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Physical and Life Sciences
PLS names outstanding postdocs
What makes an outstanding postdoc? Ask members of the Physical and Life Sciences Directorate (PLS) who last month bequeathed the title on four individuals during an awards presentation by former Principal Associate Director Bill Goldstein.This award is given to postdocs with an exceptional level of accomplishment while working at LLNL. The 2012 PLS Outstanding Postdocs are…
Changing the dynamics of bulk materials
Lawrence Livermore researchers have developed a new bulk material whose physical properties can be dynamically changed by an external signal. The scientists came up with a method to fabricate mass-producible graphene-based bulk materials from low-cost polymer-derived carbon foams by selectively removing carbon atoms from a network composed of both unstructured carbon and…
Livermore experiments illuminate how order arises in the cosmos
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- One of the unsolved mysteries of contemporary science is how highly organized structures can emerge from the random motion of particles. This applies to many situations ranging from astrophysical objects that extend over millions of light years to the birth of life on Earth. The surprising discovery of self-organized electromagnetic fields in counter…
Paper explores new regimes in fast ignition
Nearly 20 years ago, a group of researchers at the Laboratory proposed a hole boring process that would serve as the original scheme for fast ignition. Today, LLNL researchers are pushing this research ahead into new regimes. When a laser beam is reflected from a mirror, a finite amount of momentum - carried by light - is transferred to the mirror so that the mirror is…
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…
LLNL researchers authored five of top 10 cited papers in Physics of Plasmas
Five out of the top 10 Physics of Plasma (PoP) papers for all time have LLNL researchers as first authors and co-authors.This recognition by the scientific community is strongly indicative of LLNL's signature core competencies in plasma physics and high-energy-density science.The five LLNL-authored papers in the Physics of Plasmas' "top 10 list" are:J. Lindl, "Development…
100th shot for LLNL's 'gun in the desert'
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's JASPER gas gun has fired its 100th shot. JASPER (the Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research) is a key scientific tool for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). This program's combination of computer simulations, scientific theory and above-ground experiments has allowed the…
Reyes receives ANS Professional Women's Achievement Award
LLNL nuclear engineer Susana Reyes is the 2012 recipient of the American Nuclear Society Mary Jane Oestmann Professional Women's Achievement Award. In addition to receiving this prestigious award, Reyes has had a dynamic career taking her around the globe. Reyes serves as vice-chair of the ANS Fusion Energy Division. The award recognizes Reyes' "leadership in developing…
Sufficient wind energy available to meet global demands without damaging climate
LIVERMORE, Calif. --Though there is enough power in the earth's winds to be a primary source of near-zero emission electric power for the world, large-scale high altitude wind power generation is unlikely to substantially affect climate. That is the conclusion of a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory climate scientist and collaborators who studied the geophysical limits…
LLNL stars in documentary about sinking of the Lusitania
The Laboratory has a starring role in an upcoming National Geographic documentary about the sinking of the British passenger ship Lusitania during the early part of World War I.On May 7, 1915, prior to the U.S. entry into the war, a single, well-placed German torpedo struck the RMS Lusitania passenger liner with 1,959 passengers on board, en route from New York to…
Stephen Klein receives AGU's Ascent Award
Stephen Klein, a climate scientist working in the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison, has been awarded the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Atmospheric Sciences Section's Ascent Award. The AGU is recognizing Klein's research "elucidating the role of clouds in climate change and the fidelity with which climate models simulate clouds." As a specialist in…
Gold hits its golden age as a high-tech material
Gold isn't just for wedding bands anymore. D espite its reputation as an inert material, nanostructured gold is a very promising candidate as a catalyst, optic, sensor, energy harvester as well as an energy storer. The Laboratory's Juergen Biener and Arne Wittstock and colleagues have explored the field by editing a Royal Society of Chemistry book "Nanoporous Gold: From an…
Marine species at risk unless drastic protection policies put in place
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Many marine species will be harmed or won't survive if the levels of carbon dioxide continue to increase. Current protection policies and management practices are unlikely to be enough to save them. Unconventional, non-passive methods to conserve marine ecosystems need to be considered if various marine species are to survive. This is the conclusion of…
Two Lab biomedical scientists named fellows
Two Laboratory biomedical scientists have recently been named fellows. Carolyn Hall and Dina Weilhammer both work in LLNL's Biosciences and Biotechnology Division. Hall, 34, a microbiologist and analyst with the Biodefense Knowledge Center (BKC), has been selected as a 2012-13 Fellow of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative. Weilhammer, 30, an immunologist, has…
Tom Slezak to advise Department of Defense on biodefense
Bioinformatics expert Tom Slezak is no stranger to the National Academy of Science (NAS), having served on two committees since 2009. Recently, he was asked to join a standing committee chartered by the Department of Defense (DoD) to advise the DoD on biodefense issues, a much broader scope than either of his previous committee mandates. The NAS in Washington, D.C., is the…
New insight into independent control of ionic and electronic conductivity of materials
Lab researchers have discovered a new method to control the conductivity of materials that could eventually apply to fuel cells, batteries and gas sensors. Postdoc Cedric Rocha-Le?o, working with Condensed Matter and Materials Division's Vince Lordi, has found a new method to independently control ionic and electronic conductivities in certain solids. The method, which…
Research provides new insights into actinide electronic structure
A team of DOE researchers from the Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley and Los Alamos national laboratories and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, studying the fundamental properties of the actinide elements, has significantly advanced the understanding of the electronic structure of elements that have electrons occupying f-orbitals. Using a state-of-the-art, synchrotron…
Ballet and fast cars take back seat to national security science
By day, Heather Whitley is a design physicist studying transport processes in dense plasmas, such as those relevant to LLNL's National Ignition Facility. During evenings and on weekends, she dances and volunteers with Livermore's nonprofit ballet company, the Valley Dance Theatre. And she likes to get there in a hurry while driving her 2011 Camaro SS. Whitley, who turns 32…
New desalination technique uses flow-through electrodes for faster desalination and lower cost
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have developed a new capacitive desalination technique that could ultimately lower the cost and time of desalinating seawater. In capacitive desalination (CD), a voltage is applied between two porous electrodes to adsorb ions onto the electrode surface and thus remove them from the feed stream. Traditionally, due to the…
Lab hosts workshop with research universities to address energy challenges
To lay the foundation for stronger collaborations to address national energy problems, the Laboratory recently invited researchers from leading universities to exchange ideas and mathematical approaches for leveraging high performance computing, and to identify areas for cooperative research. "This exchange of ideas is a great opportunity to build on existing…
