S2P is focused on "Reimagining Transportation Fuels."  The project plans to use a novel solar energy concentrator and reactor (CR5) that employs metal oxide reactive materials to carry out “carbon dioxide splitting” and “water splitting” reactions and then to produce hydrocarbon transportation fuels from carbon dioxide and water.  The S2P project leverages several of Sandia’s core competencies and links materials and reactor elements with computational and experimental chemistry and characterization, multi-physics and multi-scale modeling, and engineering design.  The most challenging technical aspect is to use solar energy to achieve the required conversion efficiencies and reaction rates.

The aim of the 4-year Fiber Laser Grand Challenge was to develop a versatile new laser technology capable of simultaneously meeting the stringent optical and physical requirements for practical high-power lasers.  While understanding the phenomena that limit peak power generation was a significant objective, the project also developed a suite of state-of-the-art laser / amplifier models, reported important findings on optical damage measurement issues, and advanced a number of important new concepts in power scaling and thermal management.

The Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT) is a Department of Energy/Office of Science Nanoscale Science Research Center (NSRC) operating as a national user facility devoted to establishing the scientific principles that govern the design, performance, and integration of nanoscale materials. Perspectives provided strategic planning, website content and funding opportunities database support to CINT.

Sandia’s Microscale Immune Studies Laboratory (MISL) Grand Challenge focused on developing novel, high-throughput tools to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and dynamics of cellular signaling at the single cell level.  The most important goal was to improve understanding of the role of the innate immune system in bacterial and viral pathogenesis by developing an integrated high-throughput microfluidic platform and computational approach that provides system-level quantitative, spatial and temporal data at single cell resolution for the TLR4 pathway.

The MISL project leveraged advances in several Sandia-developed tools, including microfluidics for single-cell experiments, advanced imaging, and computational modeling.

Varian Biosynergy focuses on exploiting recent advances in biotechnology and molecular medicine to enhance radiation therapy.  [18F]-EF5 is a promising Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging agent for measuring hypoxia (low levels of oxygen) in tumors and other tissues.  Biosynergy seeks to expand use of [18F]-EF5 as a predictor of response to radiation therapy.  The firm further seeks to develop other approved PET imaging tracers using [18F]-EF5 as a model for the process.