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Physical and Life Sciences
Nanotube growth moving in the right direction
For the first time, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and collaborators have captured a movie of how large populations of carbon nanotubes grow and align themselves.Understanding how carbon nanotubes (CNT) nucleate, grow and self-organize to form macroscale materials is critical for application-oriented design of next-generation supercapacitors, electronic…
Meet Ivy Krystal Jones
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles highlighting the diverse group of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory postdocs and graduate scholars.The postdoc program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory provides opportunities for postdocs to conduct world-class research in an exciting, diverse and often interdisciplinary environment. Postdocs are involved in…
Plate tectonics go to the core
The heat from Earth’s core has a significant effect on tectonic plate movement.The new research challenges the previous school of thought that movement of Earth’s tectonic plates is driven largely by negative buoyancy created as they cool.The team, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Nathan Simmons and university collaborators, combined observations…
Meet Tom Braun
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles highlighting the diverse group of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) postdocs and graduate scholars.___________________ Full Name: Tom BraunHometown: Berlin, GermanyEducation: Braun received his master’s degree in physics from Technical University Munich, Germany and his Ph.D. in materials science from Technical…
Lab pulsed-ion beam experiments reveal radiation damage processes in silicon
Materials scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have used a novel pulsed-ion-beam method to identify mechanisms of radiation defect formation in silicon.The research could have implications for improvements in modern electronics performance.Understanding radiation defects in crystals has been a major materials physics challenge for decades. Stable…
Carbon-free energy from solar water splitting
A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist and collaborators are fine tuning the mechanisms to generate hydrogen from water and sunlight. Hydrogen production offers a promising approach for producing scalable and sustainable carbon-free energy. The key to a successful solar-to-fuel technology is the design of efficient, long-lasting and low-cost…
Meet Madison Martin
Editor's Note: This is one in a series of articles highlighting the diverse group of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory postdocs and graduate scholars._________Full name: Madison MartinHometown: Cooper City, FloridaEducational background: Martin received a bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Florida Atlantic University Honors College, her master’s degree in…
Janus Laser Furthers Planetary Defense Research
Defending Earth against incoming asteroids—uncommon but potentially catastrophic threats—is no easy task. Without convenient, cost-effective ways to experiment directly on asteroids in the solar system, scientists run simulations and conduct high-energy-density experiments on asteroid fragments with lasers. Those who need to study matter under extreme conditions find a…
Recreating conditions inside stars in the laboratory with compact lasers
Using compact lasers, a team including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists has created pressures more than a billion atmospheres, equivalent to the pressure in the center of a star.These conditions of extreme pressure and energy density have previously been created in the laboratory only with the world's largest lasers, which are the size of stadiums…
Going inside to get a more efficient catalyst
New research shows that the phases that nano-structured materials go through to become an efficient catalyst are as good as gold.Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) material scientist Juergen Biener and collaborators found that by restructuring nanoporous gold alloys they become more efficient catalysts.Nano-structured materials hold promise for improving…
Lab materials scientist accepts joint appointment with Washington State
Staff scientist Mukul Kumar from the Materials Engineering Division will serve a joint position with both Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Washington State University (WSU). This is only the third joint appointment for LLNL. Joint appointments tie both institutions together in a more formal way and contribute to work that is mutually beneficial.Kumar will…
Astronomers discover cosmic double whammy
Astronomers have discovered a cosmic one-two punch unlike any ever seen before. Two of the most powerful phenomena in the universe, a supermassive black hole and the collision of giant galaxy clusters, have combined to create a stupendous cosmic particle accelerator.By combining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India…
Novel Scintillator Improves X-Ray Imaging
A Livermore team has developed a first-of-its kind transparent ceramic scintillator that significantly improves throughput for CT-based 3D imaging for manufacturing and other applications.
Lord of the Rings – synthesizing a five-membered ring nitrogen compound
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists in collaboration with University of South Florida theorists recently reported the synthesis and equation of state of a long sought-after five-ring nitrogen (N5) compound.The ring-structure compounds, known as pentazolates, are the last all-nitrogen members of the azole series. They have been notoriously elusive for…
Lab technology on board space weather monitoring satellite
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators have developed a key technology for one of the instruments that are flying on board the next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s space weather monitoring fleet launched late last month.GOES-R…
East Greenland ice sheet has responded to climate change for the last 7.5 million years
Using marine sediment cores containing isotopes of aluminum and beryllium, a group of international researchers has discovered that East Greenland experienced deep, ongoing glacial erosion over the past 7.5 million years. The research reconstructs ice sheet erosion dynamics in that region during the past 7.5 million years and has potential implications for how much the ice…
UCOP awards grants and fellowships to collaborate with Lawrence Livermore
The University of California Office of the President awarded more than $14 million to four grants and four graduate fellowships to collaborate with staff scientists at Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. UC scientists received $7.9 million to work with Lawrence Livermore researchers on two of the research grants and two in-residence graduate…
Thinning of Antarctic glacier began in 1940s
New research by an international team shows that the present thinning and retreat of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is part of a climatically forced trend that was triggered in the 1940s. The team -- made up of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the British Antarctic Survey, University of Copenhagen, University of Alaska, Naval Postgraduate…
Friedmann receives Greenman Award
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) energy guru Julio Friedmann has been honored with the Greenman Award by the Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies (GHGT) conference series. Friedmann is recognized for his tireless efforts to promote carbon capture and storage, particularly at large scale. This award is given to those who have made career-scale impact on the…
New measurements of oceanic organic matter help scientists in understanding of climate
Researchers have found that new measurements of the size, age and composition of organic matter in the Pacific Ocean affects short-term and long-term climate impacts. The findings could have implications for climate in terms of how long organic matter is stored in the ocean before being converted into CO2 and re-entering the atmosphere. Marine organic matter is one of…
