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Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
A hot topic: How temperature fuels energy loss in fuel cells
By splitting water molecules, fuel cells can turn electricity into hydrogen fuel. Running in the opposite direction, they consume hydrogen fuel to cleanly power multiple sectors. Typically, heat is a key ingredient for achieving high energy conversion efficiencies that can beat out combustion-based engines. But like a dripping pipe, fuel cells can leak efficiency. In a new…
Depositing dots on corrugated chips improves photodetector capabilities
Near-infrared photodetectors are used in biomedical sensing and defense and security technologies. For enhanced performance and integrated, compact imaging systems, the photodetectors must be able to detect multiple wavelengths of light at once on a single chip. Quantum dots — tiny crystals made of semiconducting material — could present a path forward because different…
LLNL intern shapes the understanding of ceramics
Doctoral student Natalie Yaw came to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as a summer intern. But when her time at the Laboratory ended, her work did not. She took the lead to write a paper based on her findings, and the result was published in Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers. As a Department of Energy Nuclear Energy University Program fellow, Yaw chose to intern at…
LLNL’s Aleksandr Noy named 2025 Materials Research Society fellow
Aleksandr Noy, a senior research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been named a 2025 fellow of the Materials Research Society (MRS). The fellowship recognizes sustained contributions and dedication to the advancement of materials research and is a lifetime recognition of distinction in the field. The committee recognized Noy for his “seminal…
Big Ideas Lab podcast examines how machinists forge the future at LLNL
At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), precision is more than a technical requirement — it's a craft, an art form and the heart of groundbreaking scientific discovery. In the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast, explore the fascinating world of machinists, the unsung heroes who transform raw materials into vital components for fusion research, national…
LLNL and collaborators unleash a colorful future of responsive materials
In a leap forward for materials science, a multi-institutional team of researchers has developed a pioneering method of 3D printing cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers (CLCEs), enabling complex, color-changing responsive materials and paving the way for novel applications like smart textiles and advanced robotics. Using a cutting-edge method known as Coaxial Direct Ink…
Order to disorder: a closer look at icy surfaces
Much like a tongue freezes to a frigid metal pole, ice can cause speed up the adsorption, or stickiness, of molecules. An icy surface can also cause molecules to degrade in the presence of light, releasing trace gases. Before researchers can measure these reactions and incorporate their impacts in global atmospheric models, researchers first need to understand the…
Breaking down corrosion to predict failure and design stronger materials
You’ve seen the movie scene: dilapidated skyscrapers, collapsed bridges, and empty, shell-like cars in a post-apocalyptic city. While Hollywood imagines fictional causes for this decay, in reality, the culprit is far more mundane: corrosion. Corrosion costs trillions of dollars globally, with up to three percent of the U.S. GDP spent on failing materials. New research from…
LLNL researchers explore future of responsive 3D-architected materials
In the evolving fields of materials science and 3D printing, engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are exploring novel ways to create materials and structures that adapt and respond to their environments. A recent study featured on the cover of Science, conducted in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and Princeton…
LLNL researchers quantify metal strength uncertainty in high-explosives models
For the first time, a team of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) quantified and rigorously studied the effect of metal strength on accurately modeling coupled metal/high explosive (HE) experiments, shedding light on an elusive variable in an important model for national security and defense applications. The team used a Bayesian approach to…
Identifying material properties for more efficient solid-state batteries
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a novel, integrated modeling approach to identify and improve key interface and microstructural features in complex materials typically used for advanced batteries. The work helped unravel the relationship between material microstructure and key properties and better predict how those properties…
Three LLNL scientists honored with presidential early-career award
In an announcement this week, President Biden awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) to nearly 400 distinguished scientists and engineers, recognizing their exceptional contributions and potential for leadership in their research fields. Among the honorees are three distinguished researchers from Lawrence Livermore National…
LLNL’s esteemed Machinist Apprenticeship Program accepting applications for 2025
Interested in the next step in your machining career? Consider Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) elite machinist apprenticeship, which now accepting applications for its 2025 cohort. The California-certified program is one of the oldest in the nation, and one of the most unique. Apprentices are trained in LLNL’s complete onsite manufacturing complex, which…
New Big Ideas Lab episode explores how additive manufacturing is reshaping the future
Imagine a world of manufacturing no longer constrained by complexity or traditional materials, and where previously impossible engineering designs are suddenly possible. That’s the promise of additive manufacturing (AM), the focus of the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast. The episode delves into the past, present and future of AM, featuring experts from Lawrence…
Fast-curing silicone ink opens new doors in 3D printing
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new method to 3D print sturdy silicone structures that are bigger, taller, thinner and more porous than ever before. The team’s two-part “fast cure” silicone-based ink for direct ink writing mixes just before printing and sets quickly at room temperature, allowing for longer print times,…
Malik Wagih’s global exploration of material defects
Malik Wagih is a 2024 Lawrence Fellow in the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate’s Materials Science Division at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), where he studies defects in metals. His journey to materials science research at Livermore has taken him across the country and the world. Wagih is originally from Cairo, Egypt, where he enjoyed playing soccer…
Measuring in-situ ablation depth in aluminum
When laser energy is deposited in a target material, numerous complex processes take place at length and time scales that are too small to visually observe. To study and ultimately fine-tune such processes, researchers look to computer modeling. However, these simulations rely on accurate equation of state (EOS) models to describe the thermodynamic properties — such as…
HPC for Energy Innovation program announces funding for new projects
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) program recently announced the funding of $4 million for 10 new projects, including three collaborations involving Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) aimed at improving carbon capture, energy savings and CO2 reduction. In a partnership of LLNL, First Light Solutions and…
3D-printed electrode is all charged up
The architectural design of electrodes offers new opportunities for next-generation electrochemical energy storage devices (EESDs) by increasing surface area, thickness and storage capacity. But conventional thick electrodes increase ion diffusion length and cause larger ion-concentration gradients, limiting reaction kinetics, including storage capacity. To overcome these…
3D-printed solutions for electronics protection
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection is a significant concern in the chemical and electronics industries. In electronics, ESD often causes integrated circuit failures due to rapid voltage and current discharges from charged objects, such as human fingers or tools. With the help of 3D printing techniques, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are …
