Weapons Physics & Design ACT awards drive university partnerships and research

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory  (LLNL) has announced five research teams selected for awards through the Lab’s FY26 Academic Collaboration Team (ACT) annual call for proposals. Awards support university research partners for up to three years to perform research in collaboration with Lab scientists and offer an important way to build long-term connections with universities and bring game-changing science and innovation to Lab programs.

Now in their seventh year, ACT university collaboration awards were created to encourage and advance strategic partnerships among universities with a focus on the Lab’s and Strategic Deterrence’s missions. This year’s awards are supported by Weapons Physics Design (WPD) program.

The annual call for proposals remains highly competitive, with 29 proposals received in this year’s cycle. A program-nominated expert committee reviews all proposals, with the first round of reviews occurring on proposals that have been redacted of the university and PI names. The final round of reviews includes presentations from the lab PI, during which the committee can ask questions to understand how the proposed project will help to establish long-term relations with universities to respond with agility to Lab program challenges.

“ACT is unique both in the science it supports and the opportunities it offers,” says ACT chair Alison Saunders. “Our proposal review process rates proposals on the scientific merit, potential for WPD program impact, and collaboration quality. The three-year timeframe gives the collaborating students and professors hands-on experience with what it means to do research as part of a team at a national laboratory, which makes these awards particularly valuable opportunities for our university partners.”

While all proposals were of high quality, the selected projects stood out for their potential to bring new ideas and innovative approaches to Lab programs, Saunders said.

This year’s projects span a range of lab-relevant science areas, including terahertz diagnostics, 3D shock-boundary modeling, neutron capture analysis, magnetized inertial confinement fusion modeling and machine-learning approaches for plasma physics.

FY26 award recipients are Natalie Kostinski and Brian Poole, Hardeo Chin, Jutta Escher, Chris Walsh and Min Sang Cho.

The review committee includes Minta Akin, Michael MacDonald, Alastair Moore, Fady Najjar, Jo Ressler, Will Schill, Scott Sepke, and Trevor Willey. The ACT is chaired by Alison Saunders and administered by Malu Mageo, who supports all Strategic Deterrence academic subcontract activity.

Fiscal Year 2026 awards

This year, the awards total $536,000 annually over three years, supporting collaborations with five universities. Recipients, project titles, and LLNL and university principal investigators are listed below.

University of Iowa

“Next-Gen (High-Power, Low-Frequency) Terahertz Lasers for Penetrating Velocimetry”

• Natalie Kostinski and Briane Poole, LLNL co-principal investigators
• Fatima Toor, University of Iowa principal investigator

University of Alabama

“Three-Dimensional Shock-Boundary Layer Interactions on Curved Surfaces: High Fidelity Experiments for SPARC Aerodynamic Model Validation”

• Hardeo Chin, LLNL principal investigator
• Redha Wahidi, University of Alabama principal investigator

Louisiana State University

“Computational tools for a more accurate description of neutron capture in nuclear data evaluations and stockpile applications”

• Jutta Escher, LLNL principal investigator
• Alexis Mercenne, Louisiana State principal investigator

University of Delaware

“Predictive turbulent mix model for magnetized ICF implosions”

• Chris Walsh, LLNL principal investigator
• Arijit Bose, University of Delaware principal investigator

University of California Santa Barbara

“Machine-learned Non-LTE Kinetics”

• Min Sang Cho, LLNL principal investigator
• Haewon Jeong, UCSB principal investigator

The next ACT call for proposals is expected to arrive in early summer. More information is available on the internal website: https://mysd.llnl.gov/resources/academic-collaborations/.

For questions, contact academic collaboration chair Alison Saunders.