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Academic Engagement
All 50 episodes of the Big Ideas Lab now available on LLNL podcast page
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Big Ideas Lab podcast marks a new milestone with the release of its 50th episode. The latest episode, delving into high-performance computing for energy innovation, can be found alongside the entire series on the new LLNL podcast page. Since its debut in September 2024, the Big Ideas Lab has aimed to rethink how science…
Grad student Wyatt Larrinaga explores how proteins bind to radioactive elements for fellowship at LLNL
As a fifth-year graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University, Wyatt Larrinaga investigates how proteins can be used to separate lanthanides. These elements, plus two others, make up the rare earth elements that are critical for technology, defense and a robust domestic energy supply. But somewhere along the way, Larrinaga grew interested in branching out. Or,…
LLNL delivers advanced gamma-ray spectrometer for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to explore Titan
Hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth, the landscape of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, bears a striking resemblance to our own planet — but with dunes of hydrocarbon sands rather than silica sands, and rain, rivers, lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane rather than liquid water. The NASA Dragonfly mission is set to explore this world in unprecedented detail…
Science at the State invites students on a cosmic hunt for stardust in meteorites on April 11
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is again partnering with the State Theatre in Modesto for the next “Science at the State” event, happening on Saturday, April 11. This year’s program, titled “Cosmic Treasure Hunt: Finding Stardust in Meteorites,” will feature a scientific presentation paired with the family-friendly film Ice Age Collision Course (rated PG)…
Cryogenic micro-calorimetry offers a novel material-dating method for nuclear forensics and safeguards
The moment nuclear material is produced, processed or purified, it sets off a hidden countdown, marked by the half-life of its radioactive atoms as they begin to decay. For scientists tracking the origins of these substances, decoding this natural clock is crucial for verifying material histories in support of global security efforts. In a new study published in the…
LLNL optics expert Wren Carr named SPIE Fellow
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Wren Carr was recently selected as a Fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. He is the science and technology group leader for National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser-induced damage and mitigation science. “I feel honored to be recognized by SPIE for my leadership, mentorship and technical…
Engineered yeast produce acids needed to refine rare-earth elements
From mining to magnet manufacturing, the process for refining rare-earth elements is complex and intensive. The supply chain for such critical materials is dominated by China — and so is the oxalic acid needed for the separation and purification stages. To move toward a U.S. supply chain for rare-earth element recovery, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National…
LLNL-led study uses machine learning, veterans’ health records to identify ALS drug-repurposing candidate
A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-led team of scientists and computational engineers has identified several existing medications that may be associated with longer survival in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), using one of the largest electronic health record datasets ever assembled for ALS. Published in The Lancet Digital Health, the study…
Advanced Radiographic Capability achievements featured in Physics of Plasmas
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the hottest place on earth for the briefest of moments during an experiment. Now, it can be one of the brightest places thanks to the Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC), NIF’s laser-within-the-laser. How this is possible and how it’s measured is detailed in the cover paper of the December 2025…
Finding resonance: How LLNL expertise is amplifying collaboration in quantum computing
In November, the Department of Energy Office of Science renewed the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center (SQMS), hosted by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, with $125 million over the next five years to accelerate breakthroughs in quantum information science. The investment continues to unite more than 300 experts from 43 partner institutions across…
STEM San Joaquin celebrates third year of inspiring young minds
STEM San Joaquin marked its third anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton. Co-sponsored by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UOP, the annual event welcomed students in grades 6–9 for a day of hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) exploration. The conference is organized by a dedicated team of…
LLNL, UT & UCSD win Gordon Bell Prize with exascale tsunami forecasting
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Oden Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on Nov. 20 were awarded the prestigious 2025 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Gordon Bell Prize for developing a real-time tsunami early-warning framework…
Gordon Bell finalist team pushes scale of rocket simulation on El Capitan
Researchers used Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) exascale supercomputer El Capitan to perform the largest fluid dynamics simulation ever — surpassing one quadrillion degrees of freedom in a single computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problem. The team focused the effort on rocket–rocket plume interactions. El Capitan is funded by the National Nuclear Security…
Miniaturized ion traps show promise of 3D printing for quantum-computing hardware
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of California (UC) Berkeley, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara have miniaturized quadrupole ion traps for the first time with 3D printing — a breakthrough in one of the most promising approaches to building a large-scale quantum computer. Quadrupole ion traps have four electrode poles that create…
LLNL aims to learn faster with science of scale-up
The science of scale-up enables a faster and more reliable advancement of technology from research and development through commercial deployment. Using techniques like computer modeling and advanced manufacturing, teams can compress the technology scale-up timeline, which can include making something bigger, more numerous, faster or more repeatably. Accelerating scale-up…
Modeling materials defects: LLNL interns explore nanotubes and batteries
For more than 20 years, the Computational Chemistry and Materials Science (CCMS) internship program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has offered students the opportunity to develop and apply computational methods to predict, analyze and optimize the properties of materials for a broad range of applications. “Many of our interns come back to LLNL as a…
LLNL physicist Cole Pruitt honored with early-career achievement award
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Cole Pruitt has been awarded the 2025 Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) Achievement Award for Early Career Researchers in theoretical nuclear physics. The national honor recognizes early-career scientists who have made significant contributions to nuclear physics research at or in connection with FRIB. Pruitt, a…
2025 LLNL summer programs inspire the next generation of innovators
This summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) hosted science education programs that provided students with hands-on experience related to several LLNL research themes. The science education offerings for this summer included three standout programs: the Manufacturing Workshop, STEM with Phones and the Biotech Summer Experience. The Manufacturing Workshop The…
LLNL’s Luis Zepeda-Ruiz wins prestigious award from American Association for Crystal Growth
At a conference held this summer, the American Association for Crystal Growth (AACG) recognized Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Luis Zepeda-Ruiz with its Gentile Service Award for “long and meritorious service to the crystal growth community.” Named after Tony Gentile, who spent many years serving AACG, this honor has only been bestowed four times…
Meet LLNL: Three interns on what makes the Lab special
Each summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) welcomes a new cohort of talented interns from all academic backgrounds, eager to contribute to groundbreaking research and real-world problem-solving. In this article, three interns share their unique perspectives on what makes LLNL a truly special place to learn and grow. From pioneering artificial intelligence…
