Sandia partnerships run the gamut

Apr. 15—The complexity of tires.

The line came in one of our biggest stories this week about various partnerships that Sandia National Laboratories has forged with local and national companies.

The story focuses on the different ways lab-developed technologies shoot off into the private sector to help businesses. There are several local examples. Advanced hCMOS Systems is an Albuquerque startup that grew out of Sandia technology to make what is essentially an ultrafast camera that allows scientists to take measurements previously thought impossible. Clean Aqua Solutions is a Santa Fe company that is using Sandia technology to improve water filtration and treatment processes.

Sandia is synonymous with technology in Albuquerque. So a company that would use it to do things like make ultrafast imaging devices sounds about right.

However, Sandia's longest-running business partnership is with the tire company Goodyear.

The company turned to Sandia about 30 years ago seeking to improve tire performance. The two entities created a virtual way to test a tire under different simulated road conditions.

More than three decades later, there are people at Sandia whose job title includes "Goodyear liaison."

There was a quote in the story that stuck out to me.

"We often fail to realize the complexity of tires," said Michael Skroch, Sandia's manager of simulation modeling sciences and a liaison for Goodyear. "They're very complex. We and our families rely upon the safety of these tires every day. Our economy also relies on these tires every day. And the Goodyear partnership enables that."

The partnership with Goodyear is a simple lesson in economic development.

I haven't thought much about tires since I mentioned them in a column a couple months ago when I popped one while on an assignment, which prolonged my trip and required me to use my AAA membership and spent a few hours at a tire shop getting a new set.

But Skroch's right. Everyone in our society relies on tire safety everyday.

Tires are needed to get to and from work, school or the store. Food at the grocery store was brought there in trucks with wheels. The planes in the sky land on rubber tires.

Tires can be an overlooked part of transportation. But they have great importance, and when they fail the results can be either catastrophic or a major inconvenience.

When we think of Sandia National Laboratories we think of advanced technology and scientists working to keep the nation's nuclear weapon stockpile safe and reliable.

But Sandia scientists also make tires safer. And we don't want to overlook that.