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Meet Alex Baker: Deputy Group Leader, Advanced Materials Process Science
Alex Baker wears many hats at LLNL; his roles run the gamut from project leadership to operations efforts to scientific research of his own. Being from the United Kingdom, he traveled quite a distance to get here, but it was no accident. Baker completed his PhD at Oxford University and Diamond Light Source, one of the UK’s national labs, during which he regularly visited…
HEDS Fellow John Copley’s modeling methodology
John Copley is the newest High Energy Density Science (HEDS) Center fellow at Lawrence Livermore. This fellowship provides him with the opportunity to independently pursue research related to the study of matter and energy in extreme conditions. In Copley’s case, this involves developing improved methods for modeling material phase transformations and equilibria at high…
Federica Coppari handles the pressure
There are several ways here on Earth to create the pressures and temperatures required to probe material behavior at extreme conditions, like those found in the interiors of stars and planets, for example. Federica Coppari, a research scientist in the Physics Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), specializes in studying materials at the most extreme…
Meet LLNL: Laser Material Interaction Deputy Group Leader Sonny Ly
Sonny Ly has built a career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) combining laser physics, materials science and mentorship. A deputy group leader in the Laser Material Interaction Science Group within the Materials Science Division under Physical and Life Sciences, Ly first came to the Lab in 2010 as a graduate student from the University of California, Davis…
LLNL Director Kim Budil elected as a 2025 AAAS fellow
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director Kim Budil has been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), a global organization dedicated to advancing science, engineering and innovation for the benefit of all. Recognized for her national laboratory leadership and professional activities to promote science, Budil joins…
LLNL honors 36 as 2026 Distinguished Members of Technical Staff
Thirty-six Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have been named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff (DMTS) in recognition of their extraordinary scientific and technical contributions, as affirmed by their professional peers and the broader scientific community. As distinguished citizens of the Laboratory and their respective fields, DMTS honorees…
Lawrence Livermore makes Glassdoor’s 2026 ‘Best Places to Work’ list
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been honored with a Glassdoor Employees' Choice Award, recognizing the Best Places to Work in 2026. The Lab ranked 12th out of 100 large employers in the United States, marking the seventh recognition the Laboratory has earned in Glassdoor’s award program since its inception in 2009. Now in its 18th year, the Employees’…
Walk in the shoes of an offsite fellow with the Big Ideas Lab podcast
Walk through any federal building and you might spot them. A Livermore face among the crowd. Not visitors. Not consultants. Fellows. Some are sent to Washington, others remain local in Silicon Valley, and a select few even concentrate their efforts toward the final frontier: space. But whether D.C. or deep space, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) brings its…
Meet LLNL: ASL Interpreter Stephanie Dominguez
Stephanie Dominguez, the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), wears many hats. In addition to her primary role interpreting for deaf employees, Dominguez is a member of the Lab’s relocation services team, assists with property management and applies her graphic design skills to internal communications for the Livermore…
LLNL’s Rebecca Toomey recognized with Division of Nuclear Physics’ Distinguished Service Award
Rebecca Toomey, a postdoctoral research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been recognized with the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Nuclear Physics’ (DNP) Distinguished Service Award. The honor is intended to recognize those who have made substantial and extensive contributions to the nuclear physics community through the activities…
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…
Michael Anastasio honored at 2025 John S. Foster Jr. Medal ceremony
In a ceremony held recently at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Michael R. Anastasio was presented with the 2025 John S. Foster Jr. Medal, recognizing a distinguished career spanning more than four decades of service to national security. Anastasio, the only person ever to lead both LLNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), was celebrated for his…
Michael Anastasio awarded Livermore’s 2025 John S. Foster Medal
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director Kim Budil today announced that the 2025 John S. Foster, Jr. Medal is awarded to Michael R. Anastasio, former director of both Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. The 10th recipient of the prestigious Foster Medal, Anastasio is recognized for his extraordinary career in nuclear weapons science, his…
LLNL’s Wei Jia Ong receives American Physical Society’s 2025 Freedman Award
Wei Jia Ong, a staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been recognized as the recipient of the American Physical Society’s (APS) 2025 Stuart Jay Freedman Award in Experimental Nuclear Physics. The award is presented annually to an outstanding early career experimentalist in nuclear physics. Ong was selected for her work “spearheading a…
LLNL’s Xiaoxing Xia named among MIT Technology Review’s top Innovators Under 35
MIT Technology Review has named Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) research scientist Xiaoxing Xia as one of its 2025 Innovators Under 35 — a global list honoring early-career researchers and entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of science and technology. The publication recognized Xia in the Inventors category for his groundbreaking advances in developing…
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…
LLNL’s Sichi Li appointed to JACS Au Early Career Advisory Board
JACS Au, an open-access journal from the American Chemical Society, has selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) staff scientist Sichi Li to serve on its 2025–2026 Early Career Advisory Board. JACS Au publishes high-impact, cutting-edge research across the full spectrum of chemistry and related disciplines. The Early Career Advisory Board is composed of…
Meet LLNL: Computer Scientist Nicole Marsaglia
Nicole Marsaglia is a computer scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where she works on Ascent, an in-situ library that allows scientists to analyze and visualize simulation data as it is generated. Marsaglia joined LLNL in March 2022, drawn by the opportunity to apply her technical interests and work with a collaborative, enthusiastic team. “What I…
LLNL’s Matt Lyman receives Fulbright Scholarship in Brazil
Matt Lyman, a staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, has been selected for a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award in Brazil in 2025–2026. Lyman’s background in immunology and microbiology and work in biosecurity will provide a foundation for his project as a Fulbright Scholar, where he will explore the human…
Jennifer Pett-Ridge inducted into Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Jennifer Pett-Ridge has been selected as one of this year’s 12 inductees to join the 2025 Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame. Since its establishment in 1993, the Hall of Fame has honored almost 300 exceptional women who have made a lasting impact in Alameda County’s communities. “I’m hugely flattered to be selected,…
