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Faculty members of HBCUs visit Lab

The Laboratory hosted 18 faculty members from 14 of the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) last week during a joint visit sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Economic Impact and Diversity. A number of local business members and entrepreneurs also participated in the meeting. The goal of the meeting was initially to increase the…

100th shot for LLNL's 'gun in the desert'

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's JASPER gas gun has fired its 100th shot. JASPER (the Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research) is a key scientific tool for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). This program's combination of computer simulations, scientific theory and above-ground experiments has allowed the…

The Laboratory enters the additive manufacturing arena

Additive manufacturing. You'll be hearing a lot more of those two words in the coming months and years at LLNL. Additive manufacturing (AM) is a new generation of technologies that were actually first developed during the 1970s. But AM has recently become more mainstream with the advent of advances in materials, sensors, micromechanics, computational modeling and…

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…

Dickerson wins uplifting competition

Not long after her return from Cyprus where she set world records, Mercedes Dickerson began imagining her next goal -- setting more records in the Ukraine next year and then in Italy two years from now. In October, Dickerson set seven International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Masters world records in Limassol, Cyprus, in categories of her weight (75+ kg) and age group …

Compression experiments lead to shocking results

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Using acceleration 1 trillion times faster than a jet fighter in a maximum turn, researchers have gained new insight into dynamic compression of aluminum at ultrahigh strain rates. Controlled shock compression has been used for decades to examine the behavior of materials under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature. Using an ultrafast…

Gates scholar selected to attend conference

It's not every day a Lab intern gets to meet a famous billionaire and philanthropist. But, Computation summer student TeAirra Brown recently did just that. Brown was one of five Gates Millennium Scholars selected to attend a reception with scholar program and Microsoft founder Bill Gates following his presentation about jobs of the future at the National Urban League…

Pico receives honor from DeVry University

Randy Pico, Engineering Directorate senior superintendent and safety officer, received a distinguished honor from DeVry University. Pico was selected from an alumni pool of more than 200,000 members when he was honored as a member of The Pinnacle . The Pinnacle was developed in recognition of DeVry's 80-year history. The Alumni Association and DeVry recognized 50 past…

De La Cruz encourages Latina students to take control of their future

It's a long way from Chihuahua, Mexico, to Livermore, but for Yahel De La Cruz, it has been a rewarding journey -- and one worth sharing.De La Cruz, a software engineer at the Lab, discussed growing up in Mexico, coming to the United States and the challenges she faced and opportunities she found along the way, with a group of young Latina women at Las Positas College…

Laboratory signs agreement with China to develop clean energy technology

The Laboratory has signed an agreement with the Clean Energy Research Institute in China to conduct joint research and development of clean energy technologies. The Clean Energy Research Institute was formed by Huaneng Power International Inc., the largest power company in the world. Under the memorandum of understanding, the Laboratory will create a stronger relationship…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory opens High Performance Computing Innovation Center for collaboration with industry

In an initiative that aims to boost the nation's economic competitiveness, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory today announced the opening of the High Performance Computing Innovation Center (HPCIC).The innovation center will facilitate national lab/industry collaboration, applying high performance computing to product design, development and manufacturing, data…

LLNL scientists and engineers capture two awards for top industrial innovations

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have captured two awards for developing cutting-edge technologies with commercial potential. A team of LLNL computer scientists and a team of engineers have won awards from the trade journal R&D Magazine for developing advances among the top 100 industrial inventions worldwide for 2010. One of the teams worked with two…

Local science fair winners to compete at Intel Fair

The top sweepstakes winners of the 15th annual Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair (TVSEF), sponsored by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will soon be heading south to their next level of competition. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) runs May 8-13 in Los Angeles.At the TVSEF in Livermore, held March 22-25, local students in grades 7…

In the wake of the wind

On the Front Range within the Rocky Mountains, prevailing winds sweep eastward over the mountains smack into the National Wind Technology Center. Several wind turbines, some taller than a 40-story building, spin and hum at the site, just outside of Boulder, Colo., waiting for an experiment to start in the next month. The turbines not only produce power, they produce wakes …

Preventing close encounters of the orbiting kind

Each day, hundreds of active satellites as well as tens of thousands of pieces of "space junk" -- defunct satellites, bits of booster rockets and lost astronaut tools -- orbit Earth.This space junk became front page news two years ago, when a defunct Russian satellite and a privately owned American communications satellite collided near the North Pole. The incident…

Students fare well at annual science and engineering fair

Those who say science fairs are lagging should have visited LLNL's Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair (TVSEF) this week. The fair marked its 15th anniversary with a 30 percent increase in participants over last year.This year 413 best and brightest future scientists discussed their projects with seasoned scientists and engineers and competed for cash and other prizes…

Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary March 22-25

The best and brightest student scientists and engineers will showcase their work when the annual Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair, sponsored by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, returns March 22-25, to the Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East Ave., Livermore. This year the fair reaches a milestone celebrating 15 years in the community.The fair…

LLNL gamma ray spectrometer aboard spacecraft due to start orbiting around Mercury

When a NASA spacecraft goes into orbit around Mercury Thursday evening, a team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers will be paying close attention. During 2002 and 2003, the LLNL scientists developed a germanium-based gamma ray spectrometer that has been winging its way aboard the Mercury MESSENGER (short for MErcury Surface, Space Environment,…

SRI methodology focuses Lab innovation effort

Laboratory teams are applying the concepts of the SRI International innovation program and the process is paying off. According to SRI, innovation is the creation and delivery of new customer value in the marketplace. It's not just a gadget or new invention by a sole owner, but rather requires teamwork to determine the customer and market needs and establishment of a value…