Back
Threat preparedness
When lasers cross: LLNL finds a brighter way to measure plasma
Measuring conditions in volatile clouds of superheated gases known as plasmas are central to pursuing greater scientific understanding of how stars, nuclear detonations and fusion energy work. For decades, scientists have relied on a technique called Thomson scattering, which uses a single laser beam to scatter from plasma waves as a way to measure critical information…
Simulations and supercomputing calculate one million orbits in cislunar space
Satellites and spacecraft in the vast region between the earth and moon and just beyond — called cislunar space — are crucial for space exploration, scientific advancement and national security. But figuring out where exactly to put them into a stable orbit can be a huge, computationally expensive challenge. In an open-access database and with publicly available code,…
LLNL’s energy scale-up brainstorming event focused on accelerating pilot-ready technologies
Solving tomorrow’s challenges in energy security requires scientists to develop new pathways to streamline innovation. To help achieve this goal, the Global Security Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently hosted an “Energy Scale-up Brainstorming Day.” More than 60 researchers across a broad range of expertise gathered to engage in interactive…
LLNL releases Generalized Economics Model for fusion energy
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has released a new tool designed to help the fusion energy industry assess the economic impact of plant operation and design trade-offs for building an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant. The Generalized Economics Model (GEM) for Fusion Technology is now available to download. “GEM helps the fusion industry understand how…
Discover LLNL’s Autonomous Sensors program in the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast
When disaster strikes, every second counts, but sometimes the danger is too great for humans to go first. From mapping terrain to reaching deep underground to detect hidden threats and abandoned wells, unmanned systems equipped with advanced sensors are changing how we respond to crises. Across land, air and sea, drones can act as one coordinated force to increase the…
From fleeting to stable: scientists uncover recipe for new carbon dioxide-based energetic materials
When materials are compressed, their atoms are forced into unusual arrangements that do not normally exist under everyday conditions. These configurations are often fleeting: when the pressure is released, the atoms typically relax back to a stable low-pressure state. Only a few very specific materials, like diamond, retain their high-pressure structure after returning to…
New code connects microscopic insights to the macroscopic world
In inertial confinement fusion, a capsule of fuel begins at temperatures near zero and pressures close to vacuum. When lasers compress that fuel to trigger fusion, the material heats up to millions of degrees and reaches pressures similar to the core of the sun. That process happens within a miniscule amount of space and time. To understand this process, scientists need to…
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…
LLNL, UT & UCSD win Gordon Bell Prize with exascale tsunami forecasting
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Oden Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on Nov. 20 were awarded the prestigious 2025 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Gordon Bell Prize for developing a real-time tsunami early-warning framework…
X-ray technique provides a new tool for nuclear forensics investigations
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are experts in nuclear forensics: the art and science of extracting information about the provenance and history of nuclear materials. Now, they have a new technique to add to their toolkit. In a study published in the Journal of Nuclear Materials, LLNL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists…
Inside the Lab: Meet the team protecting America from nuclear threats
In the latest episode of its “Inside the Lab” YouTube series, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is featuring the Radiological Assistance Program (RAP), offering a rare look at how national laboratory scientists support high-stakes nuclear and radiological emergency response operations. Watch the episode here. RAP is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s…
LLNL scientists explore real-time tsunami warning system on world’s fastest supercomputer
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have helped develop an advanced, real-time tsunami forecasting system — powered by El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer — that could dramatically improve early warning capabilities for coastal communities near earthquake zones. The exascale El Capitan, which has a theoretical peak performance of 2.79…
Big Ideas Lab podcast visits the Forensic Science Center: part 2
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Forensic Science Center (FSC) is a unique place. It is the only forensic science center in the United States that could accept a truly mixed hazard sample — with a biological material, a chemical agent, explosives and nuclear material. It is one of only two laboratories in the United States — and among 30 in the world — that is…
Protecting the planet: Big Ideas Lab Podcast highlights LLNL’s mission to stop asteroids
In the next two episodes of the Big Ideas Lab Podcast, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) explores the fascinating and high-stakes world of planetary defense. The episodes explore the science, technology and international collaboration required to detect, track and deflect asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. Part two is now available on Apple or Spotify…
LLNL's Buddemeier named to National Academies board
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) certified health physicist Brooke Buddemeier has been appointed to a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. A 35-year Lab employee, Buddemeier has been named to the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (NRSB), which provides advice about safety, security, technical efficacy and other issues…
Franklin Miller awarded Livermore’s 2024 John S. Foster Medal
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director Kim Budil today announced that the 2024 John S. Foster, Jr. Medal is awarded to Franklin Miller, a principal at The Scowcroft Group. The ninth recipient of the prestigious Foster Award, Miller is recognized for his exceptional and inspirational career dedicated to national security, defense policy and international…
Lab team surveys Site 300 for hotspots
In the mid-afternoon of Saturday, June 1, the Corral Fire ignited near the Lab’s Site 300. It made headlines for days and kicked off this year’s fire season. The blaze raced across more than 14,000 acres in just 24 hours, incinerated a structure and badly burned two fire personnel. Early Sunday morning, the Lab’s Associate Principal Deputy Director Sandra Brereton reached…
When experiments go quiet: maintaining the National Ignition Facility
For two weeks last April, the lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility stopped firing. Experiments may have been on pause, but the facility was anything but quiet. “To do world-class science, you need a world-class facility. And you can’t just maintain that facility, you must anticipate problems and seek out improvements,” said Stanley…
Signal and image science community comes together for annual workshop
Nearly 150 members of the signal and image science community recently came together to discuss the latest advances in the field and connect with colleagues, friends and potential collaborators at the 28th annual Center for Advanced Image and Signal Science (CASIS) workshop. Held at the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center (UCLCC) for the first time, the…
LLNL and BridgeBio announce trials for supercomputing-discovered cancer drug
In a substantial milestone for supercomputing-aided drug design, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics (BridgeBio) today announced clinical trials have begun for a first-in-class medication that targets specific genetic mutations implicated in many types of cancer. The development of the new drug — BBO-8520 — is the result of…
