Representatives with the EM Los Alamos Field Office legacy waste cleanup contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory joined students from the Native American Community Academy (NACA) of Albuquerque to promote STEAM Day at the New Mexico Legislature recently.
Office of Environmental Management
February 13, 2024
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The Native American Community Academy Pure Water Action Team was one of 40 high school teams from across New Mexico to participate in the 2024 Governor’s STEM Challenge sponsored by companies such as Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos, EM’s legacy cleanup contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
SANTA FE, N.M. — Representatives with the EM Los Alamos Field Office legacy waste cleanup contractor at Los Alamos National Laboratory joined students from the Native American Community Academy (NACA) of Albuquerque to promote STEAM Day at the New Mexico Legislature recently.
Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) sponsored the NACA Pure Water Action Team’s participation in the 2024 New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge. The team’s subject in the annual, statewide competition focused on reducing arsenic from water using magnetic hydroxyapatite beads. Participants vie for monetary prizes and the opportunity to meet with potential employers in their field. Winning teams receive $500 per student.
The NACA team joined other organizations for the STEAM Day event at the state capitol building in Santa Fe. The students, along with a group of N3B employees led by Engineering and Nuclear Safety Program Manager Nichole Lundgard, were able to meet with legislators and others to reinforce the need for STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — education in schools.
“As an environmental cleanup company, we were pleased to participate with NACA in the Governor’s STEM Challenge and the visit to the state capitol to present their project on reducing arsenic in water,” Lundgard said.
Nichole Lundgard and Jeffery Lucero with Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) were members of the N3B team accompanying the Native American Community Academy Pure Water Action Team to STEAM Day at the New Mexico Legislature in Santa Fe on Feb. 1.
Lundgard was impressed with the group and their dedication to their project.
“They have gone so far as to link with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque to put their prototype into production,” she said.
In addition, N3B’s Jeffery Lucero, an engineer and member of the Zia and Cochiti pueblos, was able to share his experiences with the students.
N3B has sponsored the Governor’s STEM Challenge since its inception in 2019.
-Contributors: Brian Leugs, Todd Nelson
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