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Physical and Life Sciences
Scientists measure temperature under shock conditions
Temperature is tough to measure, especially in shock compression experiments. A big challenge is having to account for thermal transport — the flow of energy in the form of heat. To better understand this challenge, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have taken important steps to show that thermal conduction is important and measurable at high…
Lab 3D-prints microbes to enhance biomaterials
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have developed a new method for 3D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recover rare-earth metals, clean wastewater, detect uranium and more. Through a novel technique that uses light and bacteria-infused resin to produce 3D-patterned microbes, the…
Formulating polymers that enhance explosives performance
The design of new explosive and propellant formulations, in compliance with insensitive munitions directives, require that performance be increased, while concurrently increasing stability and safety. Additional requirements include higher density, reduced environmental impact, improved mechanical properties, and extended service life. The combination of high explosives …
Tarver honored with APS shock compression science award
Craig Tarver (MSD) has been honored with the American Physical Society’s (APS’s) 2021 George E. Duvall Shock Compression Science Award for “theoretical advancement of the understanding of shock-driven reactions and detonation in condensed phase explosives.” Since 1968, the award—the highest offered by APS in shock compression science—has biennially recognized contributions…
Thin sample experiments help predict moisture sorption in larger samples
Over time, moisture can change a material’s physical and chemical properties, altering its performance and the performance of other materials in close proximity. This change in performance is especially a concern when considering materials used in the food, packaging, medicine, electronics, and construction industries. Understanding the material moisture capacity and…
Pitz elected fellow of Society of Automotive Engineers
Physicist Bill Pitz (MSD) has been elected as fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Bill studies combustion phenomenon in various types of engines. The fellow grade of membership was established by the society in 1975 to honor and recognize important engineering, scientific, and leadership achievements that enhance the status of SAE’s contributions to the…
Using machine learning techniques to extract nanomaterial information from SEM images
Quantitative analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images is important for understanding the structural and morphological variations of nanomaterials. Information obtained from SEM images—such as the particle size, size distribution, and morphology—provide technical and scientific insights into the process of nanomaterial synthesis, fabrication, and manufacturing…
Kim Budil selected as director of Lawrence Livermore
Kim Budil has been named director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Charlene Zettel, chair of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), which manages the Laboratory for the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), made the announcement to Laboratory employees Jan. 28. Budil will begin her new role on March 2…
LLNL hydrogen researchers win technical program award
DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Office (HFTO) selected Brandon Wood and Tadashi Ogitsu (both MSD) for the 2020 Technical Program Area Award in Hydrogen Fuel R&D. This award recognizes the computational materials science team at LLNL for their exceptional support to the HydroGEN Advanced Water Splitting Materials and Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research…
NIF experiments probe carbon at record pressures
Carbon is one of the most ubiquitous elements in existence. As the fourth most abundant element in the universe, a building block for all known life and a material that sits in the interior of carbon-rich exoplanets, the element has been subject to intense investigation by scientists. Decades of studies have shown that carbon’s crystal structure has a significant impact on…
Lab teams earn DOE Secretary Achievement Awards
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employees, participating in 10 project teams, recently earned Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Achievement Awards. Representing some of the highest internal, non-monetary recognition that DOE employees and contractors can receive, these awards recognize DOE employees and contractors for their service and contributions to…
NIF conducts first-ever shot with explosives
The first-ever shot to study a high explosive sample was recently conducted at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s most energetic laser. The results from the shot included novel data that will help researchers unlock the mysteries of high-explosive (HE) chemistry and position Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to continue its legacy as a leader in…
It’s more than just solid
By placing a shock-compressed sample of zirconium under ultrafast time-resolved X-rays, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators were able to see an intermediate phase along the transition between two solid phases. Theory has predicted the existence of an intermediate step in this phase transition, but it had not been observed until now. …
Lab team earns DOE Secretary Achievement Award
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory‘s (LLNL) "Getting to Neutral" Carbon Emissions Team has earned a Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Achievement Award for its groundbreaking work on how California could reach the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2045. Representing some of the highest internal, non-monetary recognition that DOE employees and contractors can…
LLNL experimentalist climbing ranks of physics society
As an experimentalist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) developing diagnostics and experimental techniques in the field of dynamic high-pressure physics, Peter Celliers is on the path of leading a national topical group of the American Physical Society (APS). Celliers was recently elected to the executive committee as vice-chair of the American Physical…
Air pollution levels depend on drizzle rates
Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Scripps Institution of Oceanography and international collaborators have shown that an improved representation of drizzle rates leads to more pollution in the atmosphere. The research appears in Nature Geoscience. Atmospheric aerosols are of great climatic and environmental importance due to their effects on…
LLNL and United Kingdom company to collaborate on development of universal coronavirus vaccine
ConserV Bioscience Limited (CBL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have agreed to collaborate on the development of a broad-spectrum or “universal” coronavirus vaccine. This collaboration brings together CBL’s expertise in identifying antigens and LLNL’s nanolipoprotein delivery system. The vaccine has been designed to provide broad-spectrum protection…
Lawrence Livermore's '2020 Year in Review'
Though 2020 was dominated by events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic — whether it was adapting to social distancing and the need to telecommute, safeguarding employees as they returned to conduct mission-essential work or engaging in COVID-related research — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) managed an exceptional year in all facets of science and technology…
Lab's ACT-UP awards focus on collaborative research
With a focus on increasing joint research efforts between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and universities, the Lab’s Weapon Physics and Design (WPD) Academic Collaboration Team (ACT) University Program has awarded this year’s ACT-UP awards. Now in its second year, the ACT-UP awards were created to encourage and advance strategic partnerships among…
Putting the pieces back together – reconstructing the solar system’s original architecture
As the solar system was developing, the giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) formed very early, and as they grew, they migrated both closer to and further away from the sun to stay in gravitationally stable orbits. The gravitational effect of these massive objects caused immense reshuffling of other planetary bodies that were forming at the time, meaning that the current…
