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Strategic Deterrence
Plutonium at 150 years
The article below presents a summary of ongoing work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The work is to assess how radioactive decay in plutonium affects its material properties as they relate to the performance of nuclear weapons. This work is a continuation of the joint plutonium aging study done by Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National laboratories. That…
LLNL technology wins award
A new technology developed by LLNL researchers for detecting nuclear materials has won a first place award in Government Security News magazine's fourth annual Homeland Security Awards competition. The Livermore technology -- the first plastic material capable of efficiently distinguishing neutrons from gamma rays -- was honored in the "best nuclear/radiation detection"…
Iraq strengthens commitment to safeguards agreement
Iraqi Ambassador to Austria Surood Rashid Najib has submitted an official letter from the Iraqi Foreign Minister to Yukiyo Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), announcing the ratification and entry into force of the Additional Protocol to its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement. For LLNL's Jonathan Essner of Global Security, this is…
NARAC to more quickly predict haz mat releases
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Monday announced that it recently sponsored the installation of a 336-processor computing cluster at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC). This new cluster allows consequences predictions for hazardous material releases to be completed approximately 50…
Observations on arms control and tactical nuclear weapons in Europe
Most people are probably unaware of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and this agreement is nowhere near the top of the priority list for Congress, but CFE is regarded by many in the arms-control community as a cornerstone of European stability.As explained by Jeff McCausland, distinguished visiting professor of research and Minerva chairholder at the…
Henderson is lone American in CTBT field test
John Henderson of Global Security was the sole U.S. participant in a May international field test for the on-site inspection division of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization's (CTBTO) Provisional Technical Secretariat. The event was sponsored by the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority and took place on a military base near…
DHS intern helps develop portable virus detection
When Cesar Ambriz's father discovered a tomato-farming job in northern California, he and his family left their relatives and crossed the Mexican border to establish a life ripe with promise. "In Mexico it's really tough for anyone to go to college, especially to get financial aid. It's a challenge if you don't have money," Ambriz says. After obtaining a high GPA and…
Breath analysis workshop set for biomedicine and national security
The Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis and the Canterbury Respiratory Research Group, will host the 2012 International Breath Analysis Meeting, Oct. 28-Nov. 1 at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn in Sonoma, Calif.The event, titled "Breath Analysis for Biomedicine and National Security: Sensor Design Issues and Strategies for Biomarker…
Tom Slezak to advise Department of Defense on biodefense
Bioinformatics expert Tom Slezak is no stranger to the National Academy of Science (NAS), having served on two committees since 2009. Recently, he was asked to join a standing committee chartered by the Department of Defense (DoD) to advise the DoD on biodefense issues, a much broader scope than either of his previous committee mandates. The NAS in Washington, D.C., is the…
Future U.S. military leaders strengthen bond with LLNL
Senior Laboratory managers had the opportunity to meet with future American military leaders at the MARA (Military Academic Research Associates) and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) intern reception last week in the West Cafeteria. The annual reception is a chance for these participants to learn more from senior managers about LLNL's mission in national security…
NIF team wins esteemed plasma physics award
A far-reaching discovery about laser-matter interaction with important implications for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has led to the selection of a team of researchers named recipients of the 2012 John Dawson Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research. The award, established by the American Physical Society, will be presented to LLNL researchers Debbie Callahan…
Lab to collaborate with NASA Ames Research Center
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC) in Mountain View, Calif., have agreed to collaborate by sharing technology and resources on technical areas of national interest, including space missions, energy and advanced computing. LLNL director Parney Albright and ARC director Pete Worden signed the agreement Thursday in Livermore,…
Lawrence Livermore wins six R&D Awards for science, technological innovation
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have won six awards for their efforts in developing breakthrough technologies with commercial potential. See video . R&D Magazine announced the winners of its annual R&D 100 Awards, sometimes called the "Oscars of Invention" on Wednesday. The awards will be presented Nov. 1 during a black-tie dinner at the SeaWorld…
Bruce E. Warner selected principal associate director, Global Security
Bruce Warner has been named principal associate director of Global Security at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Director Parney Albright announced Thursday. Warner takes over the position from Albright, who stepped down as the Global Security leader after he was selected as the 11th Lab director last October. Warner had been serving in an acting capacity since…
Journal article written by Lab employee, others wins 'paper of the year'
An article written by an LLNL scientist and five other researchers about remediating an American airport after a chemical warfare attack has been named "Risk Management Paper of the Year" for 2011 by the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment (HERA). In selecting the chemical remediation paper as the year's top article, the editors of HERA wrote, "This paper gives…
New research shows brain injuries from blasts similar to football impacts
In an advance that may someday provide health benefits for soldiers and athletes, a team of researchers has discovered a mechanism that could be the cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in blast-exposed soldiers. The breakthrough study, published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine , finds that the brain injuries suffered by soldiers from improvised…
Nimble Titan 12: an international missile defense exercise
Just four days after North Korea's failed three-stage missile launch, a pre-scheduled international missile defense exercise got under way at a high-tech conference center in southern Virginia. Participants from 14 nations, and observers from such organizations as NATO, spent four days planning political, military, and civil defense responses to scenarios involving mock…
White captures award for nuclear forensics work
For the second straight quarter, a Laboratory employee has received an award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for his work in post-detonation nuclear forensics. The most recent winner is Lab physicist Roger White, a designer in B-Division from the Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI) Directorate and a principal investigator for nuclear forensics design…
Rodgers garners award for nuclear forensics work
Lab geophysicist Arthur Rodgers has received an award from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) for his work in nuclear forensics. A researcher in the Atmospheric, Earth & Energy Division of the Physical & Life Sciences Directorate, Rodgers was named the "top contributor of the quarter" for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 (October-December 2011) for a…
Ten scientists named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff
Ten Laboratory researchers have been named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff (DMTS) for their extraordinary scientific and technical contributions to the Laboratory and its missions as acknowledged by their professional peers and the larger community. Jim Candy of the Engineering Directorate, John Castor of the Weapons and Complex Integration Principal Directorate,…
