Vol. 59, No. 8 April 13, 2007

(Continued on page 5)

(Continued on page 3)

Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration

Handheld instrument assessesdental disease in minutes

Who would haveguessed that when the StarTrek medical diagnostictool known as the tricordermakes its appearance inreal life, the first usermight be . . . your dentist.

According to a paper inthe March 27 PNAS (theProceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences), arecently completed pilotstudy conducted with theUniversity of Michiganshows that a Sandia-devel-oped handheld devicedetermined in minutes — from a tiny sample ofsaliva alone — not only if a patient has gum dis-

ease but quantitatively howadvanced the disease is.

“The gold standard forany medical test is wheninstruments are used toexamine human patients,”says Sandia researcher AmyHerr (8321). “The pilotstudy allowed us to com-pare our results to acceptedclinical measurements.Then we could statisticallyvalidate both the perio-dontal disease biomarkerand the new microfluidicinstrument.

“We achieved fasterand more reproducible

results because we combined steps that ordinar-

Uses may include faster cancer diagnosis, rapid detection of biotoxinsBy Neal Singer

AMY HERR prepares human saliva samples foranalysis that will be conducted using Sandia’s lab-on-a-chip clinical diagnostic instruments.

(Photo by Randy Wong)

Sandia will surf the waves of change,Tom Hunter says at all-hands meeting

Patternable surface chemistry makes for robust, versatile, and accurate biomolecule detectionSandia system will allow for simultaneous detection of thousands of proteins, DNA, whole cells, pathogens

A new type of electrochemical sensor thatuses a unique surface chemistry to reliably andaccurately detect thousands of differing biomole-cules on a single platform is being developed by aSandia research team led by Susan Brozik (1714).

The new bioagent detection system could beapplicable in homeland defense, safeguardingwarfighters, and clinical diagnostics.

“A problem with the majority of existingbiosensors is that they only look for one type ofbiomolecule [DNA or protein] at a time,” saysJason Harper (1714), research team member.“This can often lead to inaccurate or inconclusiveresults and limits the use of the sensor. Whereour sensor differs is that multiple characteristicsof several bioagent targets can be tested on a singlechip. Identification of several DNA sequences and protein markers are neededfor detection of multiple targets and will allow for accurate discriminationbetween similar bioagent threats.”

For example, instead of using only an antibody that binds to the surface

of an anthrax spore, the new Sandia sensor could test forseveral DNA sequences and internal and external proteinsunique to anthrax. This provides numerous positive read-ings for the target agent or agents, significantly increasingconfidence in the sensor results.

The new Sandia sensor will be able to simultaneouslydetect thousands of biomolecules on a single platform. Byintegrating antibodies, DNA, and other biomolecules on asingle device, the number of lab instruments, volume ofreagents required, time for analysis, and the cost of effec-tively performing thousands of tests are all reduced.

The platform, a microfabricated chip, is just one inchby one inch in size. Several technological advances inmicrofabrication processes have increased the numbers ofelectrodes that can be produced on a sensor platform. Amajor challenge is how to pattern different biomoleculesonto closely spaced micrometer-sized electrodes. Brozik’sgroup believes the answer lies in the electrodeposition of

aryl diazonium salts.The surface chemistry, produced by team members David Wheeler and

Shawn Dirk (both 1714), possesses several advantages over currently used

By Chris Burroughs

JASON HARPER, sitting, and Ronen Polsky (both1714) are working together to develop multi-targetelectrochemical biosensors. (Photo by Bill Doty)

Note: This story offers some highlights of LabsDirector Tom Hunter’s all-hands meeting held in New

Mexico on April 3. To view theentire presentation and to gainthe full context of Tom’sremarks, go to the streamingvideo on Sandia’s internal webat www-irn.sandia.gov/TomHunter-20070403. Tomwill be conducting an all-handsmeeting in Californiaon May 3.

Everything, it seems, isin transition, at least in Sandia’s world.

And the Labs has been intentionally position-ing itself to remain an essential national resource

as the worldchanges andas the nation’sexpectationsfor Sandia andthe other national laboratories change, as well.

That was the key message offered up by LabsDirector Tom Hunter during last week’s all-handsmeeting at the Steve Schiff Auditorium.

In his remarks, which he called “Surfing theWaves of Change,” Tom asserted that those waveswill either engulf and overwhelm you, or you willlearn to surf them, demonstrating a mastery overthe new environment. Sandia, he suggested byimplication, intends to not stand on the beach butget in the water, board at hand.

What’s changing? Tom listed several areas of

By Bill Murphy

(Continued on page 4)

TOM HUNTER

Programs in the Integrated Technologiesand Systems (ITS) Strategic ManagementGroup (SMG) have received needed reinforce-ments, and staffing levels in the NuclearWeapons SMG are at or below their targets —the result of five months of work as part of theManaged Workforce Transition (MWT)process.

MWT is a systematic Labs-wide approachto moving people to work and work to people(Lab News, Dec. 8, 2006, and Feb. 16, 2007).

But some mismatches remain. The ITSSMG needs more people to support its directprograms than remain available at the Labs,and considerable movement is still neededfrom Sandia’s indirect programs to meetstaffing targets.

Senior managers begin‘brokering’ stage of ManagedWorkforce Transition process

Status report:

All affected employees notified

(Continued on page 5)

Wild horses, albatross, hoarfrost highlight Envi-ronmental Photo Contest winners on pages 6-7.

Inside . . .

Mission success: Swarmy the robot clears drumsfull of sludge from old tank. Story on page 12.

Latest org chart reflects newmanagement changes. Page 9.

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.

Bill Murphy, Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/845-0845Chris Burroughs, Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505/844-0948Randy Montoya, Photographer . . . . . . . . 505/844-5605Mike Janes, California site contact. . . . . . . 925/294-2447Michael Lanigan, Production. . . . . . . . . . 505/844-2297

Contributors: Janet Carpenter (844-7841), John German(844-5199), Neal Singer (845-7078), Stephanie Holinka (284-9227),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), and Michelle Fleming (Ads,Milepost photos, 844-4902), Darrick Hurst (intern, 844-8009).Dept. 3651 Manager: Chris Miller (844-0587).Lab News fax ................................................505/844-0645Classified ads ................................................505/844-4902

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

What’s whatEven though we’re mostly a law-abiding bunch here at Sandia, we

all get an urge now and then to tweak the system’s nose — especially ifthe tweak is symbolic or seems basically harmless.

Like the guy who bought a go-cup of coffee at the ThunderbirdCafé recently, stood outside and drank it, then instead of throwing thecup away, lodged it carefully in some rocks before going through thegate into the tech area.

Right after the tobacco ban made refugees out of some Sandians,one was seen standing on the yellow lines in the middle of F Avenuebetween the northwest corner parking lot and the Air Force paradeground puffing away.

And chewing gum. It’s as American as cheeseburgers, and so mustbe throwing it on the ground when it’s all chewed up — judging from thegooey gobs of it laying around all over the parkinglots and sidewalks.

Well, aggravating as these little rebellionsmight be to some of us, just think of them as reliefvalves. At least after the tobacco ban, the indignantand angered just thumbed their noses at authority bystanding just outside the lab site — they didn’tmarch on Bldg. 802 with pitchforks and torches.

* * * A colleague said recently that he’s become a

member (tongue-in-cheek) of Sandia's “high bloodpressure club,” complete with a pocket-size bloodpressure recorder from Medical, and that he and someothers in our group are supposed to have their bloodpressure checked from one to three times a week. “And I understand fromMedical that it’s a growing ‘club’ at Sandia,” he said.

This points up that Sandia's workforce is aging, and the years —and, for many, increasing stress in our work — make it all the moreimportant to pay attention to our health. Medical emphasizes this overand over, with blood pressure clinics, testing for diabetes, etc., etc.All this emphasizes the fact that our in-house medicos are trulyconcerned about Sandians’ health.

Many of us are trying to help hold the aging process at bay bylacing up our walking shoes and making a few brisk laps around HardinField at midday. This colleague says he’s even noticed that keeping hiswalking shoes on in the afternoon helps to reduce his stress andfatigue, and therefore greatly improves his disposition.

Then, as a light bulb lit up over his head, he added, “Hey, ifwearing walking shoes reduces your stress and fatigue and improves yourdisposition, maybe they should be mandatory for everyone in theexecutive suite.”

Maybe so.By the way, with all that exercise walking on the track around

Hardin Field, maybe we could get the Air Force to let us call it SandiaCommon, since it appears (you can just tell) that most of those walkersare Sandians. Maybe just from 11 o’clock or so until about 1.

— Howard Kercheval (844-7842, MS 0165, hckerch@sandia.gov)

HOWARD KERCHEVAL

Weapons complex employeesdonate more than $11 millionto fund drives across US

Contractor and federal employees of NNSAand its facilities throughout the nation donated$11,288,593 last year to a wide variety of local,regional, and national charities and nonprofitorganizations and institutions through the Com-bined Federal Campaign and local United Way-affiliated fund drives.

Sandia employees in Albuquerque pledged arecord-breaking $3.175 million to the UnitedWay of Central New Mexico. The total for Sandia,including the SHARE campaign in California andthe Employee Caring Program in Carlsbad, N.M.;Las Vegas, Nev.; and Amarillo, Texas, was$3,586,379.

Overall, NNSA’s contractor employees at allfacilities pledged $10,522,316 to communityfund drives and federal employees contributed$766,277 to the Combined Federal Campaign.

Here are the totals for the other NNSA facili-ties and federal offices:

• Los Alamos National Laboratory — $1.5million to Northern New Mexico United Wayprograms

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory —$1,472,086 for HOME (Helping Others MoreEffectively) campaign

• Savannah River Site — $1,926,791 (Wash-ington Savannah River Company, Bechtel Savan-nah River Inc., Energy Solutions Savannah RiverCorporation, BWXT Savannah River Company,and CH2 Savannah River Company employees;total includes a WSRC $60,000 corporate gift)

• NNSA Headquarters — $238,221• Livermore Site Office (Calif.) — $34,069• Los Alamos Site Office (N.M.) — $17,600• Sandia Site Office (N.M.) — $27,000• NNSA Service Center (N.M.) — $200,000

Retiree deathsJames Howard Scott (age 79) . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 1 John Albert Larson (93) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 2Rachael O. Duncan (88) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 3Charles J. Puglisi (89) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 4Maclovio S. Suazo (92) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 4Edward L. McKelvey (68) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 4C. Hilton Deselm (93) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 5Charles E. Roehrig (84) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 7Adam Trujillo (76) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 7Hazlet J. Edmonds (71) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 7William E. Walker (80) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 7Edward E. Brass (78) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 8Thomas Orin Meyer (87) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 8J. Lloyd Williams (88) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 10Basil K. Laskar (85) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 14 Alice J. O’Meara (92) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 15Doyle K. Morgan (77) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 17George W. Perkins (74) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 20Gene H. Jeyes (81) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 28John W. Wood (79) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jan. 28Jorman A. Koski (65) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 1Carl A. Denney (85) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 2George Edgar Reis (86) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 2Willard A. Benson (86) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 3Jose Demus Jojola (91) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 12Herbert L. Webster (90) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 12Howard D. Hayden (69) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 17James N. Demas (87) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 18Kenneth J. Shumway (82) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 22Samuel Blaylock (93) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 24Roger C. Buehler (83) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feb. 25

Lab News Reader ServiceThe Sandia Lab News is distributed in-

house to all Sandia employees and on-sitecontractors and mailed to all Sandia retirees.It is also mailed to individuals in industry,government, academia, nonprofit organiza-tions, media, and private life who request it.

Retirees (only):

To notify of changes in address, contactBenefits Dept. 3332, Customer Service, at505-844-4237, or Mail Stop 1021, SandiaNational Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM87185-1021.

Others:

To receive the Lab News or to changethe address (except retirees), contactMichelle Fleming, Media Relations andCommunications Dept. 3651, 505-844-4902, email meflemi@sandia.gov, orMail Stop 0165, Sandia National Laboratories,Albuquerque, NM 87185-0165.

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To change the number of copies of theLab News your mail stop is receiving pleasecall Honario Anaya, Mail Services Team10268-4, at 844-3796. At Sandia/Californiacontact the Mail Room at 294-2427.

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

Rabbi Min Kantrowitz will be at Sandia on April 19,Bldg. 810 auditorium from noon to 1 p.m., toexplain writing ethical wills. Ethical wills pass alongvalues, not just possessions. They can help relate lifestories and convey values held dear. The presenta-tion is sponsored by the Sandwich Support Group.Questions to Dick Steele (10004) at 284-4353 orrsteele@sandia.gov, Debra Babb (4227) at 845-0898 or dgbabb@sandia.gov, and Bonnie Hardesty(10741) at 844-1817 or bjharde@sandia.gov.

Writing an ethical will

Note: This story is based on information from the Feb-ruary 2007 issue of NNSA Newsletter. (Sandia’s totalincludes $50,000 from Lockheed Martin. Los Alamos’total includes a dollar for dollar company match.)

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 3

Dental diagnosis(Continued from page 1)

ily require time-consuming manual handling bymany people, into a single automated device.”

Because the amount of sample fluid neededfor testing is so small, Amy sees further applica-tions in other disease areas — including poten-tially improved diagnosis of prostate and breastcancer — as well as rapid measurements ofserum in animal models employed in vaccinedevelopment research.

Says Sandia researcher Anup Singh (8321),“This technology also has great promise forSandia’s efforts in homeland defense. We haveon-going efforts to use the diagnostic platformto detect biotoxins and other markers in bodilyfluids to be able to diagnose exposure to a bio-logical agent.”

“We’ve filed patents and technical advancesto protect the work,” Amy says. “The study hassparked commercial and university interest inour inventions. Our team — an interdisciplinarygroup of internal and external collaborators —believes Sandia’s contributions in this area couldadvance personalized medicine. So we’re moti-vated to extend the limits of Sandia’s lab-on-a-chip tools.”

A “lab on a chip” refers to an entire auto-mated laboratory on an area the size of a com-puter chip, able to perform chemical analysis onminute amounts of material.

How it worksWhile components of the saliva-detection

technique were reported earlier by Sandia, this isthe first comprehensive study of Sandia’s inte-grated clinical method.

The basic principle? “Biomedical researchershave suspected that changes in the amount ortype of proteins present may be useful as biolog-ical markers in disease diagnosis,” says Amy.

“Our current work with a particular enzyme insaliva supports that hypothesis regarding perio-dontal disease.”

Aiding dental practitioners, the pocket-sizeddevice measures the state of biomarkers to deter-mine how much the disease has been set back.Its progress may be cloaked, silently advancingor retreating without showing any signs.

“Periodontitis can be episodic in nature,”says Amy. “You need to know the stage of dis-ease progression to diagnose and treat the illnessmost effectively. The enzyme [biomarker] thatwe monitored decreased or stabilized if the treat-ment was working well.”

Often, owing to the time and expenseinvolved, practitioners formerly had not been ableto perform extensive biochemical investigations.

The work, funded by the National Instituteof Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) —one of 20 institutes in the National Institutes ofHealth — is the first application using micro-liters of saliva, a painlessly and easily securedfluid. The real-life alternative for the most parthas been quasi-subjective physiological measure-ments, such as gum recession and gum bleedingon probing, to diagnose periodontitis.

Unlike Sandia’s MicroChemLab — itspatented version of a lab on a chip — whichreports multiple protein signatures in fluids ofinterest, the clinical diagnostic instrumentdescribed in PNAS is a lab on a chip designed toquantify the amount of a specific protein (orpanel of proteins) present in particular biologicalfluids. Monitoring quantities of specific proteinsmakes the tool useful as a clinical diagnostic.

Using a disposable lab-on-a-chip cartridge,the device makes use of a molecular sieve madeout of a polyacrylamide gel. The location of thesieve in the microfluidic chips is determinedusing photolithographical methods adaptedfrom the semiconductor industry. The gel isporous, with very small openings. A low electri-cal current (measured in micro-amps) is passedthrough the gel and a process called elec-trophoresis moves charged proteins through it.The gel has a Jell-O-like consistency and, bypermitting the easy passage of smaller mole-cules and slowing the passage of larger ones,quickly separates proteins contained in thesaliva. Prior to this separation, the proteins arebrought into contact with specific antibodieschosen for their ability to bind to the biomark-ers. The antibodies are prelabeled with fluores-cent molecules attached to them. Interrogationby laser of these combined molecules — fluo-rescent antibody and fluorescent antibodybound to the biomarker — determines theamount of biomarker present, indicating thedegree of periodontitis.

Sandia authors of the study, in addition toAmy and Anup (the NIDCR project primaryinvestigator), include Anson Hatch, DanielThrockmorton, James Brennan (all 8321), andHuu Tran (8755), as well as Will Giannobile ofthe School of Dentistry at the University ofMichigan, Ann Arbor.

More information can be obtained at theSandia website www.sandia.gov/mission/homeland/chembio/development/biotechnology/nih2.html.

“When you looked to the Livermore Valley fromNew Mexico — whether from Sandia or Los Alamos —no one was respected more than Greg,” says Sandia/California VP Paul Hommert.

Greg Thomas was a leader both at Sandia and inthe Livermore community, where he served as an elderat Cedar Grove Community Church. He died March 27in a motorcycle accident. He was 49. He is survived byhis wife Susan and children Jonathan and Andrea.

“Greg’s death is a bitter, bitter blow,” says Rob Allen(8112). “I’m proud to have worked with him and I willmiss him more than I can ever say. He was a greatfriend.”

More than 500 community members and col-leagues from both Sandia and Lawrence Livermoreattended Greg’s funeral on March 30. Mim John, whoretired last year after serving as VP of Division 8000 forseven years, spoke at the service.

“His contributions live on in national securityadvancements, such as end-to-end command and con-trol, and conventional carriers, and in programs such aschemical and biological weapons defense, that are hav-ing direct impact in making the nation and the worldsafer,” Mim said. “There is simply no better person whohas lived President’s Truman’s original vision for Sandiaof ‘exceptional service in the national interest.’”

Like many at Sandia, John Hinton (8112) knew Greg as a colleague andclose personal friend. Greg’s son Jonathan will be a groomsman at the upcom-ing wedding of John’s daughter.

“Greg graced everything he did with innate goodness, integrity, andhumility. He didn’t wear his good character on his sleeve — he radiated it,”says John. “Although right now it’s hard for me to imagine work without Greg,I’m sure that in time, I’ll draw deeply and often from my memories of him forinspiration, guidance, and strength.”

Ed Talbot (8965), another close personal friend and coworker, recalls “theeffortless grace with which Greg handled politically charged situations. I believethat many of us would agree that Greg’s determination, sensitivity, deep caring,and integrity made our dreams take flight. I’ll miss his gentleness and quietcompetence.”

Greg had a 27-year career at Sandia. Most recently he was deputy director ofthe National Security Engineering Center, which focuses on stewardship of the

Livermore Valley component of the nuclear weaponsstockpile.

His career at Sandia included serving as Mim’sdeputy and managing the Exploratory SystemsDepartment. He led research and development ofdetector technology, advanced decontaminationfoams, agent transport modeling and simulation,protein modeling, and infrastructure protection sys-tem demonstrations as manager of Sandia’s Chemicaland Biological Defense Program.

“Greg’s passion at work was contagious tomany. The foundations that he laid in a number ofareas will have significant impacts to the nation’snuclear stockpile for a long time to come. Sandiawill surely miss Greg’s leadership, especially duringthis period of transformation,” says Ming Lau,manager of B83 Systems Engineering Dept. 8237.“It was an honor to have known and worked withGreg. I will miss him dearly.”

“Few other senior managers at Sandia combinedhis grasp of national policy issues, his outward-lookingvision and willingness to consider new ways of doingthings, and his depth of technical knowledge andexperience with the design of real weapon systems,”Rob says.

“Greg had the willingness and courage to do whathe felt was the right thing, even if it was unpopular, or uncomfortable. Thesedays that type of courage and resolve is sorely needed and hard to find,” says JimHandrock (8810).

Pat Smith, acting VP of Human Resources Div. 3000, recalls that “as SiteOperations director, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know the VP deputiesquite well. Greg herded us cats admirably, giving us the necessary jolts of realitythat we sometimes needed and always deserved. He used his sharp wit to cut tothe chase and to challenge us to do better.”

Greg gracefully incorporated his deep faith into everything he did, from hiswork at Sandia to serving as a counselor at a church youth camp. He was veryactive in Cedar Grove Community Church, where he played many roles,including chairman of the elders.

Tim Shepodd (8778) says he remembers most “not what Greg said, butrather that he was proud to openly share his family and faith with all those whowalked through his office door.” — Patti Koning

Employee death

Greg Thomas remembered as respected, influential leader No one better embodied ‘exceptional service in the national interest,’ says former California VP Mim John

GREG THOMAS with daughter Andrea, wife Susan,and son Jonathan.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 4

change with particular significance for Sandia andhow Sandia is addressing those changes:

• The nuclear weapons complex, which grewto maturity in a bipolar Cold War environment,will by necessity undergo an “amazing transi-tion,” assuming a shape more in line with 21stcentury deterrent requirements. The nationaldebate about the future of the stockpile (and therelated issue of the future of RRW) will be healthyone for a free society; its outcome will influencethe shape of the complex. The Labs has beencharged to play a key leadership role in the trans-formation of the complex.

• Concerns over the proliferation of nuclearmaterials have assumed a sense of urgency in thepost-9/11 world. Sandia is deeply invested in devel-oping means to get a handle on proliferation.

• The nation’s policy-making leadership ischanging, with many new faces in congressionalleadership positions, new leadership at NNSA, anda new administration just two years away. TheLabs has hosted new congressional leaders, intro-ducing them to the breadth and depth of Sandia’scapabilities.

• Corporations are going global at an astonish-ing rate, and those corporations will look for sci-ence and engineering resources in a global talentpool, a pool no longer dominated by the US.Changes are needed in the nation’s educationalsystem to keep the US at the forefront of scienceand engineering in a globalized world. Sandia hastaken on a leadership role in the effort to rechargethe nation’s science and engineering pipeline.

• Energy, always an important national con-cern, has become the dominant issue of the day.With concerns overcarbon emissions andclimate change, thenation is more readythan ever to invest inalternative energysolutions. Notably,those concerns havespawned renewedinterest in nuclearenergy; for the firsttime in 30 years, thenation seems ready to consider nuclear energy as aviable alternative to fossil fuel. But in the 30 yearssince the US retreated from new investment innuclear energy, leadership in that arena passed toothers. Can concepts like DOE’s GNEP — theGlobal Nuclear Energy Partnership — help restorethe US to a leadership position? Sandia continuesto be a leader in all areas of energy research andplays a key role in the GNEP effort.

Sandia taking a proactive roleIn every area of change (and Tom mentioned

others; those listed above represent some of thehighlights) Sandia has taken a proactive role, Tomsaid. He noted that the 2007 Strategic Plan,unveiled early in the FY07 fiscal year, reaffirmedthat, even in a changing environment, the Labsretains its highest goal: “To become the laboratorythat the US turns to first for innovative, science-based, systems-engineering solutions to the mostchallenging problems that threaten peace and free-dom for our nation and the globe.”

He said Sandia is actively pursuing that high-est goal by assuming a leadership role in the trans-formation of the weapons complex; developingleading-edge technology and innovative systemsthat bolster national security; and achievingworld-class excellence in operations and in innov-ative science and engineering that support andenable the Labs’ missions.

Workload is changingAs the world changes, the Labs’ workload

changes as well. “We will always have to deal with the balance

of our work,” Tom said. “Nuclear weapons is nowabout 47 percent of the laboratory. The work inthese other areas [areas that fall under the Inte-grated Technologies & Systems Strategic Manage-ment Group] represents about 53 percent. The

question is, where will it go? “Over time, that work balance will move

slightly; nuclear weapons will become somewhatsmaller. Not a lot smaller. It’ll still be the domi-nant program in the laboratory; it will still offer anenormous amount of opportunity to contribute.But the projection is that these [nonnuclear areas]will grow and they are growing, while [the nuclearweapons side] will be stable or not see quite asmuch growth. That will define the portfolio ofthe laboratory.”

Thinking about capabilitiesAs the work balance shifts, will Sandia be

able to maintain the capabilities that allow it toclaim authoritatively to be one of the world’sgreat laboratories?

“We have to think about our capabilities,”Tom said. “We can’tbe everything toeverybody, but insome areas we can beworld-class. In someareas we are world-class. What are wegoing to do aboutthat? In some of theseareas, like computing,we are world class. Inintegrated microsys-

tems, we just invested more than $400 million; weclearly are world class there. In pulsed power, weare world class; in our environmental testing capa-bilities — at least in the national security area —we are second to none in many cases. In nanotech-nology [we are leaders]. And there are others. As wemove from less dependence on nuclear weapons asthe provider of the largest part of the laboratory,we will have to figure out a way to be sure we willmaintain those capabilities and keep them worldclass. Joan [Woodard] and Al [Romig] are workingon this issue virtually as we speak. You don’t stayworld class in these areas without deliberate andintentional investment.”

Innovation corridorTom concluded his prepared remarks by not-

ing that the vision for the nearly completed MESAcomplex has evolved into a more ambitious con-cept, which he called the innovation corridor. Heshowed a brief video that described the innovationcorridor, an area encompassing Red Storm, theComputational Engineering Facility, the WeaponsIntegration Facility, the MicroLab and MicroFab,the new Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies,and other facilities. The video characterized theinnovation corridor as a place where Sandia and itspartners will collaborate in state-of-the-art facilitiesto develop innovative solutions to key technicalchallenges. “We are committed to a strong integra-tion of knowledge, education, collaboration, andproblem-solving that makes our world a better,safer, place,” the video narration stated.

“The innovation corridor,” Tom said at theclose of the video, “will support what we call a Dis-covery Institute, which we are putting forward as aplace to create new partnerships all around thecountry in response to the competitiveness initia-tive the president announced about a year ago. Sostay tuned; a lot to be seen there.”

All-hands(Continued from page 1)

Note: See related story beginning on page 1.* * *

The Managed Workforce Transitionprocess — the process of moving people towork — is spot on in one area and still beingworked in another, Tom Hunter told anaudience of Sandians at last week’s all-handsmeeting in the Steve Schiff Auditorium.

The Labs, in anticipation of andresponse to a changing mix of work, real-ized that it needed to move people to workto match the Labs’ current needs. To thatend it devised the Managed WorkforceTransition plan.

“If you recall,” Tom said, “the plan wasto have about 300 people move into thework that is neither indirect nor nuclearweapons. Under the plan, about 200 peoplein nuclear weapons and about 150 in theindirect world would move over to supportAl Romig, Les [Shephard], Paul [Hommert],and Jerry [McDowell] in the ITS [IntegratedTechnologies & Systems] work.”

The movement of the 200 people fromnuclear weapons to ITS has been successful.“We’ve done it; it basically has happened,”Tom said. He added, however, that “wehave not been able to move as many peoplein indirect into the ITS world but we are stillworking on that. We were able to get to thenuclear weapons/ITS balance very quicklyand we’re now working on the indirect/ITSbalance. I think we’re making goodprogress. That’s where the effort is — to tryto get the people in the right places.

“We are running exactly where wewant to be in terms of the size of the Labo-ratory. We couldn’t be closer [to our FTEtargets]. John Stichman manages this and Ithink it’s been working very well.”

Moving people to work

“As we move from less dependence onnuclear weapons . . . we will have tofigure out a way to be sure we willmaintain [our] capabilities and keepthem world class.”

— Labs Director Tom Hunter

Photos by Bill Doty

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 5

chemistry, David says.“This diazonium-based surface chemistry can

be selectively deposited onto several types of sub-strates by controlling the charge of the substratein the diazonium solution,” David says. “Becausethe deposition of the diazonium molecules isbased on the application of an electrical potential,the selective patterning of individually address-able electrodes is possible. Upon deposition, cova-lent bonds are formed with the substrate, produc-ing a highly stable film.”

The chemistry is also compatible with a widevariety of biomolecules. DNA, antibodies,enzymes, and peptides all have been patternedonto arrays at Sandia using this chemistry.

After treating the sensor with the target solu-tion, the array is washed and treated with a differ-ent solution containing molecules that bind tothe other end of the target biomolecule, forming a“sandwich.” These secondary labels form an elec-troactive product that is detected by the electrode.

Says team member Ronen Polsky (1714), “We

are also investigating a new electrochemicaldetection method, using electrocatalyticnanoparticles, that we hope will eliminate theextra washing and labeling steps.This will greatly simplify the enddevice.”

Some of this work wasrecently featured in an article inLangmuir, published by theAmerican Chemical Society.Diazonium chemistry was usedto selectively deposit theenzyme horseradish peroxidase,which was then used to electro-chemically detect hydrogenperoxide.

Electrochemical detectionholds many advantages overother common optical-basedbiosensors, Jason says. By elimi-nating optics and using semicon-ductor microarrays, the enddevice is smaller, more rugged,and simpler in design.

Eventually the sensor arraywill be integrated in a deployableelectrochemical sensor that willhave an electronic readout iden-tifying the biomoleculesdetected, or wirelessly transmitthe results to a computer or net-work. Reaching that point willtake anywhere from two to fiveyears, says Ronen.

Currently the sensor arrays in the projectallow for selective identification of nine biomole-cules, Jason says. However, the work has kindledthe interest of commercial sensor companies. The

Sandia team recently traveled to Seattle to testtheir surface chemistry on a commercial array pro-duced by CombiMatrix, a company that special-

izes in producing semiconductorarrays with more than 12,000individually addressable elec-trodes in an area less than one-inch square.

“The team successfully pat-terned peptide ligands onto 2,151individual electrodes out of anarray of 12,544 electrodes,” saysSusan. “The resulting electro-chemical signal from the cap-tured peptide was used to patternthe Sandia thunderbird symbol aswell as the CombiMatrix logo.”

Because of this initial suc-cess, Sandia and CombiMatrixare pursuing a cooperativeresearch and development agree-ment (CRADA) for further devel-opment of a sensor using Sandia’ssurface chemistry and Combi-Matrix’s electrode array, to ulti-mately test for thousands ofbiomolecules simultaneously.Funding for this research hasbeen provided by Sandia’s inter-nal Laboratory Directed Researchand Development (LDRD) pro-gram, the National Consortiumfor Measurement and Signatures

Intelligence (MASINT) Research, a Defense Intelli-gence Agency program that seeks to promote col-laborated research among academia, industry,laboratories, and DOE. CombiMatrix is funded bythe Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Sensor(Continued from page 1)

SOON-TO-BE SANDIA CRADA partnerCombiMatrix’s 12,544-electrode array,patterned by Susan Brozik’s team toform a T-bird and the CombiMatrixlogo. Bright pixels correspond to pro-tein detected on patterned electrodes.

Electrochemical sensor team membersPrincipal investigator — Susan Brozik (1714)Electrochemistry — Jason Harper, Ronen Polsky (both 1714)Surface chemistry — David Wheeler, Shawn Dirk (both 1714)Link to Langmuir paper: http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/doilookup?in_doi=10.1021/la062916a

As a result, senior managers across the Labsrecently began the more aggressive “brokering”stage of the MWT process to find additionalmatches between people’s skills and availablejobs, says Esther Hernandez (3010), Deputy to theVP for Human Resources.

‘Brokering’ beginsMWT, which helps the Labs adjust to evolv-

ing customer and mission needs, is part of alarger strategic staffing systems approachexpected to be an annual process. It is aboutestablishing an intentional, managed approachto aligning the workforce with the work to bedone, says Esther.

In an all-hands meeting April 3 atSandia/New Mexico, Labs Director Tom Huntersaid the staffing targets that prompted the MWT

process are “based on a clear vision of Sandia’sfuture size and budgets.”

“The Laboratory has to be agile,” he said.“We have to have people go to where the work is.This is something we have to master.”

How brokering worksBrokering requires senior managers with

staffing overages (due to budgetary or programrestrictions) to scan lists of job openings into whichemployees occupying those affected skills groupsmight be placed based on their skills and abilities.

If a senior manager sees a possible match,that senior manager makes contact with thesenior manager with the job opening to discussthe fit and potential transfer. The accepting man-ager and the employee have the final say inwhether to make the transfer.

(There will not be a senior manager brokeringmeeting, which was a previously considered step.Instead, such interactions will occur on a one-on-one basis during the next few months.)

Both the positions being reduced and the

job openings were identified in a December callfrom Human Resources Div. 3000. The staffingdata was compiled and submitted by each divi-sion at Sandia, says Karen Gillings (3550), seniormanager for Talent Management.

All employees whose positions are affectedhave been notified by their senior managers,she says.

‘Strong commitment to our people’For some employees, their current skills may

not fully match those needed in an available posi-tion. One option, says Esther, for situations wherebrushing up certain skills can help an employeesucceed in a new position, is short-term corporateretraining funds made available as part of MWT.Another option is for organizations to retain aperson for several months in anticipation offuture work.

As is always the case, a person may not haveskills that match the Labs’ mission needs. If anindividual cannot meet Sandia’s current or near-term needs, a separation decision will be made ona case-by-case basis consistent with Sandia’sapproach in the past, says B.J. Jones, director ofHuman Resources Center 3500.

“Inevitably the question arises as to what wewill do if we cannot move some of the remainingpeople to other work,” says Labs Deputy DirectorJohn Stichman. “The changing nature of ourbusiness dictates that we become more agile. I amconfident that we can match people with work.But if we cannot place someone, we will have toconsider other alternatives.”

John says he expects that such situations willbe relatively few.

“With our strong commitment to our people,and with our staff’s commitment to flexibility,this lab will adjust in a way that sharpens its focuson the mission,” he says.

As smooth as these processes may sound onpaper, there can be a lot of anxiety and frustra-tion, adds Karen. Employees should talk to theirmanagers about the changes, she says. Otheravailable resources include Sandia’s CorporateOmbuds, as well as each division’s HumanResources Consultants.

“We encourage everyone to communicate theirexperiences with the MWT process and its subse-quent evolution to their management, to HR, orinformally and confidentially to Sandia’s ombuds,”says B.J. “This feedback is essential in improvingthis new process and ensuring its success.”

MWT process(Continued from page 1)

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 6 SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 7

Winning photos tell Sandia’s environmental story

SECOND PLACE – TTR: Steven Feador (2915) captured this quiet moment with a small herd ofmustangs on the test range.

From New Mexico to Tonopah Test Range to Kauai Test Facility – Here are the winners of the 2006 Annual Site Environmental Report photo contest

FIRST PLACE – KAUAI: Dean Manning (5402) found this mother albatross guardingher egg during an annual migration of the “gooney birds” to Kauai. As a safeguard,the birds and their eggs are typically moved by state officials to a preserve across theisland.

THIRD PLACE – TTR: Jim Galli, who doesn’t get a lot of time from his photometrics duties for “prettypictures,” took an hour to explore an unusual occurrence of hoarfrost on the test range.

FIRST PLACE – NEW MEXICO: Mark Rumsey (6333) made this photo of Wesley Johnson sitting atop a generator housingon a wind turbine in eastern Colorado, near Lamar.

FIRST PLACE – TTR: Jim Galli listened to a coworker describe a TTR locale with profuse wildflowers and then headed off at sunrise to capture it. He used twoexposures to get both the shadow detail and the highlights.

SECOND PLACE – NEW MEXICO: Michael Pacheco (10827) was doing his job ofdocumenting the destruction of Bldg. 805 when he caught this action.

THIRD PLACE – NEW MEXICO: Jeff Zirzow (6338) spotted this rusty bolton a World War II-vintage sled at the ARM Climate Research Facility inBarrow, Alaska.

Mark Rumsey, a field test engineer in Sandia’s Solar TechnologiesDept. 6333, made a breathtaking photo of colleague Wesley Johnson(6333) working 300 feet above the plains of Eastern Colorado atop awind turbine. Michael Pacheco (10827) captured the decisive momentas demolition contractors turned Bldg. 805 into history. And technolo-gist Jeff Zirzow (6338) found beauty in a rusty bolt.

These were some of the stories of the winners in the 2006 AnnualSite Environmental Report photo contest. Photos entered in the contestare used in an environmental annual report and other web and printedpublications of Environmental Management Dept. 10331.

Mark, who isn’t particularly afraid of heights, says the key to work-ing on the wind farm projects is being in shape. “I was very involved inthe project and there was a lot of climbing up and down,” he says. He,Wesley, and other team members instrumented turbines in theColorado Green Wind Farm to measure nighttime stresses on the struc-ture in special meteorological conditions.

“It’s going to be hard to take another picture just like that one,” saysMichael Pacheco of his demolition shot. As part of his oversight role, hecaught the action just as contractors punched through one of the

building’s vertical columns. The Tonopah Test Range in Nevada and the Kauai Test Facility in

Hawaii are also part of the annual contest and winning entries are alsodisplayed here. Jim Galli (2915), a test photographer at TTR and occa-sional contributor to Lab News, won for two of his submissions. Thehoarfrost, a rare occurrence at TTR, prompted Jim to take some time tomake some landscape shots. His top-placing wildflower shot was actu-ally two exposures combined to reveal the shadow detail and the high-lights. Steve Feador (2915) also won for his shot of mustangs on therange.

Dean Manning (5402) took the shot of the mother albatross in thelaunch field at KTF. Although they look clumsy on the ground, they arebeautiful in flight, Dean says. They migrate to Kauai in winter.

Tess Goering and Stephanie Salinas, 10331, coordinated this year’scontest. Lab News photographer Randy Montoya and writer Will Keenerjudged the contest. Winning entries from this and other years can beseen at this website:

http://www-irn.sandia.gov/esh/depts/envmgmt_intgtraining/pho-tocontest.htm

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 8

Over the nearly 20 years John Laing (1522)knew and worked with John Stephens, he alwaysappreciated his coworker’s “positive, let’s do itattitude” — whetherfor mechanical test-ing or making thestrenuous scrambleup Cabezon Peaknear Rio PuercoValley.

Laing is just oneof the many peoplewho will miss Johnfollowing his deathMarch 22 from com-plications of cysticfibrosis at the age of51. John worked atSandia as a metallur-gist for more than 20years. At the time of his death, he was in MaterialsReliability Dept. 1825.

Laing particularly remembered one hike hetook with John at Cabezon Peak.

“I recall that John told us about getting hishiking boots down from his home attic aftersome years of storage,” Laing says.

“An hour or so into the hike, John’s bootheels debonded from the soles and were flap-ping, just as we were starting up the chimneycrevice. John didn’t want to abandon the hikeshort of the summit, so we lashed the heels onwith athletic tape. We had just enough time forongoing repairs to make it to the summit andreturn to the trailhead.”

John had many personal interests, notes hisfather, John J. Stephens, Sr. He was an avidnumismatist. He also loved financial investingand playing blackjack, an interesting combina-tion. He was especially supportive of the StanfordCardinals football program.

John had a distinguished career in metal-lurgy at Sandia. He received a BA degree inphysics from Cornell University (1977), an MS inmetallurgy from Stevens Institute of Technology(1980), and a PhD in material sciences from Stan-ford University (1984). He was a Fellow of ASMInternational, the American Welding Society, the

American Society for Testing Materials, and theMinerals, Metals, and Materials Society.

He was a principal scientist and engineer atSandia and was widely published with many cita-tions, patents, and awards for scientific papers.He was also acknowledged at the laboratorythrough employee team recognition, quality, andnuclear weapons program awards, particularly forhis work in active metal brazing and high-tem-perature mechanical properties of engineeringalloys.

Survivors include Linda, his wife of morethan 18 years; parents John J. and AnnaStephens; brother Nick Stephens of Bronxville,N.Y.; nephews Zack and Richard Stephens ofBronxville; in-laws Bill and Wilma Brown of Mil-waukee, Ore.; and uncle Thomas Stephens ofColumbus, Ohio.

His family would appreciate any anecdotesfrom his friends and collaborators at Sandia touse in their service Sunday, April 22, at St. MaronParish at 11 a.m. Send your stories to Jill Glass atsjglass@sandia.gov or Mike Hosking atfmhoski@sandia.gov. —Chris Burroughs

Employee death

John Stephens’ ‘positive, let’s do it attitude’ will live onNationally recognized metallurgist dies at age 51 from complications of cystic fibrosis

JOHN STEPHENS

Labs Director Tom Hunter hasannounced the following executive manage-ment changes, effective immediately:

• Deputy Labs Director John Stichman istaking on the additional role of acting VPfor Infrastructure Operations and BusinessManagement Div. 10000. Frank Figueroa hastaken an assignment to support LockheedMartin in pursuit of new DOE businessopportunities. Frank remains a VP on specialassignment to John Stichman.

• Jennifer Crooks, director of Controllerand Pension Plan Center 10500, is taking onthe additional role of acting chief financialofficer.

• Labs Deputy Director for NuclearWeapons Joan Woodard is taking on theadditional role of acting VP for Security &Information Div. 4000. Art Hale, whorecently was named Sandia’s new chiefinformation officer, is taking on the addi-tional role of acting chief security officer.Ron Detry will remain a VP in Division4000 on special assignment until he retiresin May.

• Gerry Yonas, VP of Advanced Con-cepts Div. 7000, is taking on new responsi-bilities that support Sandia’s engagement onthe national scene. Current staff and man-agement of the Advanced Concepts Groupwill move to the Strategic Futures Group inthe new Center for Institutional Develop-ment (12100). Gerry will be working closelywith Institutional Development, the Labs’Strategic Management Units, lab fellows,and senior scientists.

• As recently announced, Pat Smith isacting VP of Human Resources and Commu-nications Div. 3000. Kim Adams recently leftSandia to assume a new position as VP ofHuman Resources-Enterprise Operations atLockheed Martin headquarters inBethesda, Md.

* * *The changes announced here are

reflected in the new org chart reproduced onthe next page, as are changes at the directorlevel that have occurred since the last orgchart was published in the Sept. 29, 2006,issue of the Lab News. As various actingassignments are replaced with permanentappointments, the Lab News will publish anupdated org chart to reflect those changes.

Labs senior managementchanges announced

Sandia signs memorandumof understanding with U of Illinois Agreement formalizes relationship between two institutions

A memorandum ofunderstanding betweenSandia and the Univer-sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was signedat an official ceremonyApril 3 at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

The agreement for-malizes the relationshipbetween the two institu-tions and describes com-mon fields of researchinterest in nanoscience,cognitive neuroscience,information technolo-gies, water technologies,high-performance com-puting, energetics/com-bustion, complex sys-tems/system-of-systems,and high-frequencyimaging andcommunications.

Sandia SeniorManager Russ Skocypec(6340), who earned hisBS, MS, and PhD inmechanical engineeringat Illinois, serves asSandia’s lead representa-tive involved with devel-oping the agreement.

Dave Carlson, director of Nuclear WeaponsPlanning, Operations, and Integration Center200, serves as campus executive for the U of Irelationship. He says the agreement will allowSandia and the university to develop and pursuejoint research initiatives that leverage both insti-tutions’ strengths and infrastructure.

“The general areas of collaboration includeactivities to support complementary institutionalgoals and share and leverage specialized researchfacilities and equipment,” says Dave, an Illinoisalumnus with MS degrees in astronomy andnuclear engineering. “The agreement will alsoincrease inter-institutional collaborative engage-ment of faculty, staff, and students.”

“By joining our resources together withthose of Sandia National Laboratories, we canhave a significant impact on an incredibly broadrange of research,” says Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of

the College of Engineering at the University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Pierre Wiltzius, director of the Beckman Insti-tute for Advanced Science and Technology, notesthat historically the University of Illinois andSandia have had a very strong relationship inthe physical sciences and engineering.

“We are very much looking forward toexpanding our interactions with Sandia into newareas including cognitive sciences, neurosciences,and human and computer speech and vision,”says Wiltzius. “This expansion will also engagefaculty and students from the College of LiberalArts and Sciences and is squarely aligned with thestrategic initiatives of the Beckman Institute andthe University of Illinois.”

Sandia currently has 19 active agreementswith 15 universities across the US.

— Stephanie Holinka

SANDIA AND UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS OFFICIALS (from left) David Carlson, Sandiacampus executive; Pierre Wiltzius, director of the Beckman Institute; Melanie Loots, U of I associate vice chancellor for research; Wendy Cieslak, senior manager ofSandia’s Science, Technology and Engineering Strategic Initiatives; and IlesanmiAdesida, dean of the College of Engineering, sign a memorandum of understandingfor collaborating on a wide range of research efforts.

(Photo by Rick Kubetz, College of Engineering, University of Illinois)

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 9

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Calling all retirees . . . if you have a technicaldegree and expertise in certain fields of math andscience, the Intel International Science & Engi-neering Fair (ISEF) 2007 desperately needs you.

Some 1,500 precollege students from aroundthe world, winners in their regional competitionsduring the past several weeks, are sprucing up theirprojects and booking flights to Albuquerque to par-ticipate in the Intel ISEF in Albuquerque May 13-19.

All they need now are qualified judges toevaluate their work. More than 125 Sandiaemployees have volunteered to serve as judges,along with another 700-plus technically trainedNew Mexicans.

Host committee judging cochair Len Duda(5715) says judging shortages remain in the follow-ing categories: biochemistry, microbiology, animalscience, behavioral & social sciences, plant sci-ences, medicine & health, environmental science,chemistry, math, and materials & bioengineering.

“We are in good shape in the other cate-gories,” he says. “To put on a first-rate sciencefair, we need more help in these areas.”

Judges must have a PhD, M.D., or equivalent,or a BA, BS, or master’s degree with a minimum ofsix years of related professional experience. To vol-unteer, visit the Intel ISEF website atwww.intelisef2007.org and click on “judges,” thenfill out and submit the online registration form.

The commitment is two days: Tuesday after-noon, May 15 (includes orientation) and all dayWednesday, May 16.

“It’s a tough but rewarding experience,” saysLen. “You get a chance to talk to students whoare very self-motivated and enthusiastic abouttheir work.”

Ron Detry37 4000

Jerry Esch31 4550

Retirees: IntelInternational Science& Engineering Fairneeds volunteerjudges May 15 & 16

Q: I have been hearing a vicious rumor that ourpension plan will be going away. I hope that what Ihave been hearing are just, in fact, rumors as the rea-son I came to the Laboratories was because of theexcellent benefits plan that it offered. How can a labo-ratory such as this expect to recruit the “best minds” inthe industry if it will not even provide them with adecent pension plan? According to what I have beenhearing the “defined” plan that Lockheed Martin nowoffers its employees is nothing more than a glorifiedsavings account.

A: The straight answer to your concern is thatSandia is not actively considering terminatingeither its Retirement Income Plan or Pension Secu-rity Plan that covers current employees andretirees. Any changes to the Pension Security Planmust be negotiated with the labor unions that rep-resent the employees covered by that plan. We aremindful of the role played by employee benefits inattracting and retaining employees, and Sandia’smanagement continues to evaluate our benefitspackage, including retirement benefits, to ensurethat it remains cost effective and competitiveamong our peers.

At the same time, it is important that we allremember that the landscape for private sector pen-sion plans is currently evolving. Lockheed Martinand other peer companies have recently madechanges to their retirement programs. LockheedMartin closed its defined benefit pension plans toemployees hired after Jan. 1, 2006, althoughemployees hired before that date who were covered

Certain categories in critical need

by the plans continue to participate and earn addi-tional benefits. Los Alamos National Laboratoryalso closed its pension plan to new hires effectiveJune 1, 2006, but provided “substantially equiva-lent” pension benefits for its incumbent employees.A similar requirement has been included in the RFPfor the contract to manage Lawrence LivermoreNational Laboratory. In each case, newly hiredemployees were provided with an enhanceddefined contribution plan instead of a defined ben-efit pension plan. This trend is apparent amongmany other large private sector firms, with compa-nies such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Motorolamaking similar changes. — Mark Biggs (10520)

* * *Q: Recently, while donating blood, I saw people

giving their badges to the technician in the BloodMo-bile. The technician would then attach the paperworkto the badge so that there would be no confusion as towhose paperwork goes with whom. The badges wereout of the employees’ possession for a short while butthey were always visible. Is this an acceptable practice?

A: As a result of this issue, we have contactedthe BloodMobile staff and notified them that usinga Sandia security badge as identification is unac-ceptable. We have requested they ask employees/contractors for a state- or government-issued driverslicense or ID or Sandia ID card instead. If youobserve this practice in the future please remindblood donors that their Sandia badge is to be usedonly for official government business.

— Sally Uebelacker (4230)

A ‘vicious rumor’ about pension plansStraight answer: No active plan to make pension plans in their current form go away

This past week, Swarmy the robot completed hiscleanup assignment — removing the last drum-fullof thick sludge from the bottom of a deeply buriedstorage tank in Area 5.

The 47-year-old tank’s shape, depth, and posi-tion had made cleanup efforts difficult. Its low-oxy-gen, confined-space environment had precludedmanned entry and inspection.

The tank bottom had a thin layer of old sludgeon it that tested positive for extremely small butdetectable amounts of radioactive forms of uranium,cobalt, and cesium; additionally, nonradioactivechemicals such as arsenic and cadmium were mea-sured in extremely low concentrations. The sludgehad to be removed before the tank could be closed.

“It took a year to find the right process,” saysPaul Raglin (1380), senior manager for nuclear facili-ties operations. “The amount of work that got doneonce we found the right one is amazing.”

In only a few weeks, Swarmy removed almostfourteen 50-gallon drums of sludge from the tank inpreparation to meet New Mexico EnvironmentDepartment closure requirements.

SANDIA LAB NEWS • April 13, 2007 • Page 12

Swarmy saves the day: Robot completes cleanup in Tech Area 5

UP AND OUT — Doug Evans (left) and David Siddoway(10328) pull Swarmy out of the tank for the final time.

LOOK CLOSELY — J.B. Henderson employee Doug Evans and Sandia Site Office water quality program managerKaren Agonino observe the final drum of sludge.

The robot was recycled from one of JohnFeddema’s (6473) DARPA programs and pressedinto service removing the sludge from the oldwastewater storage tank.

Doug Evans, John Montoya, and JasonGarner, all from J.B. Henderson Construction,guided Swarmy remotely as it first pulled a scoopthrough the sludge and in the final efforts vacu-umed the sludge from the tank bottom with a modi-fied Shop-Vac®.

The sludge-free tank will be removed from oper-ation and monitored, awaiting eventual demolitionwhen the building it served is also decommissioned.

Swarmy the robot, the engineers who modifiedhim, and the operators who guided him, Paul says,helped Sandia solve a problem that could have beenexpensive and dangerous to fix if human beings hadto enter the tank and clean it by hand. Swarmy, hesays, did it quickly and at a very low cost.

Perhaps, Paul muses, some grateful Sandianshould nominate Swarmy for this year’s EmployeeRecognition Awards in appreciation for the robot’sexceptional service.

DOUG EVANS INSPECTS SWARMY after its tour ofduty in the wastewater storage tank.

Story by Stephanie Holinka • Photos by Randy Montoya