Team Research Forum: LANL 101 – Research, Education and Collaboration
Curious about Los Alamos National Lab? Join the Office of Research on Thursday, November 13th at 12:30pm for a fast-paced intro to Los Alamos National Laboratory and the many ways UC Davis investigators can engage. We’ll cover collaboration pathways, graduate student opportunities, user facilities, proposal and sponsorship mechanisms, and tips for connecting your work to LANL strengths in biosciences, materials, climate/energy, computing, and national security science.
Holly Trellue
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Holly Trellue is the coordinator of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Engineering Leadership Council (ELC) and the leader of the Engineering Institute through the National Security Education Center. She received a BS, MS and PhD in Nuclear Engineering from University of New Mexico, the latter in 2003, and has been active in nuclear energy programs both at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at Sandia National Laboratories for over 30 years. She is an expert in advanced nuclear fuel cycles and reactor simulations for nonproliferation and the lead for Technology Maturation in the DOE-NE Microreactor Program since 2018. Dr. Trellue will give an overview of some of LANL technical missions and collaboration opportunities.
Scarlett Widgeon Paisner
Los Alamos Laboratory
Scarlett Widgeon Paisner is a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratories in the Fuels Research Lab within the Materials Science and Technology division. She received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of New Mexico and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from University of California, Davis. She then carried out a postdoctoral appointment as a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California. Dr. Widgeon Paisner then joined Los Alamos National Laboratories where she currently works on fabrication and thermophysical characterization of ceramic nuclear fuels. Specifically, her focus is on investigating processing-structure-property relationships or uranium oxide, carbide, and nitride materials.
Alina Deshpande
Los Alamos Laboratory
Alina holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of New Mexico and a BS in Microbiology from the University of Pune, India. Her research career at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) spans infectious disease surveillance, pathogen detection, and host-pathogen interactions, with over 40 publications and 1,000+ citations. She led the Biological Agent Testing Laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributed to national biothreat detection efforts.
She currently serves as Deputy Division Leader of LANL’s Bioscience Division, having previously led the Biosecurity and Public Health group. Her work has earned multiple honors, including the LANL Fellows Prize for Leadership in Science and two DOE Secretary’s Achievement Awards. Outside of work, Alina enjoys traveling, reading, and teaching Indian classical dance (Kathak).
Kester Clarke
Los Alamos Laboratory
Kester Clarke is Group Leader of MST-8 at Los Alamos National Laboratory, specializing in materials science under extreme conditions, with a joint faculty appointment at Colorado School of Mines. His career spans industry, government, and academia, with a focus on manufacturing science and the impact of processing on material performance. He previously led LANL’s Sigma-1 group and served as the FIERF Professor at Mines, earning honors such as the NSF CAREER Award and the MME Outstanding Faculty Award.
Dr. Clarke has held engineering roles at Caterpillar Inc. and Engel Metallurgical and served on boards and executive committees for TMS, AIST, FIERF, NADDRG, and IDDRG. His accolades include the TMS Brimacombe Medal, Distinguished Service Award, and multiple journal reviewer awards. He holds degrees in psychology and materials science, including a PhD from Colorado School of Mines.
Antonya Sanders
Los Alamos Laboratory
Antonya Sanders is the Program Manager for the Postdoc Program Office at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where she brings over 25 years of experience across diverse roles in nanotechnology, explosive science, and computational research. She has played a key role in developing talent pipelines, helping students and postdocs transition into staff positions or collaborations across academia, industry, and national labs.
Her career also includes work with the United Nations in New York, industry in Boston, and service in the U.S. Peace Corps. Antonya holds a BS in Education from New Mexico State University, an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird, and a graduate certificate in Organizational Behavior from Harvard.
