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National Ignition Facility and Photon Science
LLNL conducts milestone nuclear survivability experiment at NIF, moving weapons modernization forward
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has conducted an experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to assess the ability of U.S. nuclear weapons to survive encounters with adversary missile defenses and reach their targets. This experiment demonstrated a new capability to analyze nuclear materials under extreme conditions, advancing stockpile modernization…
From inception to ignition and beyond: Suhas Bhandarkar’s target fabrication career
Tiny parts and absolute meticulousness define Suhas Bhandarkar’s award-winning 20-year career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As group leader for Target Fabrication Science and Technology (S&T), he leads a team that helps transform LLNL’s physicists’ bold ideas into reality at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Bhandarkar’s path began with a B.S…
LLNL joins inaugural California Fusion Energy Convening
Leaders from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and its Livermore Institute of Fusion Technology (LIFT) shaped the agenda of the first-ever gathering of California fusion energy leaders from across the public sector, industry and academia. “California is, without question, the center of fusion innovation,” LLNL Director Kim Budil said during opening remarks on…
Researchers discover entirely new phase of ice
Water is weird. When ice cubes float at the top of a drink, they’re defying the norm. Solids are generally denser than liquids, so they sink. But because of its hydrogen bonds, water produces unusual and complex behaviors. Studying water ice and its various phases is crucial for understanding its strange properties. The knowledge is also critical for materials science,…
Vincent Tang to lead LLNL’s National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Directorate
LLNL Director Kim Budil has named Vincent Tang as the principal associate director (PAD) to lead the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science directorate (NIF&PS), the LLNL program that advances the NIF and world-leading laser and photon science capabilities for stockpile modernization and critical national missions. NIF is the world’s most energetic laser and is…
LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park receives Edward Teller Award
LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park has been awarded the Edward Teller Award for 2025 by the American Nuclear Society. The award recognizes her pioneering high-energy-density experimental work in high-pressure materials science, inertial confinement fusion and astrophysical collisionless shock generation, including the resulting particle acceleration and magnetic field generation…
When carbon crystallizes: molecular simulations reveal why graphite outshines diamond
There’s a reason why engagement rings are more expensive than wooden pencils. Diamond and graphite are both made of crystallized carbon, but diamond is much rarer. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers including Margaret Berrens at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) created molecular dynamics simulations to explain what material forms when…
LLNL used AI to predict historic fusion ignition shot
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers employed an AI-driven model to predict fusion ignition days ahead of the historic 2022 shot, according to a new study in Science. In the paper, LLNL researchers detail how they used physics-informed deep learning and a “cognitive simulation” (or CogSim) framework to forecast the success of the Dec. 5, 2022 fusion…
Las Positas College, LLNL offer Laser Optics Workshop
Laser and Electronic Optics Technicians (LEOTs) are critical to the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and other laser systems. In addition to being the world’s most energetic laser and the only place where fusion ignition has been achieved in a laboratory, NIF is also the world’s largest optical instrument. But LEOTs,…
Nuclear Fusion journal recognizes LLNL paper
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) nuclear engineer Charles Yeamans and co-authors have been recognized with the 2024 Nuclear Fusion Award for outstanding work published in the journal. The paper, “High yield polar direct drive fusion neutron sources at the National Ignition Facility,” was published in 2021. Co-authors are G. Elijah Kemp, Zachary Walters,…
Big Ideas Lab podcast returns to shine a light on Jupiter Laser Facility
Since their invention in 1960, lasers have been a staple of science fiction. But beyond sci-fi, the technology is an essential, often overlooked, part of everyday life. From scanning barcodes to operating on eyes to recreating the conditions in the sun, laser applications range from mundane to life changing. The Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) at Lawrence Livermore National…
Big Ideas Lab Podcast explores the future of fusion energy
Harnessing fusion energy, the same process that fuels our Sun and the stars, to power our world is one of humanity’s most ambitious scientific challenges. In December 2022, that quest took a giant leap forward when Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). But what will it take to translate this…
Ride the optics recycling loop with the Big Ideas Lab Podcast
If Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) was a race car, it would run at the redline most of the time. And NIF’s optics bear the brunt of that stress. Throughout the beamline, thousands of optics, many 40-centimeter square in size, amplify, transmit, reflect, change wavelength or focus the lasers as they travel nearly a kilometer to the…
Big Ideas Lab Podcast takes on National Ignition Facility sustainment
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is home to the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser system— and the only lab on earth where fusion ignition has been achieved and repeated. The latest episode of the Big Ideas podcast tackles the work necessary to keep such a facility running. Listen on Apple or Spotify. NIF was…
LLNL creates world’s brightest X-ray source with NIF and novel metal foams
By combining the National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser and ultra-light metal foams, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have produced the brightest X-ray source to date — about twice as bright as previous solid metal versions. These ultra-bright high-energy X-rays can be used to image and study extremely dense matter, like the plasmas created…
John H. Nuckolls receives Enrico Fermi Presidential Award
The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) director John H. Nuckolls with the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. The award will be shared with two other scientists, Héctor D. Abruña and Paul Alivisatos. Nuckols was selected “for…
LLNL leadership engages in global fusion energy efforts
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) leadership is engaging with world leaders to make fusion energy a reality. Last week, LLNL Director Kim Budil joined the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inaugural meeting of leading fusion energy experts and high-level policymakers from 35 countries in Rome. “In the face of growing global competition and a…
LLNL researchers explore next-gen 3D printing to harness fusion energy
When Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in December 2022, the world’s attention turned to the prospect of how that breakthrough experiment — designed to secure the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile — might also pave the way for virtually limitless, safe and carbon-free fusion energy. Advanced 3D…
Three Lab scientists named 2024 APS Fellows
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists Daniel Casey, Daniel Clark and Raymond Smith have been named 2024 American Physical Society (APS) Fellows. Casey was selected for “outstanding contributions to the understanding of the stagnation conditions required to achieve ignition.” Clark was honored for “extensive contributions to inertial confinement fusion…
LLNL intern applies lessons learned from home, family
Brianna Barbee is taking a childhood lesson from her mother to heart — and it figured into her summer internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). “My mom always told me, ‘You don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck’ and I really stand by that,” she said. “I was always very studious, but I knew I needed to find a career and not just a 9-to-5 job to pay for…
