Oct. 25 -- From rockets to COVID-19, Sandia National Laboratories is researching and producing solutions to a litany of problems.
David Gibson, deputy laboratories director, presented at Wednesday's Economic Forum. He said Sandia leaning into the development of several new technologies.
He highlighted the labs' work in biotechnology, a field he said Sandia has spent a lot of time exploring, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The last pandemic made the world aware of some of the vulnerabilities we have," said Gibson.
He recommended keeping an eye out for research in biotech coming out of Sandia.
Another field Gibson said Sandia is working on is quantum computing, specifically crypto-technology.
"Things of that nature are posing challenges for national security," said Gibson.
Crypto-technology can be used to penetrate communications and digital networks with sensitive information. Gibson said it can also protect digital networks through encryption and secure communication and transmission lines.
He also talked about work Sandia is doing on hypersonic weapons systems -- systems that must travel at least at Mach 5.
"We have these defense systems that can shoot rockets out of the air," said Gibson.
On artificial intelligence, Gibson said Sandia is leading development of the technology.
"We do a tremendous amount of work on AI," Gibson said.