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Nuclear and Chemical Sciences
Big Ideas Podcast tackles the road to carbon removal
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has released a new episode of the Big Ideas Lab Podcast, focusing on the critical efforts being made to help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The episode provides insights into how 68 researchers nationwide came up with a comprehensive analysis of the capacity and costs for carbon dioxide removal at a county level…
'Lighting' up antineutrino detection
How do you find and measure nuclear particles, like antineutrinos, that travel near the speed of light? Antineutrinos are the antimatter partner of a neutrino, one of nature’s most elusive and least understood subatomic particles. They are commonly observed near nuclear reactors, which emit copious amounts of antineutrinos, but they also are found abundantly throughout the…
LLNL’s Gauthier Deblonde selected as ‘Rising Star’
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) staff scientist Gauthier Deblonde has been named a 2024 “Rising Star“ by the American Chemical Society for his work in environmental science. Deblonde’s research as well as this year’s cohort of winners will be featured in a special issue of the American Chemical Society journal ACS Environmental Au. Deblonde’s research also…
LLNL internship sets chemistry student on the right PATH
Internships at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) provide graduate students with hands-on research experience that they can bring back to their home institutions, applying their newfound skillsets to their PhD work. Since interning for LLNL’s Glenn T. Seaborg Institute in 2023, Zachary Murphy, a PhD student at the University of Central Florida (UCF), has gone on…
Becoming a nuclear scientist: LLNL traineeship inspires SJSU students
Historically, most undergraduate students in STEM are limited in their exposure to the field of nuclear science. This is especially true at minority-serving institutions, which often do not have the infrastructure, resources and technical support needed to maintain such courses. To broaden the nuclear science pipeline and establish an equitable and inclusive workforce that…
DOE honors seven early-career Lab scientists
Seven scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are recipients of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Research Program (ECRP) award. Steven Blazewicz, Kostas Kravvaris, Shusen Liu, Filippo Scotti, Jennifer Shusterman, Kyle Wendt and Ben Zhu are among 91 awardees receiving the recognition under the program. “Investing in…
Experiment sets new record in search for dark matter
Figuring out the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector, LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), have narrowed down possibilities for one of the leading dark matter candidates: weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs. LZ, led…
Chemical and transportation industries could get a boost with new catalyst coating
Coupling electrochemical conversion of the greenhouse gas CO2 with renewable electricity sources — such as solar and wind — promises green production of high-demand chemicals and transportation fuels. Carbon dioxide coupling products such as ethylene, ethanol and acetic acid are particularly useful as feedstocks for the chemical industry and powering vehicles. While…
Meet LLNL interns: Fitting in and standing out
Each year, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) hosts hundreds of interns across the Laboratory’s directorates. These interns gain hands-on experience in professions they want to explore in an engaging environment. As aspiring early career professionals, interns have the opportunity to work with their mentors at the Lab and dive into projects that will help…
Unveiling Bennu asteroid samples
Now at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) lies a piece of ancient history. Very ancient history. The material, at just 120 milligrams, will provide information about the early solar system, planetary formation, and potentially, even ingredients for life on ancient Earth. LLNL scientists recently received and will analyze samples from the asteroid Bennu that will…
Unravelling the chemistry of heavy elements
Molecular compounds with heavy elements, like americium, curium and others can now be synthesized in a streamlined and efficient way thanks to a new technique developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers. The new pathway can help scientists perform serial chemistry with radioactive elements and could be used to speed up R&D for nuclear waste…
Lawrence Livermore celebrates employees with 50-plus years of service
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently honored a unique cohort of Laboratory employees: those who have worked at the Lab for more than 50 years, including those who will reach this milestone by the end of the year. The first-of-its-kind ceremony recognized the group’s incredible contributions over decades of commitment to the Lab’s missions. “It is amazing…
LLNL honors 23 as Distinguished Members of Technical Staff
Twenty-three LLNL researchers have been named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff (DMTS) for their extraordinary scientific and technical contributions, as acknowledged by their professional peers and the broader scientific community. As distinguished citizens of the Laboratory and their scientific areas of specialization, DMTS honorees have a sustained history of…
LLNL gamma-ray sensor has the best resolution
It’s official. An instrument designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers is the highest-resolution gamma ray sensor that has ever flown in space. The Livermore high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma ray sensor is an essential part of a larger gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) built in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins Applied…
Surface vs. subsurface groundwater contamination at legacy oil site
The ability to identify the source of oilfield groundwater contamination, such as surface releases, wastewater injection, or subsurface well leakage, is critical in selecting proper remedial actions. For example, contamination from historical operations at the land surface can be remediated to prevent off-site migration and the contamination of the local aquifer. However,…
Forensic Science Center to mentor Moroccan lab
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Forensic Science Center (FSC) will assist a national laboratory from the North African nation of Morocco under an international program over the next year. As an Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)-designated laboratory for more than two decades, LLNL will work with a Moroccan lab –…
Three selected as Graduate Student Research program recipients
Three graduate students have earned Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program awards to perform their doctoral dissertation research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The prestigious award helps cover living expenses and travel for 60 students from universities across the nation. Their proposed research projects…
Germanium isotope really does have an 11-day half-life
Searching for the elusive neutrino takes on many forms. Detectors consisting of many tons of gallium are used in several experiments because neutrino interactions can occur on the stable gallium-71 (71Ga) nucleus and transform it into a radioactive isotope of germanium (71Ge) with an 11-day half-life that can then be observed with traditional radiation detectors. However,…
Finding Livermore: Employees share their LLNL origin stories
With more than 70 years of history and nearly 9,000 current employees, it is not uncommon for several generations of family members to have worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). For those employees with parents or grandparents preceding them, a career at the Laboratory was not in their original plans. In fact, before coming to LLNL, many do not realize…
Unexpected source of nutrients fuels growth of toxic algae from Lake Erie
Climate change, such as warming and changes in precipitation patterns, affects the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) globally, including those of toxin-producing cyanobacteria that can contaminate drinking water. These nutrient-induced blooms cause worldwide public and ecosystem health concerns. Since the mid-1990s, Lake Erie, the shallowest and warmest…
