Physicist Federica Coppari studies materials at extreme pressures and temperatures, with research ranging from high-pressure physics to planetary science and inertial confinement fusion. She uses large-scale lasers and x-ray diagnostics to recreate the conditions found inside planets and other extreme environments, helping reveal how matter responds to high pressures.
During high school, a science teacher sparked her curiosity, motivating her to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics at the University of Camerino in Italy. During her master’s program, she served as an intern in a diamond anvil cell lab at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, where she discovered a passion for high-pressure research. After completing her doctoral degree, she came to LLNL in 2010 as a postdoctoral researcher.
Once at LLNL, Federica shifted from diamond anvil cell experiments to laser-driven studies at the Lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the Omega Laser Facility at the University of Rochester. She helped develop ramp compression and x-ray diagnostics to map material response at extreme densities and pressures and now runs experiments at NIF. Her work supports studies of planetary interiors, stockpile modernization and fusion energy, as well as condensed matter at extreme conditions.
Federica received the Department of Energy’s Early Career Research Program award in 2020 for developing new experimental platforms to understand material behavior at extreme pressures and temperatures.
She also works with LLNL’s High Energy Density Science (HEDS) Center to engage the broader research community. In 2025, she organized the first HEDS summer school for undergraduate students to introduce them to the field.
Arthur Pak is the lead for strategic development for the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).
After receiving his Ph.D. in plasma physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2010, Arthur joined LLNL’s National Ignition Campaign as a postdoc and worked to identify the origins of asymmetries of inertial confinement fusion implosions.
Following this, he helped to develop and minimize the symmetry degradation of ICF implosions using an alternate high density carbon ablator. From this work in 2019, he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for quantitative assessments of degradations in ICF implosions and for contributions to achieving milestone fusion energy production.
Also starting in 2019, as the experimental lead for capsule science, Arthur coordinated a multidisciplined research group that brought together experiments, modeling and target engineering to identify the origin and impact of hydrodynamic mix on the performance of ICF implosions.
In 2021, as the stagnation science team lead, he helped to develop and coordinate the ICF experiment portfolio and analysis of data focused on understanding how to achieve ignition.
“I like working on the lab because you get to work with nice people, on hard problems, that matter,” Arthur said. “The laboratory is unique in this respect, and I have been fortunate to work with amazing people on super hard grand challenge science such as developing fusion ignition.”
Following LLNL’s achievement of fusion ignition on Dec. 5, 2022, Arthur’s research has focused on understanding the dynamics of the self-heating fusion process and to understand the origins of performance variability. He is also applying his expertise to the Lab’s Inertial Fusion Energy Institutional Initiative, which seeks to lay the groundwork for virtually limitless clean energy powered by that same reaction.
He received his B.S. in applied science at the University of California, Davis, in 2004.
Nathaniel Pogue is the Advanced Radiography Applications and Development Program Group Leader in the National Security Engineering Division (NSED) at LLNL, leading different teams in designing, executing and constructing accelerators and associated technology. Nathaniel has worked on several Department of Energy (DOE) funded projects requiring large collaborative efforts related to accelerators, particularly linear induction accelerators.
On the Scorpius Project, a billion-dollar accelerator facility to be housed at the Nevada Test Site, he served until 2026 as the accelerator technical lead, as well as the technical lead for injector diagnostics, magnets and emitter. He is also developing the next-generation linear induction accelerator systems for radiography, including hardware capable of radiographic cinematography, which provides 5–25 times more images and information than current-generation machines. His team is also pushing to develop high-gradient, compact linear induction accelerator systems with the potential to reach 100 times higher gradients than standard machines.
Nathaniel received his B.A. in physics at Carleton College and his M.S. and Ph.D. in physics at Texas A&M University. After graduating, he worked on cyclotron-based technologies at a variety of institutions before becoming a staff member at LLNL in 2016. He has also served as a publication reviewer and a board member and review committee member for the International Particle Accelerator Conference and the DOE.
Physicist Alison Saunders enjoys studying matter under extreme conditions, with research applications ranging from astrophysics to fusion energy. Her journey at the Lab began when she was a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, working in collaboration with LLNL scientists on x-ray diagnostics for warm dense matter experiments on large-scale laser facilities. The work involved studying pressure-driven ionization in giant planets and stars by recreating the conditions at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and observing changes in material properties and electron structure.
After joining the Lab as a postdoc in 2018, Alison’s focus shifted to studying dynamic materials physics on laser facilities. Later, she converted to a staff position and started using LLNL’s radiation hydrodynamics codes to study dynamic materials and plasma processes. This research prepared Alison for her current role as an experimental design physicist, where she uses Lab codes to design fusion experiments and mission-critical research based in LLNL’s Strategic Deterrence (SD) Directorate.
In addition to her research roles, Alison is involved in efforts to invest in tomorrow’s innovators. For example, she mentored a doctoral student who helped improve LLNL models of phenomena that occur during high-energy experiments. She also chairs the SD Academic Collaboration Team, focused on expanding LLNL’s connections with early career academics to foster new collaborative research opportunities that benefit students, faculty and Lab scientists.
Physicist Saransh Soderlind explores the structure and properties of materials under extreme conditions, with research spanning dynamic material properties, phase transformations and in situ x-ray diffraction. At LLNL, he develops new diagnostic tools for the National Ignition Facility, including FIDDLE, the flexible imaging diffraction diagnostic for laser experiments, which is helping reveal how matter changes on nanosecond time scales under pressures exceeding one million Earth atmospheres. He also leads the development of the widely used open-source HEXRD toolkit, a flexible software that can be used for analyzing x-ray diffraction data from any experimental facility.
Before joining the Lab as a staff scientist in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Saransh earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. Drawing on his doctoral work, he interprets time-dependent material behavior under extreme conditions and applies that expertise in experiments at LLNL and other world-class facilities.
His work includes an experimental campaign at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where he used femtosecond in situ x-ray diffraction to study how metals such as zirconium behave under high stress. He has also worked at the Dynamic Compression Sector beamline at Argonne National Laboratory, using laser shock compression to probe iron at pressures up to 275 gigapascals. In addition, he has conducted experiments at the Omega-EP laser facility at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics and at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser Facility, extending his work to magnesium oxide and liquid carbon. These studies support applications ranging from modeling planetary interiors to LLNL’s stockpile modernization mission.
George Swadling began his research career in experimental plasma physics at Imperial College London, where he investigated the physics of wire array Z-pinch implosions using the MAGPIE pulsed power facility. He was drawn to the hands-on nature of the work.
In 2014, Swadling presented his work on optical diagnostics at the High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics conference, which sparked discussions with LLNL researchers about their plans for an Optical Thomson scattering diagnostic for the National Ignition Facility (NIF).
Excited by the prospect of applying his expertise on dramatically larger scale, he joined the Lab in 2015 to support the development of this new diagnostic.
“Working at the Lab is quite different from the university environment,” he said. “At the university, I was personally responsible for all aspects of my experiments. Here, we must collaborate in large, cross-disciplinary teams of optical, mechanical, electrical, and software engineers to develop the complex, remotely operatable systems required for the NIF.”
In addition to his diagnostic work, Swadling leads various experiments within the NIF Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) program, focusing on the physics of hohlraums. He is also the experimental lead for a Discovery Science campaign investigating the formation of collisionless shocks. The multinational team behind this research was honored with the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.
Swadling is the father of two young boys. In his spare time, he enjoys pottering around the garage and garden, building and fixing things. Swadling earned his MSci in physics in 2007 and his Ph.D. in 2012, both from Imperial College London.
Achieving Fusion Ignition
For more than 60 years, our researchers and colleagues worked to achieve fusion ignition, one of science’s most challenging goals. An experiment on Dec. 5, 2022, passed this historic milestone. Ignition — which has since been repeated in multiple NIF experiments — opens new vistas of HED science, enabling access to regimes even more relevant for future stockpile stewardship and helping to lay the groundwork for inertial fusion energy.
Specialized Diagnostics for Extreme Experiments
Grasping the extreme physics happening during HED experiments requires some of the most sophisticated measuring instruments ever made. Our highly specialized diagnostics operate in timescales of nanoseconds and detect interactions below the submicron level, often under intense bombardment of both particle and electromagnetic radiation. Diagnostics include streak cameras, neutron detectors, x-ray imaging and spectroscopy and the Advanced Radiographic Capability, the world’s most energetic short-pulse laser, located at NIF.
Experimental Data Inform Weapon-Simulation Codes
NIF is the only facility that can perform controlled, experimental studies of thermonuclear burn — the phenomenon that gives rise to the immense energy of modern nuclear weapons — providing unprecedented experimental access to the physics of nuclear weapons. The experimental data complement testing at other Livermore and partner experimental facilities, help to inform and validate sophisticated, 3D weapons-simulation computer codes and offer a fuller understanding of important weapon physics.
EBIT
Electron Beam Ion Trap Facility
The Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) facility is home to a suite of x-ray and UV diagnostics, including high-resolution crystal and quantum calorimeter spectrometers used to measure photon emission with energies from below 100 eV to above 100 keV.
HEDS
High Energy Density Science Center
The High Energy Density Science (HEDS) Center facilitates opportunities for scientists and engineers to access world-class experimental facilities and engage in collaborative explorations of matter and energy under extreme conditions.
JLF
Jupiter Laser Facility
The Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) delivers leading-edge science and supports the high energy density science research community with access to high-energy and high-power laser platforms.
Livermore Center for Quantum Science
The Livermore Center for Quantum Science fosters a thriving quantum research community at LLNL, enabling multidisciplinary teams to harness the power of quantum-enabled technology to solve increasingly complex national security challenges.
NIF
National Ignition Facility
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s largest and highest-energy laser system. Our unique energy and power enable cutting-edge research to help keep the U.S. stockpile safe and secure, explore new frontiers of science and lay the groundwork for a clean, sustainable source of energy.
SSI
Space Science Institute
The Space Science Institute’s (SSI) multidisciplinary teams address key questions in astrophysics and planetary science by analyzing, modeling and interpreting data obtained by existing observatories. We also analyze extraterrestrial materials on-site and develop technology and instrumentation for future observatories.
