Sandia National Labs Academic Programs Collaboration Report

Texas A&M becomes a Sandia Alliance Partner

CONTRIBUTOR Spotlight

Chrisma Jackson, Sandia CE for Texas A&M and Director for Cyber Security and Mission Assurance, who previously led the Nuclear Deterrence Special Projects and Use Control Group in the Advanced Systems and Transformation Center, was interviewed for the Texas A&M Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) “ Path of Most Persistence” podcast in May 2022. Jackson emphasized to listeners the value they will receive by coming at opportunities “from a place of ‘yes.’

Texas A&M and Sandia researchers have partnered for many years across key strategic areas. In 2022, Sandia and Texas A&M created a more formal partnership by establishing Texas A&M as an Alliance Partner in the Sandia University Partnership Network. The formal MOU signing ceremony conducted at Texas A&M on October 18, 2021 included Sandia Associate Labs Director and Chief Research Officer Susan Seestrom and Texas A&M Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Alan Sams. This agreement will facilitate collaborations and allow Sandia to leverage Texas A&M’s institutional expertise to tackle national security problems. Sandia strategy will be led by Sandia Texas A&M Campus Executive (CE) Chrisma Jackson and Texas A&M Deputy CE Hung Nguyen. The partnership will receive additional Sandia support through Sandia Campus Partnership Manager Nadine Miner, business development specialist Hannah Stangebye, administrative support Janielle Carnall, and an enhanced recruiting team. As part of this strategic partnership, Sandia principal investigators (PIs) will be able to request supplemental funding to enhance the core funding they receive for their LDRD projects. Sandia employees and their dependents will also receive an additional benefit from this enhanced partnership—they are eligible to receive in-state tuition to all 13 schools in the Texas A&M System.

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Academic Programs