Nation

World’s First Hazard Scale Created for Wildland Fires

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Figure 1. Matrix for Capturing Exposure from Wildland Fuels. One side of the matrix represents the four types of fuel sources considered: homogeneous surface fuels (such as prairie grasses), inhomogeneous surface fuels (such as palmetto), inhomogeneous shrubs and low vegetation (such as chaparral) and canopied forest (such as the forests of pine, cedar, juniper or aspen found in the intermountain west region between the Rockies and the Sierra Madre/Cascades.) The other two sides of the matrix represent three types of topography (ravine, slope and flat) and three local weather conditions Read More

Udall Statement on Disabilities Treaty

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U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations, issued the following statement Tuesday after 38 Senate Republicans blocked a treaty to strengthen the rights of people with disabilities around the world … a two-thirds vote was required:
 
“As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, I am deeply disappointed that a majority of Senate Republicans chose not to ratify this important treaty. The United States has been at the forefront of advocating for the dignity of people with disabilities. This treaty
Read More

NNSA Conducts Pollux Subcritical Experiment at Nevada National Security Site

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Courtesy/NNSA

NNSA News:

LAS VEGAS – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Friday that Pollux, a subcritical experiment, was successfully conducted Thursday at its Nevada National Security Site (NNSS.)

NNSA Administrator Thomas D’Agostino. Courtesy/NNSA

The experiment, conducted by staff from NNSS, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, gathered scientific data that will provide crucial information to maintain the safety and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons.

“Challenging subcritical experiments maintain our Read More

New Microscopy Technique Gets Close Enough to See Lengths of Atomic Bonds

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For the first time, scientists have used an imaging technique that’s so precise that it’s possible to see the different lengths of individual atomic bonds. Using a method called non-contact atomic force microscopy, IBM researchers scanned a microscopic probe with a tip only an atom wide over a nanographene molecule and measured the forces between the probe and the sample. In this colored image, the bonds with more electrons—which are also shorter—are a brighter green. Courtesy/IBM Research-Zurich Read More

DEA Unveils ‘Project Below the Beltway’ Results

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DEA News:

DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced the results of “Project Below the Beltway” – a two-year series of investigations targeting the Sinaloa and Juarez Cartels and violent street gangs as part of an on-going initiative against the cartels and their distribution network in America.

The series of federal, state and local investigations began in May 2010 and culminated on Dec. 6, 2012.

“Project Below the Beltway” is comprised of investigations in 79 U.S. cities and several foreign cities within Central Read More

Los Alamos Student Slated for National Math Contest

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Alex Wang. Courtesy photo

LAHS News:

PROVIDENCE, RI – Alex Wang, a sophomore at Los Alamos High School, is one of 10 students nationwide selected to compete for $10,000 in the 2013 national “Who Wants to Be a Mathematician” 9:30-11 a.m. (Pacific) Jan. 10 in the San Diego Convention Center.

The competition will be broadcast live: https:////www.livestream.com/wwtbam2013

Fast Facts about Wang: He is one of two sophomores to qualify for the 2013 national “Who Wants to Be a Mathematician.” In addition to being good in math, Wang loves to debate. He plans to use his Read More

Udall, Kyl Announce NNSA Reform in Defense Bill

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U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M. and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced the adoption of their amendment to the Senate-passed 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to evaluate the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in light of major management issues, cost overruns and security breaches in recent years.

 

“The NNSA has been plagued with problems that have impacted the scientific and stockpile stewardship work being done at Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, as well as the security and safety of the workers there,”
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Bandelier Team Receives Partnership Award

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From left, Associate directors Mariela Melero and Soraya Correa, Bandelier Chief Ranger Tom Betts, District Field Office Director Patti Reynolds and Director Alejandro Mayorkas of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at Washington, D.C. awards ceremony. Courtesy/BNM 

BANDELIER News:

Under the soaring cliffs of Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument, 15 immigrants were sworn in as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony on the 4th of July.

This past month, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) awarded the Bandelier incident command team Read More

Tom Udall Op-Ed: ‘Constitutional Option’ will fix Senate

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  • Filibuster abuse has prevented us from tackling important issues facing our nation.

Sen. Tom Udall

Debate and deliberation are rare in the Senate these days. Unprecedented abuse of the filibuster and other procedural rules has prevented the Senate from tackling important issues facing our nation.

Since Democrats became the majority party in the Senate in 2007, we have faced the highest number of opposition filibusters ever recorded. Lyndon Johnson faced one filibuster during his six years as Senate majority leader. In the same span, current Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has faced Read More