Los Alamos National Laboratory sponsored the September 2019 Aggies Invent, a competition in which students have 48 hours to tackle various challenges. This event focused on nuclear security with the goal to prepare the nation for a rapidly evolving technological and geopolitical environment that demands innovative responses.
Aggies Invent helps students learn to apply the skills from the classroom while working with teammates across other disciplines.
“I’ve never worked with a multidisciplinary team before, so my team members all bring extremely different perspectives that I have not seen through my years of studying,” said doctoral student Athena Sagadevan.
The winning team, Rock-E, addressed how countries can detect materials used in weapons of mass destruction and help prevent conflict between weaponized countries. Rock-E is a compact module that can be adapted to any environment and has the ability to be deployed in teams of one to five to detect any chemical, biological or nuclear agent.