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Lasers and Optical S&T
The power of partnerships: How LLNL laser technology is transforming industrial manufacturing
It’s the late 1990s. Lloyd Hackel and Brent Dane are researchers in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) laser science and technology program. They’re developing laser technology for X-ray lithography and satellite imaging research for the Department of Defense when the phone rings. On the line is Curtiss-Wright’s Metal Improvement Company (MIC) asking about…
LLNL selected to lead next-gen extreme ultraviolet lithography research
Decades of cutting-edge laser, optics and plasma physics research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) played a key role in the underlying science that the semiconductor industry uses to manufacture advanced microprocessors. These computer chips drive today’s astounding innovations in artificial intelligence, high-performance supercomputers and smart phones…
John H. Nuckolls receives Enrico Fermi Presidential Award
The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) director John H. Nuckolls with the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. The award will be shared with two other scientists, Héctor D. Abruña and Paul Alivisatos. Nuckols was selected “for…
A look back at the first inertial confinement fusion experiment in 1974
Fifty years ago in December 1974, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program blasted a glass ball so tiny it was hardly visible to the human eye. The experiment was small, but the result was enormous. “It was the simplest possible experiment to achieve thermonuclear fusion,” said LLNL senior scientist John Lindl. This…
LLNL leadership engages in global fusion energy efforts
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) leadership is engaging with world leaders to make fusion energy a reality. Last week, LLNL Director Kim Budil joined the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inaugural meeting of leading fusion energy experts and high-level policymakers from 35 countries in Rome. “In the face of growing global competition and a…
LLNL researchers explore next-gen 3D printing to harness fusion energy
When Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in December 2022, the world’s attention turned to the prospect of how that breakthrough experiment — designed to secure the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile — might also pave the way for virtually limitless, safe and carbon-free fusion energy. Advanced 3D…
Three Lab scientists named 2024 APS Fellows
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists Daniel Casey, Daniel Clark and Raymond Smith have been named 2024 American Physical Society (APS) Fellows. Casey was selected for “outstanding contributions to the understanding of the stagnation conditions required to achieve ignition.” Clark was honored for “extensive contributions to inertial confinement fusion…
LLNL presents on fusion energy at industry collaboration event
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently joined representatives from higher education, including Columbia University, government officials from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Air Force Research Laboratory as well as tech industry guests and moderators from Google, Bloomberg, Fortune and venture capital at the Roadrunner Technology Forum in…
LLNL intern applies lessons learned from home, family
Brianna Barbee is taking a childhood lesson from her mother to heart — and it figured into her summer internship at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). “My mom always told me, ‘You don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck’ and I really stand by that,” she said. “I was always very studious, but I knew I needed to find a career and not just a 9-to-5 job to pay for…
LLNL’s Kritcher receives Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award
Annie Kritcher, design physicist and lead for integrated modeling in the Inertial Confinement Fusion program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been awarded the 2024 David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award by Fusion Power Associates (FPA). Presented annually since 1987 in memory of MIT Professor David J. Rose, the award honors early-career…
All ears on the Big Ideas Lab podcast
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has big ideas and is showing the world in the Big Ideas Lab weekly podcast that takes listeners behind the fences and into its heart. “This is where big ideas come to life,” said Lab Director Kim Budil. “To do this, we bring together dynamic teams of many different disciplines — laser physicists and materials scientists and…
SPIE names LLNL’s Zhi Liao a senior member
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Zhi Liao has been elected as a senior member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. SPIE bestows the senior member designation on individuals who have distinguished themselves through their professional experience and their active involvement within both the optics community and SPIE. Liao is one of 107…
Two LLNL researchers named to Optica’s 2024 class of senior members
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers Paul Armstrong and Brent Stuart have been named senior members of Optica. The professional society’s senior membership status recognizes members with more than 10 years of professional experience in optics or an optics-related field. The 2024 class joins a distinguished group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs…
Research confirms importance of symmetry in pre-ignition fusion experiments
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have retrospectively confirmed that implosion asymmetry was a major aspect for fusion experiments before achieving ignition for the first time at the Lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s most energetic laser. The findings were recently detailed in a Nature Communications paper titled “The impact of…
Fusion Power Associates honors Bruno Van Wonterghem
Bruno Van Wonterghem, operations manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF), was awarded a 2024 Distinguished Career Award by Fusion Power Associates (FPA). FPA board of directors recognized Van Wonterghem “for his decades of tenacious dedication to scientific and operational excellence in bringing both the LLNL Beamlet and…
LLNL’s Tammy Ma shares fusion energy vision with TED
What would you do with the largest laser in the world? That’s the question Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Tammy Ma posed to the audience on the mainstage at the influential TED conference held in April in Vancouver. In the talk, which was publicly released today, Ma shared her answer: bringing about a world powered by laser-based fusion energy,…
LLNL researchers uncover key to resolving long-standing ICF hohlraum drive deficit
A team of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made advancements in understanding and resolving the long-standing "drive-deficit" problem in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. This discovery could pave the way for more accurate predictions and improved performance in fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility…
Two LLNL physicists honored for international collaboration
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicists Hye-Sook Park and George Swadling, along with Anna Grassi of France’s Sorbonne University and former Lawrence Fellow Frederico Fiuza of Portugal’s Técnico Lisboa, received the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics. The award is jointly sponsored by the Plasma…
Celebrating ignition through art at City Center Bishop Ranch
Visitors to City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon can now learn about LLNL’s historic fusion ignition achievement while they shop and dine. “Bringing Star Power to Earth,” a new art installation on the exterior of the center, tells the story of ignition through nine banners measuring 23 feet tall. The centerpiece is the ignition artwork that LLNL used in the first…
Advancements in Z-pinch fusion: New insights from plasma pressure profiles
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have reported advancements in understanding plasma pressure profiles within flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion, a candidate for achieving net gain fusion energy in a compact device. In collaboration with the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the University of Washington, Sandia National Laboratories and…
