this issue.

RSAs are good things. They allow you to set aside pre-tax money forout-of-pocket medical expenses you anticipate or might incur throughout aplan year. But before you get too excited, there are a few things youmight think are covered but aren’t. The vacuum cleaner you bought becauseyou have dust allergies?. . . forget it. No gym dues or exerciseequipment, either. And don’t even think about dancing lessons.

You’ll find detailed information about Sandia’s RSA plans athttp://www.sandia.gov/benefits/spd/pdfs/RSA2003.pdf.

— Howard Kercheval (844-7842, MS 0165, [email protected])

What’s what

Lab News Reader ServiceRetirees (only): To notify of changes inaddress, contact Carol Wade, Benefits Dept.3332, at 505-845-9705, e-mail [email protected], or Mail Stop 1021, Sandia NationalLaboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185-1021.

Others: To receive the Lab News or to changethe address (except retirees), contact MichelleFleming, Media Relations and Communica-tions Dept. 3651, 505-844-4902, [email protected], or Mail Stop 0165,Sandia National Laboratories,Albuquerque, NM 87185-0165.

Employees: To change the number of copiesof the Lab News your Mail Stop is receivingplease call Honario Anaya, Mail Services Team10268-4, at 844-3796. At Sandia/Californiacontact the Mail Room at 294-2427.

Web Users: The Lab News is on the Web atwww.sandia.gov/LabNews.

Ken Frazier electedAAAS Fellow

Lab News Editor Kendrick Frazier (3651), a sci-ence writer and editor for nearly 40 years, hasbeen elected a fellow of the American Associationfor the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Ken is being honored for “distinguished con-tributions to the public understanding of science

through writing for andediting popular sciencemagazines that empha-size science news andscientific reasoning andmethods.” He will beofficially recognized in St.Louis in February at theAAAS annual meeting.

Ken has been LabNews Editor for the past10 years. The paper hasreceived numerous

national employee publication awards during thistime. He first joined Sandia in April 1983 as amember of the public information staff.

Ken has also served as editor of The SkepticalInquirer: The Magazine for Science and Reason since1977. The bimonthly international journal pro-motes good science, critical thinking, criticalinquiry, and science education. It also evaluatesfringe science, pseudoscientific, and paranormalclaims from a responsible, scientific point of view.

Throughout most of the 1970s, Ken waseditor of Science News magazine in Washington,D.C. He covered the earth sciences and sciencepolicy issues and traveled to Antarctica and theSouth Pole. Before that he edited the NationalAcademy of Sciences’ newsletter. He’s a memberof the American Geophysical Union and a life-time member of the National Association ofScience Writers.

Ken is the author or editor of nine books,including Solar System, Our Turbulent Sun, and TheViolent Face of Nature. His book People of Chaco: ACanyon and its Culture, about the pre-Puebloanculture of Chaco Canyon, was first published in1986. Acclaimed by archaeologists, the popularbook has had multiple printings and editions andwas most recently expanded and published againthis spring.

“Ken’s other Sandia colleagues and I arethrilled that Ken is receiving this wonderfulhonor from the AAAS,” says former Lab News edi-tor Larry Perrine (3651). “It is unusual for anynonscientist to be named a AAAS fellow, and Kenrichly deserves it. I don’t know of anyone wholoves science and respects the scientific method asmuch as he does.”

KEN FRAZIER

You can walk in AlbuquerqueTricentennial Volksmarch Oct. 29

Sandians are invited to join the AlbuquerqueTricentennial Volksmarch, a noncompetitive 10-kilometer (6.2 mile) walk through the pic-turesque, autumn foliage of the Rio GrandeBosque, Saturday, Oct. 29, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Theword “Volksmarch” comes from a German phrasemeaning “people’s walk” or “people’s march.”Volksmarching is a form of noncompetitive fit-ness walking that developed in Europe.

The Volksmarch’s path starts at the RioGrande Botanic Gardens, 2601 Central NW, andwill follow the Bosque from the Rio GrandeBotanic Gardens to the Rio Grande Nature Centerand back; free parking is available. Information,contact [email protected].

Paul E. Miller (age 79) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 23A. E. McMurray (89) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . August 27Dulin G. Westfall (89) . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2Pierce L. Brown (80). . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2Francis R. Martin (87) . . . . . . . . . . . . September 5H.L. Macpherson (85) . . . . . . . . . . . . September 5Charles H. Whitmer (91) . . . . . . . . . . September 8Bennie D. Padilla (91) . . . . . . . . . . . September 19F. Max Morris (66) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 30

Retiree deaths

ECP Campaign Oct. 24-Nov.11

Holding plaques at a mid-September cere-mony in Monterey, Calif., are, left center, DonRondeau, senior manager forForce Protection Systems 5101,and center right, John Didlake(8228), project manager forBioEDS (EnvironmentalDestruction System). The pairreceived Notable TechnologyDevelopment awards from theFederal Laboratory Consortium(FLC), a network chartered byCongress in 1986 to promoteand strengthen transfer of lab technologies to theprivate sector.

Dan was recognized by the FLC Mid-Conti-nent Region that includes Albuquerque, and Johnby the Far West Region that covers Livermore.Dan championed a Laboratory Directed Researchand Development project in 2004 to undertake abioagent-neutralizing technology demonstration.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • October 28, 2005 • Page 3

Tom Hunter holds his first ‘Town Hall’ meeting inCalifornia, talks about budget, safety, and future

nuclear weapons complex of the future.” He saidscience and technology have been a cornerstoneof the country but it is a question whether it willremain at the forefront.

As the world changes, he continued, the lead-ership and missions in defense and intelligenceare also changing. “It’s a time of high excitementand a lot of transition,” he observed, “character-ized by the national budget debate.” Saying he

doesn’t recall ever seeing more disagreementbetween the House and Senate, he suggested“there’s a lot of signal in there.”

Tom added that the House’s disfavor of Labo-ratory Directed Research and Development(LDRD) is causing spending to drop from 6 per-cent to 5 percent.

Hiring has scaled back from a projected 600people in the summer to 400, which just matchesattrition. “We’ve asked the Lab not to grow,”Tom said.

About 58 percent of work at the Labs centerson nuclear weapons, with almost 70 percent ofwork at the California site directly involvingnuclear weapons. Labs-wide it will come backdown to the 1992 level of about 50 percent.

Safeguards and Security is booked as nuclearweapons work and accounts for about 350 people.Security costs are growing, with asset protection

running about $100 million a year.

Work for othersStill, the laboratory has grown substantially

in the last five years, mostly through work forother federal agencies. In conjunction, construc-tion is at an all-time high, totaling $188 million.“We are building a lot of laboratory for thefuture,” Tom said. The Microsystems and Engi-neering Applications (MESA) project, at $460 mil-lion, is the biggest project in Sandia’s history, andhas stayed right on cost.

Some costs that are creeping upward are thehealth care costs. The costs run about 10 percentof payroll, or $100 million a year.

Retirement costs, however, are paying forthemselves through a $3 billion fund that Sandiamanages. Individuals have not paid into the fundsince 1974, and the laboratory last paid intoretirement in 1986. “We pay zero,” he said, “butthe sense is that can’t continue — we think wemay have to pay near the end of the decade toaugment the retirement fund.”

Tom’s talk came on the heels of restructuring,which increased the number of deputy laboratorydirectors from one to three and consolidatedorganizational vice presidencies from 12 to 10.

Operational excellenceHe said the objective is to achieve operational

excellence and mission success while ensuringthe transformation of science and engineering.The intent is to stress the importance of thenuclear weapon mission and to enhancesuccession planning.

Following restructuring, the focus is now onsenior managers, who are deemed both close tothe work and to the future of the lab and itsstrategic direction. Planning over the short termwill largely focus on Environmental Safety andHealth.

The California site as a division has almostthe least number of reportable OccupationalSafety and Health Administration injuries, Tomsaid. Programmatically, the site “has a real strongrole across the full spectrum of laboratory activi-ties,” he added. Corporately, Sandia/Californiahas the responsibility to lead work in HomelandSecurity, and geographically, it is situated toengage strongly with industry and universities.

In all its locations, he concluded, the Labora-tories “are full of great people. Anywhere you go,you touch a wonderful person.”

By Nancy Garcia

EDS, a novel 8-ton apparatus developed bySandia in 1998 for the US Army to dispose of

chemical munitions in anenvironmentally sound man-ner, was used to destroyanthrax simulants (Bacillusthuringiensis and Bacillusstearothermophilus).

The project extends theusefulness of EDS and demon-strated a potentially powerfulnew tool for Department ofHomeland Security personnel

to safely neutralize a dormant terrorist device ina crowded location. Standing to the left in thephoto is J. Susan Sprake, FLC vice-chair from LosAlamos National Laboratory. To the right is KurtBuehler, FLC Far West Regional Coordinatorfrom the Naval Facilities Engineering ServiceCenter in Port Hueneme, Calif.

— Nancy Garcia

In his first visit to the California Laboratorysince becoming president of Sandia, Tom Huntertalked about current concerns and the Labs’future in a “Town Hall” meeting titled “TheLaboratory Today and Tomorrow.”

One thing on his mind is the budget. In com-parison to the nuclear weapons budget, whichhovers around $6 billion,the support and relief effortfor Hurricane Katrina waspegged at $60 billion andmay run as high as $200billion, Tom said, whichwill increase deficit spend-ing. He added that in termsof transitions of the coun-try, Hurricane Katrina willgo down as one of the keypivotal events at the begin-ning of this century.

The Laboratories hadbeen operating under con-tinuing resolution budgetlevels for seven weeks whenTom delivered his talk onOct. 6, which means adher-ing to the lowest of anyproposed funding levels(Senate, House, or FY05).

Not all bills have hitsnags; in August, PresidentBush came to Sandia tosign the energy bill in the first presidential visit inmany years other than a campaign stop. “It wasmy great pleasure to represent the lab and spendsome time with the president,” Tom said, addingwryly, “If you get a chance to do a presidentialvisit, do it.” He acknowledged the 400 peoplewho worked virtually around the clock at shortnotice to make the event a success.

DOE push on scienceTom said the main message of the energy bill

— which focused considerably on renewables —was that DOE has an underlying push on sciencethat is quite strong and getting more so, becauseit is important to the nation.

“We at Sandia are going to be looking at sci-ence as a strategy,” he continued, noting that atthe Combustion Research Facility science has

always been a core mission. Boasting key compe-tencies that don’t exist elsewhere, the CRF hasforged a strong relationship with DOE’s Office ofScience that is a model for the Center for IntegratedNanotechnologies and other Sandia facilities.

A final version of the Overskei report, “Rec-ommendations for the Nuclear Weapons Com-plex of the Future,” was issued just days beforeTom’s Town Hall meeting. Prepared for the Secre-tary of Energy Advisory Board by a panel headedby David Overskei of Decision Factors Inc., thereport has four major recommendations. It callsfor an immediate design of a reliable replacementwarhead; consolidation of production in onelocation; consolidation of special nuclear mater-ial; and dismantlement as part of deterrence.

The report is “an early indication that thetime to transform the complex is upon us,” Tomsaid. “We want to be a heavy player in influenc-ing that. Over time we will see many changes.We’re going to play a role in helping design the

ILLUSTRATING Tom’s Town Hall meeting in California were slides thatincluded this one highlighting technical achievements and activities fromboth sites. (Photo by Bud Pelletier)

BioEDS leaders recognized for achievements

The Overskei report is “an earlyindication that the time to trans-form the complex is upon us. Wewant to be a heavy player in influ-encing that.”

Labs Director Tom Hunter


Sam Varnado, director of Sandia’s Informa-tion Operations Center 5600, told a subcommit-tee of the US House of Representatives Oct. 18about threats facing Supervisory Control andData Acquisition (SCADA) systems in the US andthe Labs’ efforts to mitigate them.

SCADA systems controlcomputerized operations ofthe nation’s critical infra-structures, including theelectric power grid, oil andgas pipelines, and watertreatment anddistribution.

“SCADA systems havegenerally been designedand installed with littleattention to security,” Samsaid in testimony beforethe House Committee onHomeland Security, Subcommittee on EconomicSecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and CyberSecurity. “Terrorist groups are aware of this. Asnoted in the June 27, 2002, Washington Post,these systems have been targeted by al-Qaida.”

Sandia working problem for 10 yearsSam explained that Sandia has been working

to improve the security of SCADA systems formore than 10 years. It has invested LaboratoryDirected Research and Development (LDRD)money and other appropriate sponsor-providedfunds into technologies that have direct applica-tion to homeland security and infrastructure pro-tection. During this time, Sandia researchers havefound many vulnerabilities, with the Labs “redteam” assessments showing that security imple-mentations are, in many cases, nonexistent orpoorly implemented.

“Many of the older SCADA systems are oper-ated in a stand-alone mode; that is, they are notconnected to the Internet or to other corporate

systems,” Sam said. “Even so, these legacy sys-tems have vulnerabilities. . . . In summary, it iseasy for adversaries to take control of these legacysystems and cause disruptions with significantconsequences,” he said.

Today, he noted, the older, legacy systems arebeing replaced by new SCADA systems that usethe Internet as the control backbone. This changeis being implemented to reduce cost and increaseefficiency of operation. However, this trend sub-stantially increases the possibility of disruptionsbecause of the growing number of people withaccess. Disruptions can be caused by hackers whohave no training in control systems engineering,and the use of the Internet exposes SCADA sys-tems to inherent vulnerabilities of interconnectedcomputer networks.

Grid ‘especially vulnerable’Sam said that the electric power grid is espe-

cially vulnerable.“Under restructuring, the grid is now being

operated in a way for which it was neverdesigned,” he noted. “More access to control sys-tems is being granted to more users, the demandfor real-time control has increased system com-plexity, and business and control systems areinterconnected. In many cases, these new systemsare not designed with security in mind.”

Other points Sam made about SCADA sys-tems in the US included:

• Private industry owns about 85 percent ofthe US critical infrastructure assets. Industry,therefore, has a key role in implementing protec-tion strategies. Currently, the business case(return on investment) for industry to invest inincreasing the security of their information sys-tems has not been convincingly made.

• Although it is known that many threatsexist, specific details are elusive.

• Most of the current emphasis in the cybersecurity community is on responding to hackerincidents. This effort is necessary and useful;however, the work has a short-term focus. Think-

Sam Varnado testifies before House subcommitteeabout threats facing SCADA systems in USSandia has been working to improve the security of SCADA systems for 10 years

ing must be matured in the area of enterprise-wide network defense strategies.

• Currently, there is no alternative to the useof commercial off-the-shelf products in all ourinformation systems. Most of these hardware andsoftware products are manufactured in countrieswhose interests do not always align with those ofthe US.

• Investment in cyber security technologydevelopment needs to be expanded to address thenew threat and vulnerability environments.

• The people in this country must understandthat we will be attacked and plan for livingthrough the attack and responding to it.

• More public-private partnerships need to beencouraged to share threat, consequence, andvulnerability data to implement cost-effectivesecurity solutions.

• Industries need to be assisted to develop abusiness case for their investment in SCADAsecurity.

By Chris Burroughs

RecommendationsSam Varnado, Center 5600 director, also

offered several recommendations during histestimony. Some included:

• Reaffirm the concept of public-private part-nerships and encourage participants to shareinformation on threats, vulnerabilities, conse-quences of outages, training, and technology.

• Increase funding for improvements incyber security technology.

• Establish and fully fund additional workthat provides defense against sophisticatedthreats.

It seemed timely at the end of the-fiscal yearto share some observations with you and to askyou what you think.

As most of you know, the Ethics office pro-vides a wide varietyof assistance to San-dians. In our day-to-day work, we haveobserved a distinctand recurringthread/theme. Weobserved that manyof the concernsbrought to us could have been resolved by theparties involved if someone had just asked a ques-tion. Some examples:

Interpersonal relationships. Is your coworkerdriving you nuts, perhaps usurping some aspectsof your job? What do you do? Did you think toask him or her to please stop the behavior?

Your manager asks you to transfer money toanother program. And you don’t understand theprocess or are concerned about the propriety ofthe transaction. So what do you do? Did you askwhy or did you research the issue? Did youreceive a satisfactory answer?

A manager has a concern about whetheranother manager has a conflict of interest in amatter that they are mutually trying to resolve.Shouldn’t the manager ask the other managerabout the potential conflict? Might not the man-ager find out there is no actual conflict or thatthere is a mitigation plan in place?

Being a proponent of following our ownadvice, we are going to ask for your opinionabout the ethical climate of our corporation. OnNov. 1, you will receive the biennial ethics sur-vey, which is designed to assess the ethical cli-mate. You have until the end of November tocomplete the 38-question survey, which will takeless than 20 minutes of your time.

From this survey we learn how comfortableyou feel reporting concerns and whether or notyou feel that management will adequately addressyour concerns. This information can be used tofacilitate discussions with management andemployees to establish a common framework forcontinuous improvement and organizationaleffectiveness.

You may be interested to know that Sandiahas found this information to be of somepredictive value in the safety assurance arena aswell. In addition, Lockheed Martin finds thistype of feedback helpful to strengthen andfocus the Ethics Program and develop futuretraining modules.

This year Lockheed Martin has decided to rec-ognize the business unit with the highest partici-pation rate and will randomly select 50 employ-ees of that unit to each designate a charity oftheir choice to which Lockheed Martin willdonate $1,000 per person ($50,000 total). Thismay be an opportunity for you to assist yourfavorite charity, so speak up.

On Nov. 1 we’re asking the question(s);please let us know what you think.

Ethics Corner Resolving conflicts: Why not just ask?

SAM VARNADO

“. . . many of theconcerns brought tous could have beenresolved by theparties involved . . . ”

Q: Corporate policy states that employees maycarry a maximum of 240 hours of vacation time atany point in time. How does that fit with managerswho try and set a significantly lower vacation maxi-mum? Is this permissible?

A: As stated in the Vacation CPR 300.6.16,under the section, Vacation Eligibility andAccrual, “A maximum of 240-hours can be accu-mulated in an employee’s leave balance at anytime during the fiscal year. If the accumulatedbalance equals 240 hours, no additional vaca-tion will be accrued until the balance is reducedby vacation taken.” This Corporate ProcessRequirement (CPR) applies to all regular employ-ees, thus managers cannot change the maxi-mum limit of 240 hours without going throughthe exception process. To the extent possible,vacations are scheduled to meet employee pref-erences; however, managers have the responsi-bility to ensure that their employees schedulevacation in accordance with Sandia’s businessneeds. The manager, therefore, may have thediscretion of implementing additional controlsto manage the needs of the business. The man-ager may desire to avoid situations where busi-ness needs of the Labs must be invoked andemployees are forced to lose vacation becausethey are at the 240-hour limit. The manager mayalso be attempting to avoid excessive stress situ-ations by encouraging employees to take a rea-sonable amount of vacation. We suggest thatyou discuss this issue with your manager inorder to understand his or her intent and tocome to an accommodation that meets bothparties’ needs.

— Joe Polito (10700)

“It is easy for adversaries to take controlof these legacy systems and cause dis-ruptions with significant consequences.”


Self-assessment(Continued from page 1)

progress in the development of a robust andmature ES&H assurance system that has appropri-ate depth, breadth, and rigor. Assessments will beperformed by all Sandians within specific topicareas. Standardized checklists will be electroni-cally downloaded to tablets that will allow uploadof data after the assessment. Checklists will allowfor corporate analysis and reporting, tracking andtrending, and lessons learned. A visual scorecardwill also be available to the line that measuresperformance, process, and culture improvementswith time.

These corporate-wide line ES&H self-assess-ment are scheduled to be performed in CY06:

• January . . . . . . . . . . . .electrical safety• March . . . . . . . . .waste management• May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ergonomics• July . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .chemical• September . . . . . . . . . . .work control• November . . .radiological operations

The schedule for other policy area self assess-ments will be released in December.

“The knowledge we acquire in these self-assessments will help all of us diagnose our prob-lems and identify our strengths,” says John. “Theproblems we will work to improve; the strengthswe will build on. We will have facts and numbersnot ‘maybes’ and ‘probables.’ Unknowns are hardto fix. With knowledge comes a clearer under-standing and expectation with goals and deliver-ables for each one of us. The end result will be a‘total-body assessment’ with specifics for all of us.”

Cascaded training from management, start-ing after Thanksgiving, will provide more specificinformation on the new ES&H self-assessmentprocess.

funded research. Areas of research include,among other fields: materials chemistry,nanoscience, nanostructure device fabrication,nuclear engineering, advanced polymer research,advanced computing, nonlinear dynamics, com-putational biology, plasma applications, quantumelectronics, electromechanics, biotechnology, andbiodefense.

“UT institutions offer a wide range of degreeprograms, both on campus and online, and we arepleased to make these programs available toSandians at resident tuition rates,” says TeresaSullivan, executive vice chancellor for academicaffairs for the UT System. “We would inviteSandians to explore our wide-ranging under-graduate, graduate, and professional programs inthe UT System, beginning at www.utsystem.edu,to learn about our many degree programs and ourcampuses.”

The UT System, a partner with LockheedMartin in the bid for the LANL managementcontract, has announced that if it is successful inthat bid, the same tuition benefit will be extendedto LANL employees, according to Sullivan.

the growing relationship between Sandia and UT.Under terms of an MOU signed earlier this year,the UT System has been aligned with Sandia toprovide peer review for the Labs’ research pro-grams, to participate with Sandia scientists on col-laborative research projects, and to provide spe-cialized courses taught by UT professors toincrease educational opportunities at Sandia.

Rick Stulen, Sandia’s VP for Science andTechnology and Research Foundations Div.1000, says, “At Sandia, we've long enjoyed atremendous relation with the fine public uni-versities in New Mexico and highly value theeducational opportunities those institutionsafford our staff and their families. Now, thisnew University of Texas System policy adds sig-nificantly to the benefits for our employees andunderscores UT’s and Sandia’s shared commit-ment to the importance of higher education toAmerica’s future.”

The UT System is one of the largest universitysystems in the nation. Its nine academic and sixhealth campuses enroll some 185,000 studentsand employ more than 76,000 faculty and staff. Ithas an annual operating budget of $9.6 billion.

Last year, the UT System institutions collec-tively received almost $2 billion in externally

Tuition information for UT System institutions is keptup-to-date on the website at:http://www.utsystem.edu/news/tuition/homepage.htm.

The UT System also maintains a financial aid calculatorat www.TexasCollegeMoney.org. The website featurestools that enable high school students to estimate theamount of financial aid for which they might qualifyat UT System schools.

For more information about the UT System, see thewebsite at: www.utsystem.edu/about.htm

UT tuition(Continued from page 1)

NNSA chief Brooks visits Sandia

Sandia tuition benefit Sandia employees, their spouses, and

dependent children now qualify to pay thetuition and fees charged to residents of theState of Texas when enrolled in a UT Sys-tem institution. A dependent child is achild eligible to be claimed as a dependentof a parent for purposes of determining theparent’s tax liability under the Internal Rev-enue Code of 1986. A parent is a natural oradoptive parent, managing or possessoryconservator, or legal guardian of a child.This waiver of out-of-state tuition does notmake the employees, spouses, and depen-dent children Texas residents for classifica-tion purposes, and the waiver terminatesupon the termination of employment withSandia. Documentation of eligibility will berequired of enrolled students at the begin-ning of each semester in which they areenrolled in a UT System institution.

What began at the turn of the 20th centuryas an effort to gain a day of recognition for thecontributions Native Americans have made to theUnited States has resulted in the entire month ofNovember being designated as Native AmericanHeritage Month.

Sandia’s American Indian Outreach Commit-tee (AIOC) and the 377th ABW at Kirtland AirForce Base (KAFB) have joined to promote thisyear’s Native American Heritage Month, focusingon the theme Native Americans: Yesterday, Today— A culture with much more to explore. Relatedevents include:

• 5K Fun Run/Relay and Health Fair, Friday,Nov. 4, 7 a.m., Hardin Field: Compete in theindividual or team-relay 5K run, and get healthinformation from Sandia Medical, which will alsobe conducting a “stretch and warm up” prior tothe run.

• Powwow Social, Native Foods Cook-off, Artsand Craft Event, Friday, Nov. 4, Hardin Field:Enjoy the Powwow Social, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., anda Native Foods Cook-off, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., whilevisiting with vendors selling their Native arts andcrafts, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Luncheon/Traditional Clothing Day, Thurs-

day, Nov. 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Mountain ViewClub: Keynote address by Gov. Everett Chavez,Santo Domingo Pueblo, and Native peopledressed in traditional clothing at each table readyto share the significance of the attire. Purchasetickets from Marie Brown, 284-3171, or LemuelHarvey, 284-6472.

• Jemez Feast Day, Saturday, Nov. 12, 8 a.m.to 5 p.m.: Buses will transport up to 80 partici-pants from Sandia Labs to Jemez Pueblo and back.Enjoy traditional dancing, feasting, and socializ-ing with the people of one of New Mexico’s 19tribal pueblos. Contact Marie Brown, 284-3171, toreserve your seat for this free event.

Posters listing these events are up around thebase and on the web. If you have questions, con-tact AIOC Chair Marie Brown, 284-3171. Sandia’sAIOC was established in 1979 to increase thenumber of American Indian employees at theLabs and to encourage American Indian studentsto continue their education and to pursueadvanced degrees, with an emphasis in scienceand engineering, while maintaining their culturalvalues. AIOC also facilitates programs and activi-ties that address the spiritual and cultural needsof American Indians.

Events celebrate Native American heritage

AMBASSADOR LINTON BROOKS, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, is inter-viewed by Albuquerque Journal reporter John Fleck during Brooks’ visit to Sandia last week. Fleck asked Brooksa range of questions about the nuclear weapons complex and the status of the Reliable Replacement War-head initiative. While in Albuquerque, Brooks heard briefings on ES&H and other issues from Sandia seniormanagement. He presented a special recognition award to Sandia’s Technical Surveillance Countermeasuresteam for helping organize the NNSA TSCM workshop in Albuquerque last month. Team members includedPaul Linke, Kevin Fahey, Sam Holmes, Rico Johnston, Don Scheuerman, and Nancy Aldridge.

(Photo by Randy Montoya)

About UT


Rio Rancho(Continued from page 1)

into effect in January 2006. The regulationsrequire the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL)of arsenic in water be reduced from the currentlimit of 50 micrograms per liter (µg/L) to 10 µg/L.

High levels of arsenic in water are knownto increase the incidence of bladder and lungcancers.

Research program sponsors are the ArsenicWater Technology Partnership — a groupmade up of Sandia, the Awwa Research Founda-tion (AwwaRF), and WERC, a consortium forenvironmental education and technologydevelopment.

“Removing arsenic from municipal water is apressing problem for many New Mexico commu-nities,’’ says Domenici. “The costs of conven-tional removal methods are staggering, and that’swhy I worked to fund research to find moreaffordable ways to get arsenic out of drinkingwater.”

Rio Rancho Mayor Jim Owen estimated thatthe cost for communities to meet the new EPArequirements will be about $300-$400 perhousehold.

“When the new regulations were passed,many of us in the western states didn’t realizewhat it was going to mean,” Owen said at theconference. “It will hit us significantly in ourpocketbooks if we are going to resolve this.”

The Rio Rancho demonstration project is thethird implemented by the partnership in lessthan a year in New Mexico. The others are in

Socorro and Anthony. More are expected to beestablished at other well sites around the stateand outside of New Mexico in coming months bythe project field team led by lead engineerMalynda Aragon and technologists Randy Everettand William Holub Jr. (both 6118).

“Types of arsenic cleanup used will varyfrom site to site because different communitieshave different water chemistries,” says Sandiaproject lead Malcolm Siegel (6118). “The differ-ent experiments at the multiple locations reflect

those different needs.”The Rio Rancho pilot demonstration will

obtain arsenic removal performance data for sixdifferent adsorptive materials and two reverseosmosis units for a period of three to ninemonths.

The performance data obtained in the testwill be combined with data from a previous pilottest using conventional technologies at the samewell site to provide information useful to a largenumber of communities.

New Mexico water systems don’t have to deal with meeting new Environ-mental Protection Agency (EPA) arsenic standards on their own. Sandia isthere to help.

The Labs received nearly $1 million from DOE to reach out to the approxi-mately 80 communities in the state being affected by the EPA regulations thatrequire arsenic levels in water supplies to be reduced from the current limit of50 micrograms per liter (µg/L) to 10 µg/L.Through the Sandia Arsenic Rural Out-reach Program, over the next 16 monthsLabs personnel will help identify commu-nity water systems’ needs, evaluate waterchemistries, and help communitiesdevelop their own individualized solu-tions for reducing arsenic levels.

Eligible for the program are existingwater systems regulated by the New Mex-ico Environment Department that serveless than 10,000 people and have arseniclevels in their water at or higher than 10 µg/L. Priority will be given to systemswith the greatest immediate need.

“The water chemistry is different around the state,” says Sue Collins(6118) who heads the program. “As a result, solutions will vary from commu-nity to community.”

New Mexico, like many western states, has high levels of arsenic inground water due largely to its mountainous geography. For example, the RioGrande Basin, which includes the Albuquerque area, has large undergroundfaults, young sediment, and geothermal heating. “All of these conspire to giveyou the potential for high arsenic levels in ground water,” Sue adds.

For some communities arsenic removal could, in extreme cases, be veryexpensive. At the high end some studies show yearly costs ranging up to$400-$500 for a normal household — considerably more than most watersystems can afford.

In August water systems in New Mexico were sent letters advising themthat Sandia has started a program to help utilities figure out ways to meet thenew standards. Sue and her team have already personally contacted five com-munities, and the number will increase weekly until most of the impactedcommunities have been addressed.

“We’re starting with some of the communities near Albuquerque but willsoon be reaching out statewide,” Sue says.

The first water systems being studied are south of Albuquerque; systemsnorth of the city will come next.

Among the initial steps is the sampling of water from each water systemthat seeks assistance to begin identifying the best technologies for that utility.As part of this process, Sandia will collect, free of charge, water samples usingLabs equipment and test for any additional water chemistry informationneeded to complete the evaluation.

Then, Sandia personnel will meet with managers of each water system toevaluate the utility’s potential solutionsand report back to the water system on anindividual basis.

A variety of solutions are available,depending on the needs of the commu-nity. In some locations well water withlarge concentrations of arsenic may beblended with water from wells with lowconcentrations. In others the potential fortreatment involving adsorptive materialswill be evaluated.

Another option for smaller commu-nities is the installation of small “point of use systems” that can be placedunder a sink. These systems must be owned and operated by the utilityand monitored a couple of times a year by the New Mexico EnvironmentDepartment. However, this seemingly attractive picture is clouded by thecost inherent in regularly servicing many widely separated systems, andby the fact that the state regulatory agency could, theoretically, requireaccess to sample water from the kitchen tap at any time, without priorannouncement.

Because of the complex interplay of technological, social, financial, andlegal issues, Sue says the solutions for arsenic problems in New Mexico areinherently multidisciplinary.

“It’s not a simple engineering problem, not a simple scientific problem,and not a simple economic problem,” she says. “Success will be determinedby taking into account all these disciplines.”

With the costs of cleanup potentially expensive, Sandia arsenic outreachprogram staff are knowledgeable about what funding sources are available tohelp the communities. A few federal grants and loan programs exist. Workingtheir way through the grant and loan process can be complicated, and theSandia staff will help the communities contact appropriate resources in vari-ous potential funding agencies.

Sue says Sandia also collaborates with other groups in the state that arehelping the communities determine how they can best bring arsenic levelsdown. For example, a joint WERC (a consortium for environmental educa-tion and technology development) Sandia workshop held in AlbuquerqueOct. 11 briefed representatives from 16 water utilities on strategies for dealingwith the upcoming changes, and provided Senator Domenici with a forum forinteracting directly with representatives from some of the most concernedcommunities.

By Chris Burroughs

Sandia to help New Mexico water systems lower arsenic levels in suppliesLabs receives nearly $1 million for Arsenic Rural Outreach Program

Sue Collins (6118), Jim Krumhansl (6118), Kathleen Holt (6874), PaulMcConnell (6143), Heather Himmelberger, Susan Butler (both of NewMexico Tech), and Bruce Thomson (UNM)

“It’s not a simple engineering problem, not a sim-ple scientific problem, and not a simple economicproblem. Success will be determined by takinginto account all theses disciplines.”

Sandia researcher Sue Collins

Outreach team members

Astrodome network

John Larson (4330), assisted in setting up acomputer network to help evacuees in HoustonAstrodome locate family members.

John says he knew he could make more of adifference professionally and personally for thevictims other than by donating money. He wasfrustrated at progress of the Hurricane Katrinaresponse so he started searching the Internet andcalling around the country looking for ways tohelp. He found an article in the Houston Chroniclerequesting wireless communications expertise atthe Astrodome, and that same night was on aplane to Houston.

Once the network was set up at the Astrodome,John began to assist evacuees and input requests forinformation about missing family and friends.

John says there will be plenty of evacuee sto-ries to remember. He recalls a young lady and herdaughter who walked to the Superdome throughtwo miles of water that sometimes was up to theirchest. The two had spent two days on an overpasswith many other people with no food or waterbefore making the decision to walk to the Super-dome. “She said the two nights in the Superdomewere much worse than the bridge, she felt fear forher daughter and herself,” he says. She had leftpart of her family on that bridge, and John washelping her try to locate them.

“It’s one thing to hear these stories on CNNand read them in the paper and another thing tohear them firsthand from a human being sittingacross from you and still seeing the fear andanguish on their face,” John says.

NISAC updateAnalyses of infrastructure impacts due to Hur-

ricanes Katrina and Rita, done by the NationalInfrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center(NISAC), were completed Sept. 23. The Depart-ment of Homeland Security’s NISAC is a corepartnership between Sandia and Los Alamosnational laboratories.

Nancy Brodsky (6222) helped lead severalSandians in analyses of critical infrastructure,including energy, telecommunications, and otherinfrastructure sectors (Lab News, Sept. 16). NISACcompleted 17 reports for the Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) including two Katrinapre-event, one Ophelia pre-event, four Rita pre-event, and 10 Katrina post-event reports. NISACalso contributed to two DOE reports.

NISAC is currently looking at scenariosaround the nation with the potential for severeconsequences.

“We are looking at other types of natural dis-asters, as well as accidents, and deliberate inter-ventions,” Nancy said. “We focus on conse-quences to infrastructure for such events.”

Search and rescueNew Mexico Task Force 1 (NMTF-1) members

Bruce Berry (6445), Kenneth Gwinn (1526), andJerry Wellman (1527) participated in search andrescue operations following Katrina.

Bruce says the team went “roof toroof” assisting people in houses, apart-ments, schools, and businesses. Duringthe nine days the team was there theyassisted anywhere from 60 to 150 peopleper day.

Kenneth and Jerry were deployed asstructures specialists after Hurricane Kat-rina. Bruce was deployed as a search teammanager. Arne Gullerud (1542) wasunable to deploy due to work commit-ments but he spent many hours pre-deployment helping the team get outthe door.

Kenneth spent the majority of histime helping decontaminate rescuers andvictims as they came out of the water. Hespent one day in a boat performingsearch and rescue operations. Jerry spentthe majority of his time helping withsecuring supplies, unpacking and pack-ing equipment. He also spent two days in

a boat performing search and rescue operations.Bruce says the team is on call and can be

deployed to assist with any emergency at anytime. The team has one hour to respond with ayes or no.

“This is my commitment to my communityand to the United States,” says Bruce.

NMTF-1 is one of 28 FEMA urban search andrescue (USAR) teams in the country. USAR teamswere originally formed to deal with large naturaldisasters that overwhelm local responses in theaftermath of the Mexico City earthquake.

Sandia’s contribution to NMTF-1 is to allowits Sandia members to train and respond on theirown time — typically vacation. This includesacceptance of the potential conflict-of-interest forthose who perform engineering activities for bothSandia and FEMA.


Sandia lends expertise, assistance during hurricane cleanupProjects range from setting up computer networks to cleaning up buildings with decon foam

Other relief activities

• David Ellis (6435) assisted with a San-dia computer server that was sent to St. Louisto help map safe convoy routes and help sur-vivors locate each other.

• Sandia led a multilab effort to developa decision tree for water decontamination inNew Orleans. The team developed an initialdecision tree and identified technical advi-sory groups for the potential major issues.The efforts were led by Mark Tucker (6245)and Richard Griffith (1517).

• The commercial version of the SandiaDF-200 decontamination foam is being used toclean up commercial buildings in Mississippi.It is being used both before and after water isremoved from the facilities, primarily for disin-fection of pathogenic microorganisms. DF-200was also used to help clean and disinfect theNew Orleans Sports Arena (the basketball andhockey arena next to the Superdome). Thiswas where most medical cases were held whilethe hospitals were closed.

• DHS evaluated Sandia proposedportable video/audio equipment for deploy-ment to New Orleans.

WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE greeted Sandia searchand rescue volunteers deployed to the Gulf Coastregion following Katrina. (Photo by Kenneth Gwinn)

After nearly two months followingHurricanes Katrina and Rita, Sandia con-tinues to assist with the relief effortalong the Gulf Coast.

A computer network to assist evac-uees at the Houston Astrodome locatefamily members was set up by a Sandian,and a Sandia computer server was usedto help map safe convoy routes duringthe evacuation. Sandians have also pro-vided technical expertise in economicanalyses, and Sandia continues to lead amultilab effort looking at water deconta-mination issues in New Orleans.

Mississippi assistance Several Sandians spent eight days in

Gulfport, Miss., in mid-October, assist-ing in the recovery efforts from Hurri-cane Katrina. The team resided at a vol-unteer village sponsored by Presbyterian DisasterAssistance, which was a “tent city” for as many as150 volunteers.

The team went out to various work sites andassisted in “mucking out” flood damaged homes,placing temporary roofs on people’s homes,removing tree damage, and doing some homerepairs. Sandians on the team included JefferyPorter (5719), Julie Bouchard (6225), Susan(Trudi) Martinez (5525), Patti Valles (4311), andDennis Johnson (2550).

Tulane supportSandia’s Advanced Materials Laboratory and

the University of New Mexico’s Department ofChemical and Nuclear Engineering are hostingDr. Yunfeng Lu, a professor of chemical and bio-

molecular engi-neering atTulane, sevengraduate stu-dents, and twopostdocs. Lu, aformer UNMgraduate studentand Sandia post-doc, has beencollaboratingwith Jeff Brinker,a Sandia fellow,scientist, andUNM professor,on self-assem-bled supramole-

cular materials. Lu already was partially funded by aSandia LDRD as a result of the award of a Presiden-tial Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Carol Ashley, team leader in Ceramic Process-ing and Inorganic Materials, says Sandia andUNM are committed to assisting Lu and his stu-dents to ensure that their research continues.

Research has been conducted in three labs,including one in Sandia’s Advanced MaterialsLabs, and two at UNM’s Department of Chemicaland Nuclear Engineering. Equipment has beenloaned by various Sandia organizations and isbeing coordinated by Eric Branson (1815). JeffBrinker (1002) authorized a line of credit at UNMusing his UNM overhead funds to allow purchaseof chemicals and supplies by the Tulane groupwhile they awaited arrival of transferred fundsfrom their funding agencies. The group now isreceiving their funding from Tulane.

The researchers and the spouses of two gradu-ate students now live in three separate apart-ments, which are supplied by a faculty memberfrom UNM’s Department of Chemical andNuclear Engineering, the Albuquerque Red CrossAssociation, and FEMA.

Eric says the entire AML staff has donatedlarge amounts of time in assisting with the set-upof the lab, training on equipment, and ensuring asmooth transition for the Tulane researchers.

“This could not have been done without thehelp of a lot of people,” says Eric. “I would like toextend a thanks to all those who helped.”

TULANE STUDENTS continue theirresearch in Albuquerque.

NISAC member Kevin Stamber (6226) describes NISAC’s work analyzing the impactof natural and man-made crises on critical infrastructure. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

By Michael Padilla

“The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, 3rd SpecialForces Group, provided the unconventional warfare mission inAfghanistan” says Michael. “These guys are the war fighters, the realheroes making the ultimate sacrifices. The Afghan border guard unit wasassigned to us. These were our proxy fighters. They accompanied us ondangerous patrols. They were former Mujahideen fighters from theHazaras, Pashtuns, and Uzbeks tribes. The Russians called them the‘Doohee’ which means the mountain ghost, the Spirit’s Warriors.”

“Afghans offer unbounded hospitality to guests, ruthless violenceto enemies,” he says.

“Thirteen members of my Afghan team died in anambush in the Spin Buldak district on the Pakistan border.We were only able to save one.”

Michael Tachias‘s (4211) dream was to become a soldierand see the world. “Who would have known that 9/11 wasgoing to happen,” he says. Michael recently returned to Sandiafrom Afghanistan after serving 12 months as a major with the 3rd and7th Special Forces Groups (Airborne). This was his second tour of duty.He spent 12 months in Bosnia/Kosovo in 2003.

Michael’s duty was to serve as the Combined Joint SpecialOperations Task Force Officer for both the 25th Infantry Division andthe Special Operations Command. He also served under the command ofthe French Special Forces leading his team, ODA 773, 7th Special ForcesGroup, into combat along the Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan border.Most of their combat missions were in the Kandahar Province, MarufValley, Helmand, and Spin Buldak Province. “This was the last haven forthe Taliban and the insurgents,” says Michael. “Intelligence from theCIA identified this as Bin Ladin’s home turf.”

SANDIA LAB NEWS • October 28, 2005 • Page 9SANDIA LAB NEWS • October 28, 2005 • Page 8

Lifting the veil“Afghanistan is a mysterious and ancient land,” says Michael. “Afghan women

wore the veil that covered their faces. My team considered it a quest to win the trust,hearts, and minds of the Afghan people. We called it lifting the veil.”

Michael was given special funds to help improve the villages in thearea. He hired locals to build water wells, dams, and schools.

“US dollars were used to enhance the market and the economy,” he says.“We also distributed clothes and toys sent by US organizations. The expressionsof gratitude from the children were unbelievable. It made us believers in thegood we are doing for their country.”

Desert becomes oceanTemperatures in the winter were in the 30s to 30 below. The summer tem-

peratures ranged up to 120 degrees. January through March, Afghanistan got hitwith rains not seen in eight years. “I witnessed the desert flood into an ocean,”says Michael. “The people believed that when the Russians, Taliban, and AlQaeda foreign fighters arrived, the rain stopped. When the Americans arrived,the rains came back, and they were blessed again.

“Several villages in the mountains northwest of Balgram were trapped bythe severe winter storms,” says Michael. “We helped them by providing food and medical supplies.Many people died. Medevac flights were implemented to save winter casualties. They were mostlyold people and children. It would break your hearts to see how these people endured the harshnessof this country without the convenience of infrastructure, grocery stores, hospital, running water,or electricity.

“The Afghanistan people are beautiful and very respectful, even after decades of bloodshed andturmoil,” he says.

Reality of WarMichael had two best friends during his tour.

Pedro ‘Papi’ Munoz was mortally wounded after a raid mis-sion in Shindad. During the mission Papi entered one of the many com-pounds and was confronted by a Taliban insurgent who he then killed,while protecting himself and several team members. Papi later died of hiswounds. “Papi was the inspiration of the 7th Special Forces Group,” saysMichael. “Papi was part of the entry team. I was part of the covering andblocking force.”

Dave Conner was Michael’s other close friend. “Dave was tragicallyshot along with 17 members of his unit. His helicopter was hit by rocket-propelled grenade rounds and small arms. They were hit while on a supplymission to the Kandahar Province. “Dave was our magic man when it cameto scrounging supplies,” Michael says.

“Their deaths opened my eyes to the tragedy, the reality of war, andhow precious life is,” says Michael. “It hurt my heart and soul to see myfriends and wonder how their families were doing, but at the same time Iwas proud of them. They were courageous individuals fighting for therights and freedoms of a poor country. It is a great honor to have servedwith such great individuals.

“It was a long haul,” he says. “Loneliness, missing my family, theweather, and the terrain were my constant enemies in addition to the obvi-ous ones. Fear and death are always with you. It’s your comaraderie andfriendship that keep your head in the game. Your faith in God keeps youresolute and brave in the face of danger. After a mission your fear for yourfamily escalates, praying they are safe back home.”

Michael will be returning to Afghanistan early next year with the 3rdSpecial Forces Group. “I am ready to go back to finish the schools, waterdams I proposed for irrigation, and all the projects I started,” saysMichael. “The war has changed my outlook on life and where I want to betoday. My team would read scripture before all our combat missions. I feelwe all got close to the Lord. He is the reason why I got home and back tomy family.”

Michael received the Joint Service Commendation Medal and theDefense Meritorious Service Medal during this tour of duty.

One man’s Afghanistan: Maj. Mike Tachias, Sandian

Story by Iris Aboytes • Photos courtesy of Mike Tachias

Editor’s note: This is the next round of mater-ial on Sandia’s medical plan changes for 2006 pro-vided by Health, Benefits, and EmployeeServices Center 3300.

Would you like an easy way to save on your taxbill? If you will be paying for out-of-pocket medicalor day care expenses of $100 or more next year,then take advantage of Sandia’s RSA benefit thatallows you to set aside money on a pre-tax basisthrough payroll deductions. The RSA enables youto reduce your reportable income for the purposeof federal, Social Security (FICA), and, in mostcases, state taxes.

All regular, limited term, postdoctoral, and full-time, year-round faculty sabbatical employees mayparticipate in the RSA Plan in 2006 by enrollingduring the Benefits Open Enrollment period, Oct.26 through Nov. 16. Changes at other times dur-ing 2006 may be allowed for qualifying events ifthe change is consistent with and on account of theevent (e.g., birth or marriage to increase theamount of contribution, and divorce or loss of eligi-ble dependent to decrease amount).

Be conservative in determining your annualelection amount because any amount remaining inyour RSA at the end of the plan year must be for-feited per IRS rules.

Flex Facts

Your flexible reimbursement account plan canhelp reduce your taxes and increase your take-home pay.

On average, people save 23 percent in taxes(assuming federal, state, and social security taxes), bypaying out-of-pocket health care and child careexpenses on a pretax basis through a flex plan. Actualtax savings depend on several variables, includingstate and local tax rates and the tax bracket of theparticipant:

15% tax bracket can save up to 22.65% 27% tax bracket can save up to 34.65% You may participate in the flex plan even if you do

not enroll in Sandia’s medical or dental plans. You can pay your work-related day care expenses,

and your out-of-pocket medical, dental and visionexpenses on a pretax basis through a flex plan.

Financial planners and tax advisors advocate par-ticipation in flexible spending accounts.

Health Care RSA

Your annual election amount in the Health CareRSA (HCRSA) can be any whole dollar amount from$100 to a maximum of $4,000 per employee. Yourtotal HCRSA annual election amount is available foryour use at the beginning of the 2006 plan year. Themoney in the account may be used to pay for eligibleout-of-pocket health care expenses for you and youreligible dependents. Out-of-pocket health careexpenses include over-the-counter medicines anddrugs to alleviate or treat (current or imminent) sick-ness or injuries; doctor or prescription drug co-pays;medical or dental deductibles; amounts over the den-tal Type B Schedule coverage; or expenses for addi-tional eye exams, extra pair of prescription glasses, orprescription contact lenses.

The IRS and the Treasury relaxed the “use it or loseit” rule. The “grace period” allows employees an addi-tional two months and fifteen days following the endof the plan year in which eligible expenses may beincurred. The grace period allows active participantstwo-and-a-half months longer to incur eligible healthcare expenses before the account is closed. In otherwords, if you enroll as of Jan. 1, 2006, and are anactive participant as of Dec. 31, 2006, you have until

March 15, 2007, to incur eligible health careexpenses. The grace period will apply to the healthcare reimbursement account only.

Examples of eligible expenses include, but arenot limited to, deductibles, coinsurance (your15% or 20% share of claim costs), amounts overusual and customary, pharmacy copays, dental,and amounts over plan maximums, etc.You may also claim some over-the-counter medications, such as antacids, pain relief, coldremedies and allergy medications as eligibleexpenses for the HCRSA. A complete listing of eli-gible and ineligible expenses is located at:http://www.payflex.com/ mypayflex/default.asp?c=eligibleexpenses

Dependent Care RSA

Your annual election in the Dependent CareRSA (DCRSA) can be any whole dollar amountfrom $100 to a possible maximum of $5,000 (perfamily per calendar year). The $5,000 maximum isavailable to single employees or to marriedemployees filing joint federal tax returns. Marriedemployees who file separate federal tax returns arelimited to an annual maximum of $2,500 each. Ineither case, your election cannot exceed your oryour spouse’s earned income. If your spouse isattending school full time you can deem his or herincome to be $240 a month if you have one eligi-ble dependent, or $500 a month if you have twoor more eligible dependents. You can be reim-bursed for expenses incurred for services renderedonly up to the current balance in your DCRSA.With the DCRSA, you are reimbursed for expensesincurred to have your child (under age 13), your

spouse or other eligible dependent (who is physicallyor mentally incapable of self care and resides with youat least 8 hours each day) cared for while you are atwork. The caregiver may be a licensed day care cen-ter, a relative whom you don’t claim as an exemptionon your federal income tax return, or your child whois at least age 19.

Debit Card

New enrollees for the RSA 2006 Plan Year will beprovided with a debit (“mbi Flex Convenience®”)card. This debit card is an alternative reimbursementmethod. You may also file paper claim forms for reim-bursement. Use whichever method is more conve-nient. You should retain all RSA claims documentationwith your tax records as PayFlex may request substan-tiation for your claims according to IRS guidelines.

Please read carefully the agreement that accompa-nies your debit card. The agreement describes yourresponsibilities when using your debit card, the imme-diate notification requirement for lost or stolen cards,and the reporting of unauthorized usage or errors toPayFlex Systems.

More RSA InfoFor more information on the HCRSA and DCRSA,

refer to Sandia’s RSA Summary Plan Description. It canbe found at: http://www.sandia.gov/benefits/spd/pdfs/RSA2003.pdf or by calling the HBECustomer Service at 505-844-HBES (4237).

A PayFlex representative will be at Sandia’s RSAOpen Enrollment meeting on Oct. 27, in Albuquerque,which will be video-streamed. Instructions forenrolling in the RSA are available in your BenefitsChoices 2006 Open Enrollment booklet.

Albuquerque:LIVEOct. 27, 9:45-10:45 a.m.; Steve Schiff Auditorium. VIDEONov. 2, 3:15- 4:15 p.m.; CNSAC Auditorium

Livermore: ALL LIVENov. 1, 5-6 p.m; Doubletree Club HotelNov. 1, 9-10 a.m.; Bldg. 904 AuditoriumNov. 10, 10:30-11:30 a.m.; Bldg. 940 AuditoriumNov. 14, 9-10 a.m.; Bldg. 915/W133


Reimbursement Spending Accounts (RSA) for healthcare and day care mean savings on taxes

The Tax Credit Wizard is a tool to help youdetermine:

• If you qualify for a Dependent Care Reimburse-ment Account

• If it is to your advantage to elect a DependentCare Reimbursement Account

Here’s the URL for the wizard:http://www.payflex.com/mypayflex/default.asp?c=taxcreditwizard

To use it, click the “Next” button on each screenand answer the questions that follow.

Even if you qualify for a Dependent Care Reim-bursement Account, it may not be to your advan-tage to make an election. There are several factors toconsider, and detailed knowledge of the federal taxlaws is required in order to make an accurate deter-mination. In an effort to simplify this issue, we have

developed this tool to help you make a decision.Due to the complexity and local variation of tax

laws, the result of this process cannot be consideredabsolute and may not address your individual cir-cumstances. Only a qualified financial or tax consul-tant can make an absolute determination with regardto any advantage or disadvantage to your participa-tion in a Dependent Care Reimbursement Account.

The Savings Calculator will help you:• Itemize unreimbursed health and dependent

care expenses • Estimate your annual increase in spendable

income if you should choose to participate inthe Flexible Spending Account plan.

Here’s the URL —http://www.payflex.com/mypayflex/default.asp?c=savingscalculator.

Tax credit wizard, savings calculator help decision-making process

Note: This is an over-simplified example. It omits exemptionsand deductions. It does not take into consideration the federaltax credit available for day care. Each participant will have a dif-ferent savings result depending on that participant’s tax bracket,filing status, etc. To be certain you use the method that gives youthe most tax savings, you should consult a tax advisor.

Open enrollment: Oct. 26-Nov. 16

Be sure to include your deductibles andco-insurance amounts for your medical anddental services.

If you have predictable expenses forprescribed medications, eligible over-the-counter medications, contact lens solu-tions, chiropractic visits or other routinecare, add the amount not covered by insur-ance to the total.

Review your prior year’s medical his-tory for health care expenses you have had.

Estimating out-of-pocket medicalexpenses for the Plan Year

Will women’s rights groups fall in the battleagainst religious extremism? Will “geezers” mon-itor battlefields remotely, freeing younger peoplefor other tasks? Will blogs fragment the opinionsof conventional media? International consor-tiums form their own armies to protect theirproperties? And will online banking become aprimary source of virtual money laundering?

These and other informal questions andinsights about the world’s future were scrawled onwhiteboards or spoken aloud in a two-day gather-ing of 49 visionaries with exceptionally varied out-looks, gathered from across the country into themarginally spartan, windowless quarters of Sandia’sAdvanced Concept Group (ACG) in mid-Septem-ber. The ACG periodically invites outside experts to“think-fests” that investigate long-range problemsthat could impact national or global security.

The creative thinkers, with their distinguishedresumes, were there to brainstorm the future of warand peace. There were people from Special Forcesand from conciliation groups, social and politicaland educational theorists, and people who knowhow to blow things up. There were people on thirdcareers after spending decades in the military, andpeople just starting out with degrees from Harvard.Eighteen were Sandians.

‘The collective brain’“I want you to operate as a collective brain,”

said ACG leader and Sandia VP and Principal Sci-entist Gerry Yonas (7000),as he introduced the“Future of War” Think-Festat a dinner at the NationalAtomic Museum Sept. 19.“What we’d like to takeout of this is one greatidea.”

Wendell Jones (7000),who led the ACG exercise,preferred the concept of afarming exercise: “Wewant to plant as manyseeds as possible. Somewon’t germinate, otherswill grow.”

Karl Braithwaite(7000), whose backgroundincludes helping writemany environmental laws(Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund, andothers), and serving as Dean of the Edmund S.Muskie School of Public Service at the University ofSouthern Maine, told the Lab News, “My colleagues[elsewhere] found it unusual that a nuclearweapons lab in New Mexico would have such far-reaching discussions.”

Look widely, GrasshopperWendell opened the meeting by showing two

pictures of the same tiger, one with perceptionpoints recorded by Chinese students and the otheras seen by Americans (images at top right). TheAmericans looked directly at the tiger — teeth,head, shoulders, haunches. The Chinese lookedfirst at the tiger, and then at the rocks and treessurrounding it. They wanted context.

To gain new viewpoints, therefore, said Wen-dell, “The first few sessions will consist of puttingthe future of war in context, rather than doingwhat American engineers are most comfortable at:brainstorming a particular problem and coming upwith an immediate solution.”

The approach involved creating four versionsof the world as it might exist in 2025: inclusiveglobalization, pernicious globalization, regionalcompetition, and a post-polar world where every-one works together. While no one conclusionemerged, there were many flashes of light thatmight merit further thought.

Among them: • While in the past the US had resisted becom-

ing dependent on a single supplier for strategicgoods, it is now strategically dependent on Chinafor consumer goods and credit.

• The military will increasingly be concernedwith peacekeeping and peacemaking; it will need anegotiating capacity and a capacity to rebuild.

• There will be “a rise in American humility,an acceptance that we can’t do everything and beeverywhere.”

• Get in, get out, with no boots on the ground.• “We want the world to love us more, while

getting all the things we got by being mean.”• Chinese military R&D funding is smaller

than the US but its researchers are paid only 1/50as much, so the research achieved may not be asdisproportionate as it may seem.

• Worldwide business consortiums may buildtheir own armies to protect their investments.

• Headline: “OPEC crashes; Muslims, anti-green terrorists blame US, China, EU [because offast rise of ‘green’ energy].

• A continental state will be formed of Canada,the US, and Mexico, ending our border problems.

• Adding anthropologists and sociologists tothe mix of lawyers and military people who cur-rently make most military decisions will providemore insight into what the US will face in placeslike Iraq.

Criticisms of sessionParticipant Alan William objected, “[Most of]

these assumptions are that the US won’t be thedominant military power in 2025. It’s my job tosee that it remains so, and I believe that it will.”Williams, an engineer, leads the Georgia TechResearch Institute’s Future Threat Initiative.

Gerry Yonas expresseddisappointment that he“came out with what Iwent in with,” and “didnot get that big idea.”

“We already knewthat the military will notprovide the solution to theideological wars of thefuture,” he told the LabNews. “The meetingagreed. Little came outthat said war does any-thing for you in these fun-damentally ideologicalwars. If there is no super-power to confront, andIslam is having a war ofideas within itself, tryingto find its way, then we

have to rethink the role of the military and thetools it needs. Instead of the ‘Big Army’ solution,what we may need is the small forces approachwe used in Afghanistan. Preventing conflict inadvance of future disputes may be the mosteffective approach.

“Rather than ‘walk softly and carry a big stick,’the meeting concluded it’s better to listen to yourenemies carefully andcarry a small stick, ormaybe lots of small veryprecise sticks,” Gerrycontinued. “If thefuture is Special Forcesand low-intensity con-flict, the technologythat is critical is predic-tive awareness: a persis-tent, ubiquitous net-work of smart sensors.This may need to becoupled to precisionstrike and precisionunderstanding of thestrike.”

The program also took criticism from some par-ticipants who disagreed with the choice of context.

Stewart Brand, compiler of the Whole EarthCatalog and a former infantry lieutenant, e-mailedafter the meeting’s conclusion, “Most of our rec-ommendations seemed appropriate [only] for anaudience of the Joint Chiefs and a bipartisan Con-gressional commission, since they had to domostly with reorganizing the nation’s militaryintelligence apparatus.”

Former Naval Special Warfare Officer KevinBaugh, now associate director of the Office of Gov-ernment and industry liaison for the Biodesign Insti-tute at Arizona State University, e-mailed that he“was very pleased with what I got out of the [confer-ence but] . . . I was especially disheartened by thefact that we did not exercise a truly difficult scenario(perhaps something like a ‘post nuclear war in theMideast world’) where much of the world’s oil sup-ply becomes contaminated unexpectedly and theUS must suddenly cope with real shortages in petro-leum products in a highly competitive world.”

‘Way out of comfort zone’Of the alternative scenarios posed, Wendell said,

“That’s the point of the diversity of the group. Someparticipants were way out of their comfort zone andothers thought we weren’t way out there enough.

“We wanted plenty of people in this crowd —like the Grummans and the Boeings and the mili-tary services — prejudiced to want some potenttechnology that could prevail in the future. Thenwe wanted social science people who wouldcontend for more artful, sophisticated influence.Interestingly, we didn’t have knockdown fightsbetween social scientists and military folks.Everybody came out and said we have to getmuch smarter in understanding cultures andinfluencing ideas, and gain technology to influ-

ence people’s motivesand intentions.

“It was a discon-certing conclusion,”Wendell continued.“Many of the folk therewould have beenhappy to have a mis-sion come rolling out[to take the technologyand make it over-whelming for the US],but that’s not whatcame out from anygroup, despite the mili-tary/DOE presence.

The Fest seemed to say, wow, maybe the futureof national security is all around these otherfeatures.

“We’re still discussing [in the ACG] what thatmeans for Sandia’s future.”

Wendell concluded, “One of our aims was tobring people together who would otherwise neverrun into each other in their daily lives. I think wedid that. Three genuinely diverse collaborationsseem already to have sprung up. We’re looking for-ward to seeing how many more idea-seeds sprout.”


ACG ‘Future of War’ Think-Fest produces many sparks, no fires‘Disconcerting’ results call for fewer ‘big strikes’ and broader understanding By Neal Singer

IN A TEST on modes of thinking, Chinese studentsplot more contextual “perception points” (bottomimage) than do American subjects, whose perceptionpoints are shown in top image.(“Cultural variation in eye movements during scene perception,” Richard Nisbett, etal, University of Michigan, Copyright 2005, National Academy of Sciences, USA)

ACG CHIEF (and Sandia principal scientist) Gerry Yonas,left, gets passionate during “Future of War” think-fest.

FUTURE OF WAR Think-Fest participants chart talk-ing points during a break in the action.


Sandia was involved in a beautiful and suc-cessful space mission. Sandia continuously earnspraise from its customers. Sandia’s generosity issecond to none. In August Sandians madeanother mark in its history by hosting PresidentGeorge Bush.

Why is it, then,that Sandia is near thebottom when it comesto safety?

Already throughthe second quarter ofthe 2005 fiscal year,Sandia has continuedto be near the top ofthe DOE national lab-oratories in accidentsrequiring medicalattention. This is notan area where Sandiawould like to be num-ber one. Of all theDOE national labs, Sandia had 138 total record-able cases as compared to Los Alamos’s 143,Lawrence Livermore’s 91, Savannah River’s 69,Y-12’s 57, Oak Ridge’s 50, Hanford’s 45, LawrenceBerkeley Lab’s 35, Argonne-East’s 24, andBrookhaven’s 22.

“Our employees are our most importantasset, and we don’t want them hurt,” says VPFrank Figueroa, head of the division in charge ofEnvironment, Safety, and Health (ES&H). “TheLabs Leadership Team (LLT) has taken a hard,close look at safety and made it a priority.”

Why the high rates? Frank is quick to dismiss a myth that all of

these injuries and accidents are due to the greatamount of construction work going on at Sandia.“Actually, our contractors’ injury rates are betterthan ours — by a factor of 25 percent,” Frank says.

The reasons for the injury rates are varied,

from people being preoccupied to dismissal ofsafety as a whole. “Whatever the problems are,”says Frank. “We all need to find them, and we allneed to fix them. LLT is committed to sendingour employees home safely at the end of the day.

“As we are all committed to maintain excel-lence and do the best job for our country, weneed to be committed to safety,” says Frank. “Wecan’t have one without the other; we need themboth. We need to recognize that safety is a way oflife — a good life.”

What will it take?Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, Under

Secretary of Energy Clay Sell, and NNSA Adminis-trator Linton Brooks have indicated they expecttheir contractors to work in a safe, secure environ-ment. Frank says they are no different from ourfamilies, who deserve the same expectation.

“Right now our safety record, and thereforeour record of excellence, is not something to beproud of,” Frank says. “At our current recordablecase rates, 215 people will be injured this year.What does it really mean? In simple terms itmeans 215 people too many. It just isn’t right that215 of our families should be impacted. Will yourfamily be next? We all need to make sure it isn’t.”

What will it take for us to become best? Franksays we are all process owners when it comes tosafety. We all have the power. We all have theknowledge. We just need the desire. Ask ques-tions, then ask more questions, then even morequestions, but take action. Follow LLT’s lead ormake it your own mission to become a “safetysoldier.”

“When a military commander sends histroops into battle, his thoughts always includethe families that ache for their loved ones toreturn safely,” says Frank. “On a smaller scale, ourfamilies feel the same about our leaving to go towork. They want us back safely as well. We owethem our best efforts to achieve that goal. Theydeserve no less.”

Family comes first as safety strugglesto become a way of life at SandiaBy Iris Aboytes

Sandia enters into agreement withAerospace Corporation

With an agreement to identify opportunitiesfor interactive research and development in abroad range of scientific areas, Sandia and theAerospace Corporation recently signed a memo-randum of understanding (MOU).

The MOU calls for interaction in space micro-electronics and component technologies, sensorand instrument systems, spacecraft technologies,systems technologies, information technologies,and space simulation and modeling tools.

“Sandia and Aerospace share significantinterest in developing advanced technologies forend applications and capabilities that ultimatelybenefit the nation,” says Al Romig, Labs DeputyDirector for Integrated Technologies. “This agree-ment establishes a strong relationship betweenSandia and Aerospace.”

The MOU calls for Sandia to identify uses ofits hypervelocity impact modeling capability andits possible use for intercept debris characteriza-tion. In addition, Aerospace will provide spacearchitecture systems engineering support toSandia demonstration activities.

Mike Drennan, Aerospace Corporation’s vicepresident for Space Operations, Requirements,and Technology, says he is pleased to be able tohave a more formal relationship with Sandia.

“We see great prospects for this relationshipto bloom as we have already identified a numberof areas of mutual interest where each organiza-tion brings a very special expertise to help withnational security space activities and challenges,”he says. “Aerospace looks forward to a long andproductive relationship.”

Sandia and Aerospace will exchange person-nel and share new expertise and seasoned experi-ence on research and development efforts of thetwo parties.

FRANK FIGUEROA

By Michael Padilla

Al Romig receivesNational MaterialsAdvancement Award

Al Romig, Deputy Director for IntegratedPrograms, will receive the National MaterialsAdvancement Award from the Federation ofMaterials Societies at a reception at the NationalPress Club in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 7.

The award rec-ognizes individualswho have demon-strated outstandingcapabilities inadvancing theeffective and eco-nomic use of mate-rials and the multi-disciplinary field ofmaterials scienceand engineeringgenerally, and whocontribute to theapplication of the materials profession tonational problems and policy.

The Federation of Materials Societies is aconsortium of technical and professional soci-eties consisting of scientists, engineers, andother professionals active in the areas of materi-als policy as well as research and development,processing, recovery, and resource availability.

At Sandia, Al’s responsibilities include theleadership and management of developmentand engineering activities that provide science,technology, systems, and expertise in supportof US programs in military technology;

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