Sandia National Laboratories is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory located in Albuquerque, New Mexico with major facilities in Livermore, California and Tonopah, Nevada. Sandia is responsible for nuclear weapons research and development as well as non-nuclear security programs.
Sandia National Laboratories was established in 1949 as the Z Division of Los Alamos National Laboratory to carry out high explosives research following World War II. It was renamed the Sandia Corporation in 1957 and separated from Los Alamos as an independent company contracted by the DOE. In May 1975, Sandia Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation through acquisition.
The name “Sandia” originates from the Zuni word meaning watermelon or gourd; it alludes to the Rio Grande which runs through Albuquerque and provides irrigation water to central New Mexico’s agriculture industry—an important part of the state’s economy. The original plan for Sandia Labs called for locating its operations on Kirtland Air Force Base adjacent to Manzano Base where work on atomic bombs had been conducted during World War II. However, when atomic energy fell under civilian control after the war ended, those plans changed and Los Alamos was chosen instead as home to what would become the nation’s premier nuclear weapons laboratory.
Today, with more than 11,000 employees, Sandia National Laboratories is one of America’s largest science and engineering laboratories. Its mission is “to develop science-based technologies that support our nation’s security.” In addition to developing new technologies for use in nuclear weapons, Sandia also works on non-proliferation efforts related to nuclear materials control and international security; energy systems analysis; homeland security; computing systems; nanotechnology; bioscience & health care technology; space exploration technology; transportation systems safety & security; directed energy weaponry; robotics & intelligent machines; microelectronics packaging & reliability testing services among other areas