[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 5, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES

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                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 5, 2010

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, Representatives Anna Eshoo, Mike Honda, 
Barbara Lee, Zoe Lofgren, Jerry McNerney, George Miller, Jackie Speier, 
Mike Thompson, Lynn Woolsey and I rise today to honor the 60th 
anniversary of Sandia National Laboratories. We ask all of our 
colleagues to join us in saluting the many outstanding achievements of 
Sandia during its distinguished history.
  Rooted in pre-World War II history, Sandia was first established in 
New Mexico prior to the United States' engagement in the War, as part 
of the Los Alamos Laboratory. In 1949, Sandia Laboratory became an 
independent entity and in 1956, Sandia California was established in 
Livermore as a center for research and development. In the last 60 
years, the lab has grown in importance and has invented and engineered 
innovations that have supported our national security. Today, Americans 
depend on Sandia's technology solutions to solve national and global 
threats to peace and freedom.
  In 2001, federal authorities used a decontamination foam developed at 
Sandia to help rid Capitol Hill buildings of anthrax. The foam 
neutralizes chemical and biological agents in minutes, and is nontoxic 
and environmentally friendly.
  The familiar walkthrough portals at many airport security checkpoints 
use Sandia-patented technology to screen airline passengers for 
explosives. Even trace amounts of explosives on an individual's skin or 
clothing can be collected and identified using the technology.
  Sandia's Red Storm supercomputer can compute many tens of trillions' 
worth of calculations in a month, making it a popular tool for U.S. 
government agencies, universities, and customers worldwide. Red Storm 
has modeled the amount of explosive powder it would take to destroy an 
asteroid, how fire affects critical components in devices, and how 
changes in the composition of Earth's atmosphere affect climate.
  A Sandia chemical monitoring system called SNIFFER has been keeping 
watch for the past several years over a number of large indoor and 
outdoor events: the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, Oakland A's baseball games, 
and the 2008 Democratic National Convention. SNIFFER is able to detect 
and provide early warning of airborne chemical agents that might be 
used in a terrorist attack.
  Since 1981, researchers at Sandia's Combustion Research Facility have 
developed ways to detect and measure chemical species in flames, reduce 
air pollution from engines and coal-powered utility plants, and 
characterize combustion taking place inside automobile and truck 
engines. They have revolutionized the current understanding of 
combustion and continue to work with industry to develop more 
efficient, cleaner-burning combustion processes and devices.
  These are just a handful of examples of the innovation and ``flashes 
of genius'' that occur at Sandia on a regular basis. On behalf of my 
colleagues, I thank the employees at Sandia National Laboratories for 
their dedication and work and wish them many more years of continued 
success and innovation in an environment that will remain friendly to 
science, scientists and their supporters.

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