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Sandia National Labs,
New Mexico
The following report was sent in
by one of our co-ops at Sandia National Labs:
This was my second co-op tour with Sandia
Labs, but, having switched to a different organization within Sandia,
I was faced with many of the challenges common to anyone starting a
new job. Getting to know fellow employees, developing a solid comprehension
of the work being done, and physically orienting oneself in the work
area are normally accomplished in the first co-op tour, but having to
go through them all again impeded my progress for the first month or
so. The work done in the Surety Mechanisms group was primarily mechanical
in nature, which contrasted greatly with that of Micro-Analytical Systems
(my former group), which focused almost exclusively on chemical and
electrical systems. This discrepancy forced me to once again go through
a lengthy orientation period, reading hundreds of pages of technical
reports to learn the language and fundamentals of the main projects.
My work during this co-op
tour at Sandia National Labs was divided between two central projects,
the first of which involved the trajectory stronglink (TSL) and intent
stronglink (ISL). My task was primarily the reduction and analysis of
data from environment tests of these two parts. Using Minitab and Excel,
I filtered through large sets of data to obtain only the desired figures,
and I then created probability plots and control charts to assess the
reliability of the mechanism's components. I was also responsible for
updating spreadsheets to show the relation of these various components
to one another. Additionally, I had the opportunity to model possible
measures to counter the deformation of a small wire due to resonance
vibration.
My second project was the
development of a mechanical weaklink made from engineered stress profile
(ESP) glass. As part of a small team of individuals from within my department
and without, I made preparations for a series of drop tests for the
device. I also modified the designs of existing parts using Pro/E and
arranged for the manufacture of some new ones.
For this tour, I was in a
new department, so my assignments did not exactly progress from my first
tour. However, most of my technical work during this tour was better
aligned to my course of study, and gave me the opportunity to use skills
from coursework not touched in my former department.
As far as a typical workday
goes, I did not quite have one, as what I did on any given day depended
on what had already been done and what had yet to be done. Since the
projects were regularly progressing, and numerous minor tasks were given
me on occasion, my activities were determined by whatever happened to
have highest priority. Time, on the other hand, was fairly consistent.
Most days, I would arrive at work around 7:00 A.M. and work until 4:30
P.M., with half an hour off for lunch; specific start and finish time
is not much of an issue, as long as a full day is put in. Taking advantage
of Sandia's 9/80 option (80 hours in 9 days instead of 10), I worked
an extra hour Monday through Thursday and had every other Friday off.
Central New Mexico offers
a large variety of leisure activities to fill one's evenings and weekends.
Immediately East of Albuquerque are the Sandia and Manzano Mountains
and the Cibola National Forest , featuring extensive opportunities for
hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and skiing in winter. A ride on
the Sandia Peak Tramway, touted as the world's longest aerial tramway,
is a popular activity for those who don't want to hike or drive the
distance to the crest. I regularly took advantage of the mountain trails
and the extensive network of paved bikeways running throughout the city.
There are also a number of museums in Albuquerque , and a good social
scene downtown and near the University of New Mexico . Big concerts
are constantly passing through the casinos just outside of town, and
a drive of less than two hours can get you to numerous Native American
pueblos, the New Mexican culture of Santa Fe , or the mountains surrounding
Los Alamos .
In general, the cost of living in Albuquerque
is reasonable, especially when compared to other cities in the region.
Finding a decent place to live for under $500 a month can be difficult
when the search is being carried out from Kentucky , unless you have
acquaintances or have spent considerable time in the city. Utilities
can also be rather expensive, particularly if you must pay for water
and your apartment/house uses a swamp cooler (an AC system that operates
on evaporative cooling) instead of refrigerated air. Furthermore, Sandia's
pay rates are very competitive, so I ended up spending just over a quarter
of my income (after tax) on food and housing, allowing me to save a
lot of money for tuition and other future expenses.
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