Vol. 61, No. 22 November 20, 2009Managed by Lockheed Martin for the National Nuclear Security Administration

(Continued on page 3)

Gerry Yonas retiresSandia VP and Chief Scientist

Gerry Yonas is retiring after a Labscareer of almost 35 years. But he sayshe’s not really retiring; rather, he’smoving on to a new area of inquiry:the human mind. Read about Gerry’scareer and future plans on page 6.

Essay contest winnerSam Felix (10640) has won first

place in an essay contest sponsoredby Lockheed Martin’s Hispanic Lead-ership Committee. The topic: “Beinga Hispanic at Lockheed Martinmeans . . . .” Read Sam’s winningessay on page 2.

After a biological attack, how do recovery teamsknow for sure that a site is sufficiently decontaminatedand safe once again for people? Turns out, it’s not aneasy or fast process, but one that biologist CathyBranda (8621) is hoping to revolutionize with a ratheramazing nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.

Cathy is working with Mark Tucker (6327), who formany years has led Sandia’s efforts in developing meth-ods, procedures, and technologies to remediate facili-ties contaminated in a terrorist release of a biologicalagent. Mark’s team found that testing for residual livevirus or bacteria following initial decontaminationefforts, a process called clearance sampling, can be thelongest step in the remediation process. Detection ofresidual live virus is particularly problematic and time-consuming, as it requires evaluation of replicationpotential within a eukaryotic host such as chickenembryos.

Currently, clearance sampling involves collectingswab samples from across a site and transporting themto a suitable laboratory for measurement of biologicalactivity. Depending on the agent, the samples mayneed to be processed at a biosafety level 3 or 4 labora-tory. In the aftermath of the Senate anthrax attack of2001, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infec-

Somewhere in the world on Oct. 9, 2006, a low-yieldnuclear device exploded underground.

In 48 hours, the sensors of the ComprehensiveNuclear Test Ban Treaty’s (CTBT) International Monitor-ing System (IMS) — globally distributed — were able topinpoint the location of the blast to an underground areain North Korea only 10 kilometers across.

The ability to detect and quickly pinpoint the locationof the relatively small explosion — many times smallerthan the Hiroshima bomb — suggests that any gaps inworldwide sensing capabilities have diminished greatly

over the past decade, say Sandians involved in globalefforts to detect nuclear explosions wherever they mayoccur.

This year, in response to President Barack Obama’sApril 5 speech in Prague in which he stated that hisadministration would seek CTBT ratification “aggressivelyand immediately,” a team of five Sandians journeyed toVienna to the CTBT Organization’s (CTBTO) Interna-tional Science Studies Conference. The Sandians pre-sented three posters that demonstrated improved techni-cal capabilities to detect underground nuclear blasts.

“We went there,” says Tim McDonald (5736), “toreestablish our presence in an international communityrejuvenated since the president expressed his determina-tion to get the CTBT ratified. I was surprised by the inten-sity of the reaction to President Obama’s outreach. Theinterest level was astounding.”

Tim was also “very pleased with the number andquality of scientific presentations.”

The Sandians were, besides Tim, Christopher Young(5527), Sandy Ballard (5527), Joe Damico (6723), and JimArzigian (6723).

In addition to showing the world computationally

A C. elegans solution to clearance sampling

CATHY BRANDA watches for fluorescent expression in a strainof C. elegans that, with a little work, may someday be used foron site clearance sampling. (Photo by Randy Wong)

By Patti Koning

Inside . . . • Pro Force members pitch in to helpfamily of colleague felled by cancer . . 5• Nizhoni — Mike Arviso shares storiesabout his Navajo heritage with Lab Newsreaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8• Event marks American Indian HeritageMonth and Veterans Day . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Sandia technology comprehensively supports CTBTBy Neal Singer

(Continued on page 4)

IT ONLY LOOKS LIKE STAR TREK — Joe Sanders (5924) examines theshell of a next-generation airborne radionuclide particle collectionpod designed at Sandia. The pod’s sensors detect short-lived radionu-clides released into the atmosphere in the wake of an undergroundnuclear detonation. The modernized system replaces technology dat-ing from the 1950s and 1960s. (Photo by Randy Montoya)

That’s thatOut in some of our more remote areas, you’ll sometimes see signs warning

people to watch out for rattlesnakes. Who’d have thunk, though, that we’d haveto put out signs telling visitors not to pick them up? Here’s what happened: Aweek or so ago some of the folks from my group escorted some visitors to apopular facility near Area 3. As the group was getting back into their busafter a presentation, one of the visitors noticed a three-foot rattlesnakelying right in the parking lot, sunning itself. The guy gets very animated,dumps everything out of his backpack, and starts heading straight for thesnake. The escort, getting rather alarmed says, “W-w-what are you doing?” “I’mgonna catch that rattlesnake,” the guy says. To which our well-trained, safety-conscious escort says, “Like heck you are!” or words to that effect. “This isfederal property. You can’t just go around picking up rattlesnakes.” The guy,visibly deflated, gets back in the bus; I guess he maybe intended to put thesnake in his backpack and take it home. There’s no punch line here, but peoplesure can be funny sometimes. Funny strange.

* * *Not long ago, a survey conducted by Marist College asked people which

phrases in common English usage annoyed them the most. The results — at the endof the day — were interesting, to say the least. Anyway, they were interestingenough or humorous enough — whatever — to generate a bit of national mediacoverage. Nowadays, though, I find that the media get interested in the mostunlikely and inconsequential things, you know? I mean, how can you really makea story out of the phases that annoy people most. The English language isn’texactly static. It moves. It evolves. It is what it is.

By the way, in the paragraph above, I was able to work in the top fiveannoying phrases plus a couple more I tossed in for good measure. I’ll let you figure‘em out. And also by the way, are there words or phrases that really bug you? If youpass them along to me, I’ll try and share a few of them in an upcoming column.

* * *My wife and I are baseball fans, go to a lot of Isotopes games, watch the

playoffs and World Series every year. Just love the game for its own sake. Butas a couple of writers, we take a silly delight in listening to thecommentators and the player interviews. Nobody, but nobody, slings a clichélike a sports announcer, coach, or player.

Of course, it’s easy as pie to get some cheap laughs in a column likethis by tossing out a few evergreen clichés and holding them up to ridicule. Iwon’t do that, though. If the truth be told, I find those recurring sportstruisms to be rather comforting. It’s nice to know, isn’t it, that there’ssomeone out there giving 110 percent. And to know that your favorite team hascome out to play; that the pitcher has his game face on and that there’s noquit in him. It’s enlightening to find out that your team has to put some runson the board to win. As I’ve said here before, who knew?

Not a cliché, but one of my very favorite sports quotes (not countingeverything Yogi Berra ever said), is this marvelous comment from NFL coach BumPhillips. Speaking of fellow coach Don Shula, Bum said, “He can take your’n andbeat his’n an’ he can take his’n an’ beat your’n.” From one Super Bowl coach toanother, that’s high praise. The highest. (In the world according to Bum, “There’stwo kind of coaches — them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.”)

* * *Say, did you see that note in the Sandia Daily News a few weeks back? The

one about green burials? It was filed as an environmental tip. Turns out thatmodern American burial practices aren’t all that environmentally friendly andthere’s a movement afoot to green up the process, sort of a return to the daysof the pine box and no preservatives. Sounds fine and reasonable to me. I don’twant anything excessive. But let me paraphrase St. Augustine here: “Lord giveme a green burial. But not yet.”

See you next time.— Bill Murphy (505-845-0845, MS0165, wtmurph@sandia.gov)

PeopleSoft upgrade in the worksSandia 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 by SandiaCorporation, a Lockheed Martin company, for the US Department of Energy’sNational 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: Neal Singer (845-7078), Iris Aboytes (844-2282),Patti Koning (925-294-4911), Stephanie Holinka (284-9227), JulieHall (284-7761), Darrick Hurst (844-8009), Stephanie Hobby(844-0948), Michelle Fleming (Ads, Milepost photos, 844-4902),Dept. 3651 Manager: Chris Miller (844-0587)Lab News fax .....................................................505/844-0645Classified ads .....................................................505/844-4902

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

Q: I saw a small graphic in a recent issue of Lab Newsadvertising “Upgrade Coming in 2010.” It didn’t saymuch, other than “Upgrading HR information solutionsand business processes.” What is going to happen?

A: This graphic symbolizes a significant upgrade toSandia’s human resources information system — alsoknown as PeopleSoft — that will be coming in 2010.Whether they realize it or not, every Sandian interactswith PeopleSoft on a weekly, and oftentimes daily basis.Viewing HR information, Benefits Open Enrollment,creating a job opening, viewing paycheck information orleave balance information, submitting/approving time-cards, and applying for a job are just a few examples ofPeopleSoft’s functionality. The upgrade will modernizethe current PeopleSoft system that has become unneces-sarily complex for users and maintainers.

To ensure that Sandia’s business systems supportthe Labs’ mission in the most efficient, simple, andcost-effective manner, PeopleSoft v9.0 will be imple-mented with as few customizations to the system aspractically possible. PeopleSoft users will noticechanges to the upgraded system’s appearance andfunctionality. Expect to see more information in thecoming months about the upgrade and the changesthat will affect users. (Tana Lucy, 9540)

Do you smoke? HBE can help youkick the habit. Join the Great

American Smokeout and make Thurs-day, Nov. 19, your quit date. Get a freesmoking cessation packet at HBE. Detailscan be found at the HBE Smokeout web-site at http://tiny.sandia.gov/3uzef onSandia’s internal web.

Great American Smokeout is Nov. 19

Lockheed Martin has allowed me to work for threevery different business units, where I have grown as atechnical expert and a leader. It isexciting to know that a Hispanicboy from a small town in south-ern New Mexico can have theopportunity to become a leaderfor the largest defense contractorin the world.

Of course throughout my careerI have worked hard and sought outopportunities, but it is onlythrough the eyes of other leadersthat I was nourished and thenflourished. As a Hispanic I was given the latitude to suc-ceed regardless of my ethnicity. What I have realized inthis stage of my career is that I am being watched byeveryone. My manager examines my process and deliv-ery; my teammates evaluate my ideas and contributions;my peers encourage my drive and commitment; and mysubordinates evaluate my integrity and modeling. Conse-quently, I am proud not only to be Hispanic, but more-over to be an example and a role model.

In fact, I was sought out for my first leadership rolebased on my contribution as a staff program cost analyst.My past supervisors referred me to the hiring manage-ment team based on my performance. In that role Ihired five accountants to replace 16 and transferred anaccounting system from Houston, Texas, to Albu-querque, N.M. My team successfully transitioned the sys-tem without losing a single staff member and workingan average of 65 hours per week. Through that process Iwas able to hire a Hispanic staff member to do accountspayable and for whom I ultimately became a role model.For the whole team, which was a very diverse group, itwas the greater sense of purpose that bound us togetherand ultimately made us successful. I believe I could goback to each of those team members and they would allsay that we accomplished something larger than we allimagined.

As with any career, I have encountered my fair shareof challenges. For me, first impressions have usually beendifficult given my heritage, which tends to play downoneself within the culture. Thankfully, my director rec-ognized this cultural trait and continues to mentor methrough this challenge.

What is it like to be Hispanic at Lockheed Martin? Ihope it is no different to be any other ethnicity workingfor this great company. When I see other staff members orleaders I look for their value of contribution and integrity.That is exactly what I hope others look for in me. Profes-sionally, I want to be known as a leader, a coach, a trustedbusiness partner, a technical expert, and someone the cor-poration can rely on. Personally, I want other Hispanics tolook to me as an example of corporate success whosediverse background was an asset to the corporation.

Sandian Sam Felixwins Lockheed Martinessay contestNote: Sam Felix, a senior manager in Dept. 10640, Div. 4000Business Operations, was awarded first place in the essay contestsponsored by Lockheed Martin’s Hispanic Leadership Committee.The essay topic was “Being a Hispanic at Lockheed Martin means . . . .”The contest was held in conjunction with National HispanicHeritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15). Here is Sam’s essay:

SAM FELIX

Brent Burdick (1031) was inadvertently left off thelist as an early leader in the NINE project in the article“Sandia, SRC win Licensing Executives Society awardfor NINE program outreach” in the Oct. 23 issue of theLab News.

For the record

The Coronado Thunderbirds, Sandia’s retiree club,will hold its monthly meeting Dec. 8, 1 p.m., at theMountain View Club on Kirtland Air Force Base. Themeeting will include a presentation on making Christ-mas decorations. Many of the demonstration projectswill be given as door prizes. A holiday sing-along willfollow the meeting, with Eddie Reyes playing guitar.For more information about the meeting or about theThunderbirds, go to http://coronado-tbirds.tripod.com.

Thunderbirds club meets Dec. 8

SANDIA LAB NEWS • November 20, 2009 • Page 3

C. elegans(Continued from page 1)

tious Diseases (USAMRIID) performed more than30,000 individual assays on more than 10,000 samples,processing more than 700 per day at the peak.

The Hart Senate Office Building was closed for threemonths, more than half of which was for clearancesampling. Some of the postal facilities affected in theattack were closed for years. While closing office build-ings and postal facilities is of relatively low conse-quence — the work can be moved elsewhere — the clo-sure of a major transit center such as an airport couldhave devastating economic impact.

“As all of our prior work on remediation has shown,the time required for clearance sampling really limitsour ability to return facilities or even entire cities tooperation,” says Duane Lindner (8120). “Having a rapidmethod of clearance sampling would relieve a funda-

mental roadblock to rapid restoration.”Cathy’s answer is to turn C. elegans loose on the

problem and perform clearance sampling on site usingthe nematode. This Laboratory Directed Research andDevelopment (LDRD) project is attempting to use mod-ified C. elegans that would fluoresce in the presence oflive virus. Clearance sampling could be as simple asspreading a C. elegans-laden gel on the affected area andshining a UV light to see if the virus had initiated repli-cation within the animal. Remediators could have theiranswer in as little as eight hours.

“To revolutionize this process, you need to bring thehost to the site of contamination and have an on-site,rapid assay process so you don’t have to take swab sam-ples, transport them to a laboratory, or do culturing,”she says. “That’s the utility we are trying to bring toC. elegans.”

Naturally, this process is easier said than done. ButCathy and her team — chemical engineer Mark Tucker(6327); virologist Oscar Negrete (8621); data analyst JoeSchoeniger (8621); and laboratory technologists JulieKaiser (8621, year one) and Carrie Kozina (8625, yearstwo and three) — can leverage what is already knownabout C. elegans and viral replication. They’ll also drawon Mark’s work with decontamination foam in devel-oping the gel.

A worm by any other nameLet’s get one thing straight: C. elegans are round-

worms, but they aren’t the parasitic sort that can makepeople sick. In fact, C. elegans, which are present inlarge numbers in the environment all around us, havealready made significant contributions to medicalresearch.

C. elegans is one of Cathy’s (along with many otherscientists’) favorite lab animals for a number of reasons.Despite being just a millimeter long, they are multicel-lular organisms with complex biology and a well-devel-oped nervous system. They are genetically well-charac-terized, optically transparent, and replicate in just a fewdays, producing large brood sizes.

Another advantage of C. elegans is that they are eukary-otes, sharing cellular and molecular structures and controlpathways with higher organisms. That’s not all it shares— about 35 percent of the little worm’s genes havehuman homologs, or, in other words, common ancestry.

They are extremely adept at living in harsh environ-ments and even have an alternative life form called thedauer larval stage, in which they can survive withoutfood or water for months. C. elegans survived the spaceshuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. This heartiness posesa problem for Cathy’s grand plan — while they are sus-ceptible to infection, they also have a strong antiviralresponse and natural defenses, such as a strong outercuticle.

“To make this application sensitive enough for clear-

ance sampling, we need to render these animals as sus-ceptible to viral infection as possible,” says Cathy. “Thisposes a significant challenge, but I believe it’s possible.There is no doubt we need to use a lot of creativity inour approach.”

The team is testing a large number of C. elegansmutants and experimenting with different chemicalsand pressure gradients to see if they can take those nat-ural defenses down a notch. They are also working withCreg Darby, an assistant professor at the University ofCalifornia, San Francisco, who is using C. elegans toresearch biofilms of Yersinia pestis, the causative agentof bubonic plague. Darby has shared his library of iden-tified mutations that render the cuticle fragile.

Shine a lightThe other half of the C. elegans solution is to modify

the animal’s metabolic signaling pathways with a “mol-ecular tag” so that when a specific virus replicateswithin it, the animal acts as a sensor and fluoresces.Again, the team has the advantage of previous research,but still needs to break new ground.

The team is working with mKate2, a fluorophorethat fluoresces red when exposed to green light. Sincemost background autofluorescence glows green whenexposed to blue light, similar to the popularly usedgreen fluorescent protein (GFP), the team’s use ofmKate2 should help to eliminate false positives.

As a proof of concept, Oscar is developing moleculartags for two viruses: Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) andvesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). Here at Sandia, he’susing attenuated, nonvirulent strains that fully con-form to Sandia’s rigorous biosafety requirements.

Getting the molecular tag into the animal is not thedifficult part — reading it is. “Because C. elegans is onlya millimeter long and we are talking about a subset oftheir cells, the ability to amplify that signal is critical ifwe are going to be able to detect it,” says Cathy.

Fortunately, another of C. elegans’ talents iscommunication via a pheromone signaling pathway.The response of the animal depends on the pheromoneconcentration it detects — enough will send it into thedauer state. This trigger involves an insulin receptorpathway similar to that found in humans, so it hasbeen studied extensively.

The idea is to manipulate the C. elegans so that itproduces the dauer signal in cells that have beeninfected. Instead of sending the recipient into the dauerstate, the modified signal would trigger an amplifica-tion of the fluorescent response. “While much is

known about this trigger, no one has tried to takeadvantage of its properties for an application,” Cathysays. “To trigger the amplification of the signal isnovel, and determining the right way to do that is achallenge.”

Many milestonesBy the end of the LDRD project, Cathy aims to have

modified strains of C. elegans that can be used as sen-sors for RVFV and VSV. Her other objective is todevelop sufficiently immune-compromised C. elegans.Between these goals and where the researchers are now,there are several significant milestones.

“Even if we can’t render the C. elegans susceptibleenough for clearance sampling, the strains we will gen-erate will still be useful tools for both homeland defenseand research,” says Cathy. For example, she envisions apool of C. elegans sensor strains that could be used toquickly identify the viral agent employed in an attack.

The immune-compromised C. elegans could alsoserve as a model to study questions such as how a virusspreads through tissues, what tissues are targeted, thereceptors for viral infections, and mechanisms for limit-ing infections.

She’s also excited about the potential to share theresearch within Sandia. C. elegans are an incredibly use-ful tool that could be applied to many research areasrelevant to Sandia’s missions, including cell-cell signal-ing, genomics, proteomics, environmental and particletoxicity, identification of antimicrobial and antifungalagents, etc.

“There is a lot of excitement about this projectbecause it is such a fresh approach,” says Duane. “If itworks — and there is every indication that it will work— this clearance sampling method will revolutionizerestoration.”

AS THE WORM TURNS — Image of most of the front half of an adult C. elegans hermaphrodite. The whole animal is one 1 mm inlength; the pictured portion here measures about 500 micrometers.

“To revolutionize this process, youneed to bring the host to the site ofcontamination and have an on-site,rapid assay process so you don’t haveto take swab samples, transportthem to a laboratory, or do culturing.That’s the utility we are trying tobring to C. elegans.”

— Sandia biologist Cathy Branda

“There is a lot of excitement aboutthis project because it is such a freshapproach. If it works — and there isevery indication that it will work —this clearance sampling method willrevolutionize restoration.”

— Duane Lindner

SANDIA LAB NEWS • November 20, 2009 • Page 4

CTBT(Continued from page 1)

that global sensing of an underground nuclear explosionis a reality, Sandia also is responsible for ensuring theproper installation and testing of US-sponsored CTBTInternational Monitoring System stations. RandyRembold (5736), the US configuration manager in theseefforts, has a personal letter of commendation from theCTBTO to prove it.

Finally, Sandians have actively worked to improve thekeystone of nuclear test confirmation: airborne samplingof nuclear debris.

‘An impressive though unusual venue’In what Tim McDonald described as “an impressive

though unusual venue” — the (former) emperor’s palacein Vienna — 400 researchers, diplomats, and foreign ser-vice personnel from many countries convened to presentor review the latest methods of detecting undergroundnuclear explosions.

The meeting’s technical exchanges were intended toadvance efforts to develop more sensitive sensors and bet-ter data processing and analysis methods. The ultimategoal is to drive explosion detection to lower and lowerthresholds.

“The idea is to combine computing, signal processing,and sensors to achieve the goal of making it impossible toexplode a nuclear weapon anywhere in the world withoutit being sensed,” says Tim. “Sandia is very much a leader inthis.”

While Sandia routinely assists the National Data Center(NDC), “We’re also exploring work with the InternationalData Center (IDC) to help them do as good a job as theycan. It’s in our national interest,” says Tim.

One Sandia poster, sponsored by NNSA’s Office of Non-proliferation and International Security (NA24), titled“Simulations of IMS Detection Effectiveness as Deployedvs. Planned,” was a kind of map intended “to show theworld that we could detect an illegal test,” says lead JimArzigian. “We made a map to show how well we candetect explosions around the world.”

The map program is simple enough to run on a laptop.It models information obtained from the four main vehi-cles of remote nuclear sensing. These are hydroacoustic(water), radionuclide (radioactive materials), seismic(earth), and infrasound rumble (air).

“We had a very benign statement on our poster that wewanted to make an announcement to the internationalcommunity,” Jim says.

Says Joseph Damico, “Our model integrates all four maintechnologies and is portable. It doesn’t need a supercom-puter. It was very effective in establishing the point that thiscan be done and be useful.” An earlier version of the modelhelped determine initial placements of IMS sensors.

While the Sandia team did not discuss the latest tech-nologies, Joseph says, the model elicited positive responsesby foreign representatives, including a nation that — likethe United States — has signed but not ratified the pact.Signatories that have not yet ratified include China, Israel,and Iran. Countries that have neither signed nor ratifiedthe CTBT include North Korea, Pakistan, and India.

The poster showed that for a 10-kiloton undergroundexplosion “both the certified stations and the full comple-ment of stations are predicted to detect the event. Theaddition of the auxiliary stations to the certified stationsimproves the location accuracy predicted.”

Eighty percent of the agreed-upon IMS stations arenow deployed and certified. Demonstrating the effective-ness of the current distribution is important becauserequiring more sensors will require more money and pos-sibly different locations than the 10-year-old treaty hadspecified. This would open the door to unwanted newnegotiations.

The second and third posters, sponsored by NNSA’sOffice of Nonproliferation Research and Development(NA-22), involved enhanced methods for seismic detection.

One, hosted by Sandy Ballard, discussed improvedmethods of correctly modeling seismic waves passingthrough the Earth.

“Locating seismic events [like nuclear tests] dependson accurate knowledge of the structure of the Earth andhow waves travel to reduce uncertainties in interpreta-tion,” he says. Today’s high-performance computing capa-bility enables 3-D simulations that provide more accurateinformation on wave propagation than earlier 2-D modelsthat overly simplify the true structure of the Earth byassuming it is laterally symmetric.

Accurate interpretation of seismic events is crucialbecause thousands of shocks a day pass throughEarth’s crust. Within this background noise, sensorsand programs have had to locate the only twodetected nuclear explosions that occurred during thelast decade.

A third poster, “Applying Machine Learning Methods

to Improve Efficiency and Effectiveness of the IDC Auto-matic Event Detection System,” by Christopher Young,Michael Procopio (both 5527), and Jack Gauthier (6342),described a method to improve the rapidity and effective-ness of interpreting seismic data of interest.

Sandia helps install sensing stationsMore than 300 monitoring stations around the world

make up the International Monitoring System that collects

data for verification of the CTBT. Of these, the US isresponsible for 37: five primary seismic stations, 12 auxil-iary seismic stations, 11 radionuclide stations, eight infra-sound stations, and one hydroacoustic station.

Randy Rembold, configuration manager for all theInternational Monitoring System stations in the US,received an individual acknowledgement from CTBTORadionuclide Engineering Officer Luis Cello for Randy’sservice in installing and assisting in the certification ofthese sensing stations.

An integration configuration manager ensures thatstations meet the technical requirements of the CTBTin Vienna, allowing these stations to be certified by theCTBTO. Once so certified, the data from an IMS stationcan be accepted and processed by the InternationalData Center (IDC).

The occasion for praise was the certification of a Mid-way Island radionuclide particulate station that was thefinal US agreed-upon station to monitor radionuclide par-ticles, “making [the US] the first nuclear-weapon state andthe second of those having four or more facilities toaccomplish such a goal,” wrote Cello. “Congratulations toall for the excellent job, especially . . . Randy Rembold,who took part in all the certifications, always supportingthe PTS [Provisional Technical Secretariat] staff before, dur-ing, and after the certification visits.”

Randy has visited almost every US station from Antarc-tica to the Arctic, including sensor sites on Guam, MidwayIsland, Wake Island, Alaska, and Hawaii.

“We’re in the shadows; our name doesn’t get men-tioned,” he says of Sandia’s involvement. “We don’t runthe stations, we just certify that the stations meet CTBTdesign and operation specs.”

As a part of the inspection, Sandia conducts bothsystem and component testing, currently done by Dar-ren Hart (5736) at each of the stations. Randy says that“Sandia is known all over the world among the seismicmonitoring community for our FACT [Facility forAcceptance, Calibration, and Testing] test facility andthe sensor, digitizer, and system evaluation performedthere.” A digitizer is the heart of a data acquisition sys-tem that measures a voltage signal, converting it into abinary file consisting of ones and zeroes. Because seis-mic signals of interest may be quite small with respectto the background, the digitizers have very high resolu-tion, usually with the capability of resolving one part in16 million of the full-scale signal.

Airborne nuclear debris collection, analysisThe gold standard for confirming that an explosion

observed by seismic, hydroacoustic, or infrasound sensorsis of nuclear origin is by detection of short-lived radionu-

clides produced by the event. Historically, aircraft equipped with special collection

equipment have been the most effective at accomplishingthis task. Aircraft have the mobility to fly “downwind” ofthe event, which may require searching over a broadocean area. Fixed land-based radionuclide sensors do nothave this option, and might not be located in the path ofthe debris plume.

Airborne evidence is difficult to mask, says Joe

Sanders (5924). Even when the scrutinized nation goes togreat lengths to contain the radioactive explosion prod-ucts from an underground nuclear test, telltale radionu-clides can still leak out and be detected downwind.Radioactive debris from poorly contained events oftenescapes immediately and in large quantities, making air-borne collection and detection quite feasible.

Well into the currentdecade, the primary US air-craft nuclear collectioncapability consisted ofnuclear debris collectionand analysis equipmentdeveloped in the late 1950sand early 1960s. Thisequipment was installedon military aircraft, whichunderwent extensive fuse-lage modifications to carrythe bulky equipment. Thispre-computer era equip-ment used vacuum tubes and chart recorders andrequired pencil-and-paper data logging. In the late1990s, Sandia was tasked to develop an upgraded air-borne sampling suite to replace the still-operating1960s-era system.

The fully computerized system, which went opera-tional in 2004, represented a major modernization overthe earlier system, but “it still required permanent modi-fications to the aircraft,” says Walt Caldwell (5923).

The modular solutionRecognizing that permanent modifications to aircraft

are expensive and limit the number of platforms on whichsampling systems can be flown, Sandia has been develop-ing modular hardware since early this decade. The cur-rently favored modular solution consists of pods that canbe attached on hardpoints beneath the wings of mannedor unmanned aircraft, says Joe. Research to develop andtest these pods has been supported by NA-22 and DoD.

To date, Sandia and its Albuquerque industrial partnerMechtronic Solutions, Inc., have developed technologydemonstration units for three types of pods: a particulatecollection pod (known as ARCS), a whole air sampling pod(known as WASP), and a directional gamma sensor pod(known as DGRS) that can identify the direction of peakradiation intensity in the nuclear debris plume. “TheARCS pod has been successfully tested on both mannedand unmanned aircraft,” says Joe.

Says Bob Huelskamp (5730), “Sandia is a great exampleof what a national lab can do in support of a presidentialobjective to improve world security.”

An ARCS pod undergoes flight testingon a Berkut Technology Demonstratoraircraft over the California coast nearSanta Monica.

“Locating seis-mic events [likenuclear tests]depends on accu-rate knowledgeof the structureof the Earth.”

SANDIA LAB NEWS • November 20, 2009 • Page 5

Take a moment, look to the west, and enjoy a beautiful sunset

FRIENDS AND HEROES — Sandia Protective Force members, proving they are all one big family, pitch in to spread gravel around the backyard of the Carrillo household, one of several projects theyundertook for the family.

By Iris Aboytes

When was the last time you saw a crew of 30 to 40young people with a tractor pull up in front of

your house? They then proceed to winterize it, tear upgrass in your backyard, and put in rock landscaping. Inaddition to all that, they put up a fence, add a gate, pullweeds, and clean out a work shed.

Imagine all this work; then they leave and there is nobill. Who are these people? Where did they come from?

That is exactly whathappened recently whenmembers of Sandia’s Pro-tective Force preparedJudith Carrillo’s home forthe winter. Judith’s hus-band Phillip had been amember of the Pro Forceand in September lost histhree-year battle withprostate cancer. Phillipwas 44 years old when hedied and in addition toJudith is survived by hissons Phillip, 12, andBryan, 6.

“We often look to tele-vision to find heroes,”says Phillip’s sister-in-law,Diane Nakos (3503).“Most of us pass by SandiaSecurity Police Officersevery day and pay littleattention to who they are.They are heroes to myfamily.”

“Phillip was incredibly proud when he was hired bySandia and eventually became part of the SpecialResponse Team (SRT),” says Diane. “Little Phillip andBryan thought their dad was a hero for working at anational laboratory and wearing ‘a special uniform.’

SANDIA PROTECTIVE FORCE members pose for a group photo after a day’s work at the Carrillo home.PRO FORCE members present Judith with a large plaque com-memorating Phillip’s service with Sandia’s Protective Force.

Phillip, too, felt honored to be part of a Pro Force teamtasked with protecting the nation’s most preciousassets. He loved the camaraderie the Pro Force offeredhim and always talked about his Pro Force brothers.”

Members of the Pro Force made several visits to theCarrillo house during Phillip’s illness; it was not just aone-time affair.

“In the last year of his illness with his body failing,he dreamed of returning to work,” says Diane. “He ago-nized over not being able to ‘be with his guys’ at work.

‘His guys’ never let himdown.

“‘His guys’ constantlyvisited with him through-out his struggle. They pro-vided constant moral sup-port, even when it washeartbreaking to see him.They continued to findways to help him. WhenPhillip no longer had thestrength to perform basictasks, they workedaround his home. Theyencouraged him throughthe pain, and helped himfinancially.”

“Phillip and I came toSandia at the same time,”says his best friend DiegoTrujillo (4211). “We wereconcerned for Phillip, buthe was worried about us.On one of the times thatwe all went to help him,he tripped before I got

there and broke the femur in his leg. The ambulanceand I arrived at the same time. Phillip was not worriedabout his fracture. He felt embarrassed because it hadhappened.”

“Phillip and his family thought we were his heroes,”

PHILLIP CARRILLO and his family: wife Judith and sons Phillipand Bryan.

A Thanksgiving story

PHILLIP CARRILLO practicing skills at the CTA firing range.

says Diego, “but it was Phillip who was a hero. We alladmired his strength. He and I carpooled. One day thepain in his back was so bad I had to carry him from thetruck. His passion for his work made it possible for himto even be at work. It was easy for us to be there for ourfriend. Phillip was like a brother to me. He was mystrength and always will be.”

Phillip’s family is not the only family helped by thePro Force. If one of their members needs help, the ProForce is there. Phillip wanted to go help when he heardthat they were cleaning up someone else’s place eventhough it was not possible.

“They are unbelievable,” says Judith. “They aretheir own little family and take care of their own.Our home looks great thanks to these guys comingand cleaning up.”

“Phillip was a sensitive romantic,” says Diego. “Hewould always tell us ‘No matter what you are doing orhow busy you are, there is always time to take amoment, look to the west, and enjoy a beautiful sunsetwith someone you love.’ Phillip was special.”

“The Pro Force carried Phillip in every way,” saysJudith. “At the funeral celebration, members of thePro Force were at the end of the procession taking himfor his final ride. They carried him in more ways thanthey knew.”

SANDIA LAB NEWS • November 20, 2009 • Page 6

Sandia VP and Principal Scientist Gerry Yonas to retireneto-fluid dynamics, only to be fired ayear later. “The reason I got fired wasthat the Ranger spacecraft crashed intothe moon many times . . . but failed totake even a single photo on the way in,”he says. Images were needed to gatherinformation for the moon landing ofApollo 11 a few years later. “Everyonenot contributing to that effort was con-sidered surplus and let go.

“I thought I would be there [at JPL]my whole life,” he says. “I had a newbaby and a house and I got fired.”

He forsook magneto-fluid dynamics,ignoring offers from several large compa-nies, to take up with Physics Interna-tional, then a small company in SanLeandro, Calif. His focus would be thecreation of big pulsed-power machinesand high-current relativistic electronbeams. “I knew nothing about this, ofcourse, but neither did anyone else.”

In a short time, he learned about beam physics.“The beam current was so high that it was believed a

beam couldn’t exist,” Gerry says. “Such work had neverbeen done before. I had to invent it all in six months,and we used the result for shock physics.”

In five years, marketing intensely, he nursed the pro-ject from a $50,000 contract to a $5 million business.

In 1972, he came to work at Sandia.“I entered the national lab sector because I decided that

Sandia had a lot more money than we had in the privatesector to build really big experiments needed for fusion.”

That wasn’t quite the case, he found out — there wasa layoff soon after he arrived.

But, hired on as a first-level manager (a rare event foran outsider in those days), Gerry spent the next 10 yearstrying to achieve controlled nuclear fusion from pulsedpower technologies that used electron-beam generators.

He also was increasingly working on beam weaponshe felt might make nuclear weapons “impotent andobsolete,” he says, quoting Ronald Reagan.

In 1983, he was summoned to Washington to write aplan to achieve that goal for SDI and was selected the fol-lowing year to become SDI chief scientist and actingdeputy director.

Attempting fusionThe opinion of many at the time was that the science

behind the program was unproven. But Gerry says thatStar Wars wasn’t just about technology — “our reportsnever said anything about it working as a leak-proofdefense — ” but also aboutstrategic social and politicaleffects. “Strategic deterrenceis in part a mind game,” hesays. “It still is.”

After another try at theprivate sector, he returnedto Sandia in 1989. That plushis original time at Sandiatotaled almost 35 years.

“The most exciting thingin my career was theattempt at fusion and build-ing the big machines tobring it off,” he says. “Inaively thought we’d haveit in a few years easy.” Bythe late 1990s, his goal wasto build X-1, a massivelylarger version of Sandia’s Zmachine with input amper-age of 60 mega-ampsinstead of the 18 mega-amps available to Z at thattime. But the fundingwasn’t there. “It wasn’t tobe,” Gerry says.

The most challengingpart of his career was work-ing on so-called wickedproblems — problems with-out clear solutions, “wherethe rules of the gamechange out from underneath you,” he says.

He faced these problems first at the Pentagon work-ing with SDI and then later with his Sandia creation, theAdvanced Concepts Group.

Among the ideas that sprang from the group was a

strategic plan for the laboratory in dealing with terrorism. Another was the beginning of a research laboratory

to be built directly on the US-Mexican border — theBiNational Sustainability Laboratory — that woulddeal with common problems: immigration, resources,new technologies. The presence of the lab wouldattract infrastructure that would make the border adestination rather than a pass-through point. ThoughSandia since has minimized its role, the laboratory stillexists, and Gerry’s elder statesman-like advice there isstill sought.

The ‘geezer threat’The ACG group also considered possible interdictions

of the terrorist threat that ranged from an electronic netof cheap, tiny, widespread sensors to sociological analysisof countries from which terrorists sprang, with an eye toaltering those conditions to prevent the problem fromarising in the first place.

The group foresaw the aging of the industrializedworld’s populations (“geezer threat,” the group dubbedit) and theorized how to help the elderly not only be safeby electronic and programmatic means but contributeeconomically to the world’s well-being. Sample opportu-nities included placing elders online to serve as consul-tants, or as electronic afterschool grandparents, and evenas monitors of computer screens during wartime to freeup young people for more active duties.

Gerry feels a new field — neurosystem engineering —is needed to focus on national security problems. “The

focus should be on solving realproblems, exploiting theknowledge base, not onexpanding it,” he says. “Thekind of microsensors Sandiahas already developed couldplay an important role in, say,neuroprosthetics.”

He’s led two courses at UNMover a two-year period on thefield he’s attempting to create.

The field has civilian appli-cations as well. “We could havenoninvasive brain stimulationto deal with loss of memory.Half the people over 85 havesevere dementia; the effects areserious. But we could havewearable computers, neuronalimplants, and remember wherewe put the car keys.”

The questions, the predic-tions, keep on coming. Theydon’t call him Yonastradamusfor nothing.

“The challenges are enor-mous. The field is enormous. Ata recent neuroscience meetingin Chicago, 30,000 peopleattended,” Gerry says. “It’s hardeven for people in the field tokeep up with advances that usemagnetic and electric field tools

to measure and modify brain function. Theoretical model-ing will be very important. Major advances soon will takeplace in this field.”

Gerry intends to be there, helping lead the way intothe future.

‘Yoda-like’ executive’s next move: seek the brain’s light saber

By Neal Singer

THREE TITANS — In this drawing by Sandia illustrator Jim Walston (ret.), EverettBeckner, left, Gerry Yonas, and Al Narath look to the future. All three went on to playkey leadership roles at Sandia, with Al serving as Labs Director from 1989-1995.

Sandia VP and Principal Scientist Gerry Yonas is retir-ing from Sandia Dec. 1 — but he’s not retiring.It’s not a koan [a paradoxical anecdote], says Sandia’s

creative vice president, sometimes referred to as Yodaand Yonastradamus by Sandia staff for his occasionallystartling intuitions into the shifting directions of futureresearch. “I’ve given myself five years to master the nextchallenge — the rules by which the brain functions andhow to influence it . . . or maybe not.”

That Gerry chooses to move on to investigating thebrain (in conjunction with the Albuquerque-based MindResearch Network) rather than simply fade away intoretirement is no surprise to those who know him.

He’s already lived one of the more exciting lives possi-ble for a physicist and engineer.

Gerry served as chief scientist for President RonaldReagan’s’ Strategic Defense Initiative — the so-called StarWars campaign, which ostensibly aimed to developspace-based chemical and X-ray lasers to render nuclearweapons unable to perform.

He presided over the largest single year of outputincrease from Sandia’s extraordinary pulsed-power groups.

‘Big hairy audacious goals’Gerry envisioned, organized, and led Sandia’s

Advanced Concepts Group, which explored alternativepolitical and scientific futures and came up with possibleresponses to deal with what they revealed.

Now he has taken up with the Mind Research Net-work to pursue, in words he uses often, further “big hairyaudacious goals.”

But mentioning only his intellectual passage wouldomit what he refers to as the most important event of hislife: meeting his wife-to-be Jane in 1956,when Gerry was ahigh school juniorand she a sophomorein Shaker Heights,Ohio.

“That [eventual]marriage certificatewas the most impor-tant achievement ofmy career,” he says.

Another — thoughobviously less impor-tant — factor was theRussian success thefollowing year insending the world’sfirst artificial satellite,called Sputnik, intolow Earth orbit. Cir-cling round andround the globe like ahighly visible, oft-repeating advertise-ment for Soviet sci-ence and technology,it was a major propa-ganda coup for acountry then verymuch an Americanadversary.

“That satellite was what led America to refocus itsefforts nationally on science and engineering,” Gerrysays. “Today there’s a profound desire by young peopleto be actors or athletes. Fifty years ago, after Sputnik, itwas okay to be a technogeek. All the students at thattime knew that science and technology was important.My career as a Cold War warrior began there.”

In Gerry’s junior year in high school, he built his firstaccelerator — a Van de Graaff generator to display at sci-ence fairs. “I learned from that experience,” he sayshumorously, “that I was very good at talking about sci-ence — in fact, better than at doing it.”

Though he remembers being good only at talkingabout science, he somehow managed to remain No.10 inhis 50-person class the entire time he was at Cornell’shighly regarded Engineering Physics program. Then hewas offered a fellowship to Caltech, where he achieved adoctorate in four years.

The rapidity of his success, he says, “was only becauseI was working at the Jet Propulsion Lab,” he said, “so Icould use my research results there for my doctoralwork.”

He was hired on by JPL to continue his work on mag-

“The most exciting thing in mycareer was the attempt at fusionand building the big machines tobring it off. I naively thoughtwe’d have it in a few years easy.”

“That satellite[Sputnik] was whatled America torefocus its effortsnationally on scienceand engineering.”

— Gerry YonasVP and Principal Scientist

SANDIA LAB NEWS • November 20, 2009 • Page 8

By Iris Aboytes

If you have ever gone camping and slept in a tent,you know it is fun for a while. A tent was MikeArviso’s (1522) home as a toddler. Mike was born in Shiprock, N.M., and was raised by

his aunts and uncles in addition to his dad and mom,Paul and Hazel. Mike and his family moved to an apart-ment before living in a mobile home. Three years agoMike and his sister and three brothers built his momand dad their first home.

I went to school in Farmington,” says Mike. “Myparents knew how important it was for us to go toschool. My father attended school up until eighthgrade. My mom went to second grade. My fatherworked on cars. He was what is called a body man. Herestored vehicles to their original condition.”

One day while heand his friends wereplaying basketball, theprincipal pointed toeach of the boys andtold them what hethought they weregoing to be when theygrew up. When hepointed to Mike, hetold him he was goingto be an electrical engi-neer. Even thoughMike was only in sec-ond grade, it stayedwith him. At first Mikethought an engineerdrove an electric train.

After graduating from high school, Mike attendedDeVry Institute in Phoenix, Ariz.. It was there that hemet with a Sandia recruiter. He received a job offer andbegan taking classes to get his electrical engineeringdegree. Once at Sandia Mike began using the TuitionAssistance Program to take courses at the University ofNew Mexico.

“To speed work along, I was able to use the Univer-sity Part-Time program to obtain my master’s degree inelectrical engineering,” says Mike.

Mike performs modal analysis in the ExperimentalMechanics, Non-Destructive Evaluation, and ModalValidation department. Modal analysis is the study ofdynamic characteristics of a mechanical structure; itsdata is useful in verifying and validating finite elementmodels.

Mike and his wife April have two children: Lucas,10, and Brittany, 12. A year ago Brittany celebrated herNavajo coming-of-age ceremony.

“The ceremony was held in Red Mesa, Ariz., whereApril’s relatives reside,” says Mike. “The four-day cere-mony introduced Brittany to intricate weaving, foodpreparation, and beading and she got to hear many, manystories. She was cautioned — don’t grow up too fast. Hermaternal mother and grandmother made her outfit.

“The experience put me back in touch with my cul-ture. I enjoyed seeing Brittany go with the flow as shelearned how to harvest, grind, and steam corn the oldway, to store for the dry winter months. Brittany’s onlywish during her ceremony was hoping she could talk inNavajo to communicate with my mother more closely.Although my mother speaks English she prefers Navajo.”

This summer Lucas attended a local summer schoolprogram intended to help Navajo and Isleta Pueblochildren stay connected to their heritage. Lucas was

immediately hooked as he learned about the NavajoCode Talkers.

“Growing up I was exposed to Navajo medicine menand their healing ways,” says Mike. “My father andmother would always go pray and contribute to thesinging. I was proud that my dad was very involved. Hehas a beautiful heart.

“I enjoy going back to the reservation,” says Mike. “Ilike the landscape, wide-open spaces, and the simpleand basic lifestyle. Even though I have a home here, Ifeel like I am actually home on the reservation. I get tosee not only my family, but my extended family.

“My parents live about three hours away,” he adds.“That is perfect. I get to stay close to my roots.”

If you enjoyed reading about Mike, write him andtell him “nizhoni,” which means “beautiful” in Navajo.

Special day honors veterans, celebrates Indian heritageOn a perfect autumn day at Hardin Field, the Stars

and Stripes at half-staff to honor the soldierskilled in the Fort Hood shootings, more than

300 Sandians turned out under the midday sun onNov. 11 to honor America’s military veterans and toobserve national American Indian Heritage Month.The event was sponsored by Sandia’s American Indian

Outreach Committee.With the line of hun-

gry Sandians waiting forIndian fry bread, Navajotacos, and other popularfare stretching almosthalf the length of HardinField, Red Road CrossingDrum Group andDancers performed anumber of familiar andoriginal music numbers,including the rivetingfavorite “Soldier Boy.”Rick Chavez-Hatton(2997), master of cere-monies for the day’sevents, kept the activitiesmoving smoothly, hiscomments helping tokeep the focus on the

nation’s veterans and American Indian heritage.After presentation of the colors and the Pledge of

Allegiance, guest speaker George Rhynedance paid trib-ute to three generations of his family who have servedin the armed forces. George spoke of the service of hisfather, a World War II veteran now residing in LasVegas, Nev.; his wife, who flew helicopters for the Armyduring the waning days of the Cold War; his son, anArmy officer currently deployed to Afghanistan; andhis daughter, an Air Force officer stationed in Virginia.George, director of Public Relations and Communica-tions Center 3600, is himself a veteran, having retiredas a colonel after nearly 27 years in the Army.

“Service is not easy,” George told the audience. “Itrequires determination and stick-to-it-iveness. It chal-lenges you in ways you can’t imagine, and it challengesthose around you. I could never pass along this mes-sage without also recognizing the amazing supportstructure that our service members get from their fami-lies and the American public.”

With costumed dancers displaying elegant footwork

Michael Arviso thinks the land of his childhood is ‘nizhoni’

NizhoniBRITTANY ARVISO, daughterof Sandian Mike Arviso, cele-brated her Navajo coming-of-age ceremony last year. Thefour-day ceremony introducedBrittany to many aspects oftraditional Navajo culture,including bread-making andfood preparation, intricateweaving, and beading. Theposter at right includes photosof many of the activities con-ducted during the ceremony.

MIKE ARVISO and his wife Aprilon their wedding day.

(Photo by Laurence Brown)

in dizzying swirls of color, and with the sounds ofdrums and singing rising up from the field, the hun-dreds of attendees were transported to a timeless place,able to contemplate timeless virtues.

In an emotional high point of the day, Curtis Keliiaa(9336) recited a poem of his own composition. He dedi-cated the poem, “Brothers in Arms and Glory,” to hisfather and uncle, who both served in World War II, andto all veterans who have served the nation. As thecrowd grew silent, his poem began, “Brothers in armsand glory/forever honor bound/God bless the blood ofour fathers/spilled on sacred ground.”

Also performing during the day were the SandiaSingers and popular American Indian flutist Ron Hoskie(4842), whose haunting flute rendition of AmazingGrace wrapped up the formal activities.

RED ROAD CROSSING dancers, drummers, and singers atthe Nov. 11 Veterans Day event at Hardin Field.

RED ROAD CROSSING dancer displays intricate footwork anddazzling turns during Veterans Day activities at Hardin Field.

DANCING to honor veterans.

Veterans Day tribute planning committee members: BenjaminMar, Michael Arviso, Priscilla Altsisi, Yvonne Batchelor, Lucille Boone,Carmela Gallegos, Curtis Keliiaa, Karen McDaniel, Patricia Toya, EttaTsosie, W. Rhoda Yazza, Maxine Norton, Sayan Mukherjee, ElizabethGonzales, Larry Yellowhorse, Nelson Capitan, Marie Brown, LaurenceBrown, Machelle Karler, Esther Hernandez.

Photos by Lloyd Wilson • Story by Bill Murphy

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