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Physical and Life Sciences
When carbon crystallizes: molecular simulations reveal why graphite outshines diamond
There’s a reason why engagement rings are more expensive than wooden pencils. Diamond and graphite are both made of crystallized carbon, but diamond is much rarer. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers including Margaret Berrens at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) created molecular dynamics simulations to explain what material forms when…
Samples from asteroid Bennu contain secrets of the early solar system
In September 2023, NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security–Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission became the first U.S. mission to collect a sample of material from an asteroid and return it to Earth. Now, a team including researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has analyzed that material. Their work, published in…
Carbon nanotube ‘smart windows’ offer energy savings
Half of the sun's radiant energy falls outside of the visible spectrum. On a cold day, this extra infrared light provides additional warmth to residential and commercial buildings. On a warm day, it leads to unwanted heating that must be dealt with through energy-intensive climate control methods such as air-conditioning. Visibly transparent “smart windows” that can…
LLNL’s Luis Zepeda-Ruiz wins prestigious award from American Association for Crystal Growth
At a conference held this summer, the American Association for Crystal Growth (AACG) recognized Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Luis Zepeda-Ruiz with its Gentile Service Award for “long and meritorious service to the crystal growth community.” Named after Tony Gentile, who spent many years serving AACG, this honor has only been bestowed four times…
LLNL demonstrates new model that explains plutonium’s peculiar behavior
Normally, materials expand when heated. Higher temperatures cause atoms to vibrate, bounce around and take up a larger volume. However, for one specific phase of plutonium — called delta-plutonium — the opposite inexplicably occurs: it shrinks above room temperature. As part of its national security mission, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) aims to predict the…
Meet LLNL: Three interns on what makes the Lab special
Each summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) welcomes a new cohort of talented interns from all academic backgrounds, eager to contribute to groundbreaking research and real-world problem-solving. In this article, three interns share their unique perspectives on what makes LLNL a truly special place to learn and grow. From pioneering artificial intelligence…
LLNL pushes frontier of fusion target design with AI
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have reached a milestone in combining AI with fusion target design by deploying AI agents on two of the world’s most powerful supercomputers to automate and accelerate inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. Part of an AI framework called the Multi-Agent Design Assistant (MADA), LLNL scientists and…
LLNL’s Sichi Li appointed to JACS Au Early Career Advisory Board
JACS Au, an open-access journal from the American Chemical Society, has selected Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) staff scientist Sichi Li to serve on its 2025–2026 Early Career Advisory Board. JACS Au publishes high-impact, cutting-edge research across the full spectrum of chemistry and related disciplines. The Early Career Advisory Board is composed of…
LLNL researchers train liquid droplets to play tic-tac-toe
Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are driving up the demand for massive sources of energy. But neuromorphic computing, which aims to mimic the structure and function of the human brain, could present a new paradigm for energy-efficient computing. To this end, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) created a droplet-based platform…
First-of-its-kind microscope takes 3D ghost images of nanoparticles
Ghost imaging is like a game of Battleship. Instead of seeing an object directly, scientists use entangled photons to remove the background and reveal its silhouette. This method can be used to study microscopic environments without much light, which is helpful for avoiding photodamage to biological samples. So far, quantum ghost imaging has been limited to two dimensions,…
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory leads groundbreaking DeNOVO initiative in AI antibody design
In a pioneering project aimed at revolutionizing the design of antibodies and antibody-like molecules through the power of AI, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is working to transform medical countermeasure development and biologics discovery. The project is part of an interagency agreement between the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health and the…
Deep-learning model predicts how toxic plumes move through cities
In 2023, a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. In 2025, a series of destructive wildfires ravaged Los Angeles. In both cases, a toxic plume — a cloud of harmful airborne materials that disperse over time and space due to wind and turbulence — was released. Toxic plumes from industrial accidents, chemical spills and structural fires can pose…
Self-driving lab to automate the discovery of novel alloys
Pure metals like aluminum or titanium don’t always have the desired material properties — strength, hardness, ductility or corrosion resistance — for a given application. For this reason, researchers seek out novel alloy solutions, mixing a primary metal element with a series of other elements to create a material with tailored properties for uses in aerospace, defense,…
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…
LLNL and Purdue University accelerate discovery of medical countermeasures for emerging chemical threats
In a major advance for chemical defense and public safety, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Forensic Science Center (FSC) and Purdue University have developed and demonstrated a high-throughput, automated mass spectrometry platform. Their platform dramatically accelerates the discovery of medical countermeasure candidates against A-series…
Lasers measure liquid carbon structure for the first time
Carbon, one of the most abundant elements in the universe, constitutes many key components of life and technology. Because of this, the material is very well-studied — at least in its solid form. As a liquid, carbon structure is very difficult to measure because the state of matter only exists at extreme pressures and temperatures. In a recent study, published in Nature,…
Big Ideas Lab podcast delves into Forensic Science Center cases, podcast nears milestone
In May 1999, Bulgarian customs officials seized a vial containing a small amount of highly enriched uranium (HEU) at a checkpoint on the Bulgarian/Romanian border. The material, about four grams of HEU, was hidden in a shielded lead container inside the trunk of a car being driven by a Turkish citizen. The driver had first attempted to sell the material in Turkey and then…
LLNL watch party shows off Rubin telescope’s first images
The NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a major new scientific facility jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, released its first imagery at an event in Washington, D.C., on June 23. The imagery shows cosmic phenomena captured at an unprecedented scale. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)…
New machine learning project will advance real-time seismic monitoring across energy industries
A new initiative designed to revolutionize seismic monitoring and forecasting using real time, advanced machine learning (ML) technologies is coming to the West Texas/New Mexico area. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) awarded $1.8 million in funding to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The TCF is administrated by the…
Cancer drug candidate developed using supercomputing & AI blocks tumor growth without toxic side effect
A new cancer drug candidate developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), BBOT (BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics) and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR) has demonstrated the ability to block tumor growth without triggering a common and debilitating side effect. In early clinical trials, the compound, known as BBO-10203, has shown…
