Applications are now open for the Laboratory’s free, two-week 2024 Summer Physics Camp for Young Women, which runs June 10-21. This unique program will take place at the New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe. The deadline to apply is April 1.
The eighth annual camp will explore topics related to energy and energy security and offer activities, speakers, tours and a multiday hands-on project. The main goal of the camp is to help boost participants’ understanding of and excitement toward STEM, STEM careers and the mission of the national laboratories. Presenters include scientists, engineers and other professionals from Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories as well as from industry, a majority of whom are women.
The program's goal is to engage those who are underrepresented in STEM (e.g. women), and all students are invited to apply. Not only is the camp free, but campers receive a paid stipend upon completion, and an opportunity to join the national SAGE Journey program, which aims to broaden gender diversity in STEM and foster creativity and innovation for continued scientific and technological leadership.
For more information and to apply, visit the camp’s website here.
New LANL Foundation report on grandparents and kin raising children in New Mexico
Laboratory partner the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Foundation has released a new report, “Resilient Families: Helping Grandparents and Kin Raise Children in New Mexico,” detailing the growth and specific needs of kinship families in the state and making recommendations for how these families can be better supported. Grandparents and family members play an increasingly important role in raising children in New Mexico. From 2017 to 2023, the number of children in kinship care (where grandparents or kin raise children) rose from 30,000 to 36,000, an increase of 20%. The report identifies five key layers of support that kinship families need to thrive.
The full kinship report is here.
Report highlights Lab’s efforts to manage past and present environmental impacts
The Laboratory recently released its 2022 Annual Site Environmental Report that describes how the Lab proactively manages past and present environmental impacts while helping to solve national security challenges.
A variety of highlights are included in the 369-page report such as the Lab’s 40-plus ambient air monitoring stations and 27 monitored exhaust stacks, which is the most rigorous air-quality sampling program in the country and the fact that over the past 10 years, the Lab has consistently measured its radioactive emissions at less than 10% of the regulatory limit. It also outlines Lab biologists’ work to support regional agencies to study the effects wildfire mitigation efforts may have on mountain lion habitat, and the Lab’s PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) sampling program — one of the most extensive across the DOE complex — that studies how these industrial chemicals affect the environment and food chain.
The full environmental report (and a shorter summary) are available here.