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Lawrence Livermore unveils NNSA's Sierra, world's third fastest supercomputer

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and its industry partners today officially unveiled Sierra, one of the world’s fastest supercomputers, at a dedication ceremony to celebrate the system’s completion. Sierra will serve the NNSA’s three nuclear security laboratories, LLNL, Sandia National…

NIF sets new laser energy record

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser system has set a new record, firing 2.15 megajoules (MJ) of energy to its target chamber -- a 15 percent improvement over NIF’s design specification of 1.8 MJ, and more than 10 percent higher than the previous 1.9 MJ energy record set in March 2012. This demonstration shot successfully…

LLNL's Sierra is third fastest supercomputer

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) next-generation supercomputer, Sierra, is the third-fastest computing system in the world, according to the TOP500 list announced today at the International Supercomputing Conference in Frankfurt, Germany. Expected to be fully operational this fall, Sierra will support the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA)…

Lawrence Livermore geophysicist receives NNSA Administrator's Gold Award

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory geophysicist and a leader in the Global Security Principal Directorate Jay Zucca has received one of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) top awards for his work in nonproliferation and nuclear security.Zucca, principal deputy for Global Security, was presented with the NNSA Administrator’s Distinguished Service Gold…

National Ignition Facility tops 400 shots in FY16

LIVERMORE, California – On Sept. 18, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) performed its 400th experiment of fiscal year (FY) 2016, meeting the year's goal several weeks early. In comparison, the facility completed 356 experiments in FY15 and 191 experiments in FY14. NIF is on track to complete 415 experiments by the end of the fiscal year, more than doubling its FY14…

Nonproliferation research nets excellence medal

Anne Harrington, the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) deputy administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, recently presented the NNSA Excellence Medal to Leon Berzins for the successful Source Physics Experiment 4 Prime (SPE4) campaign at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).The experiments, designed to provide a better understanding of seismo…

Lab wins NNSA Sustainability Award

Green might be the color of a beautifully landscaped campus. But at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), gold is the color of success.Since embarking on an ambitious plan this year to conserve water across the board, the Lab saved more than 10 percent of the 240 million gallons of water it consumes annually. That includes letting turf return to California’s…

Next-generation supercomputer coming to Lab

Livermore, California -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) today announced a contract with IBM to deliver a next-generation supercomputer in 2017. The system, to be called Sierra, will serve the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC) program.Procurement of Sierra is part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)…

Proposals sought for next-generation supercomputing technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have issued a request for proposals to further develop "extreme scale" supercomputer technology.The latest request for proposals (RFP) is now available on the Web. Contracts will total about $100 million, and the funding period will be from July of this year to…

NNSA's Kusnezov visits the Navajo Nation to discuss Energy and STEM education

Dimitri Kusnezov, chief scientist and director of the Office of Science and Policy for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), recently visited the Navajo Nation in the four corners area to gain a better understanding of tribal efforts in energy and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. Steve Grey of the Lawrence Livermore National…

LLNL sustainability efforts recognized by NNSA

Three of Lawrence Livermore's sustainability projects have been recognized by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with 2013 Sustainability Awards.The awards recognize exemplary individual and team performance in advancing sustainability objectives through innovative and effective programs and projects that increase energy, water and fleet efficiency and…

LLNL hosts plasma physics summer school

Three students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participated in a two-week plasma physics summer school at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The course, "Introduction to the Analysis of Spectra from High-Temperature Plasmas," was a concentrated introduction to the study of astrophysical plasmas, magnetic fusion plasmas and laser…

Laser fusion experiment yields record energy at LLNL's National Ignition Facility

LIVERMORE, Calif. -- In the early morning hours of Aug.13, Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility (NIF) focused all 192 of its ultra-powerful laser beams on a tiny deuterium-tritium filled capsule. In the nanoseconds that followed, the capsule imploded and released a neutron yield of nearly 3x10 15 , or approximately 8,000 joules of neutron energy -- approximately…

Lab teams receive NNSA funding for STEM education in minority partnership

The Lab is one of six Department of Energy (DOE) sites that will receive funding along with 22 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), for research areas in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced in a press release that it has awarded $4 million in grants to eight teams comprised…

LLNL researchers receive nearly $2.75 million for high energy density projects

The Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Office of Science (SC) have awarded more than $14 million in research awards as part of the Joint Program in High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas (HEDLP). Six LLNL researchers received nearly $2.75 million for their projects. "These awards demonstrate the strong and valuable partnership…

NNSA completes removal of high security special nuclear material from the Laboratory

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Friday announced that the last of the Security Category I/II special nuclear material items that required the highest level of security at the Laboratory have been removed. LLNL's primary mission will continue to be to ensure the safety, security and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile, but this mission will…

Michel McCoy honored with first NNSA Science and Technology Award

Michel McCoy, whose pioneering work in high performance computing established Lawrence Livermore as a world renowned supercomputing center, was honored Thursday with the National Nuclear Security Administration's Science and Technology Award.McCoy received the award for "16 years of dedicated and relentless pursuit of excellence" from NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino…

NNSA's Sequoia supercomputer ranked as world's fastest

Supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Lab passes 16 petaflopsWASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that a supercomputer called Sequoia at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) was ranked the world's most powerful computing system.Clocking in at 16.32 sustained petaflops (quadrillion floating point operations…

LLNL garners 'Best in Class' award from NNSA

The NNSA announced in a press release last week the Pollution Prevention Awards (P2) given to its national laboratories and sites for innovative initiatives. The P2 awards recognize performance in integrating environmental stewardship practices that helps to reduce risk, protect natural resources and enhance site operations. In addition to three awards given to the Lab in…