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Glacier retreat study helps predictions of climate future
Tropical glaciers in Africa and South America began their retreat simultaneously at the end of the last ice age about 20,000 years ago, according to a recent study by a multi-institutional research team that includes Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Susan Zimmerman. The finding of synchrony in ice retreat across the global tropics clarifies how the low…
Lab researchers develop 3D ‘brain-on-a-chip’ device capable of long-term recording of neural activity
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) engineers and biologists have developed a “brain-on-a-chip” device capable of recording the neural activity of living brain cell cultures in three dimensions, a significant advancement in the realistic modeling of the human brain outside of the body. In a paper published by the journal Lab on a Chip, LLNL researchers report on…
Deep learning may provide solution for efficient charging, driving of autonomous electric vehicles
The future of commuter traffic probably looks something like this: ride-hailing companies operating fleets of autonomous electric vehicles alongside an increasing number of semi-autonomous EVs co-piloted by humans, all supported by a large infrastructure of charging stations. This scenario is particularly likely in California, which has committed to reducing carbon…
3D-printed aerogel electrodes boost energy storage
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and Sun Yat-Sen University have developed a new class of aerogel electrodes with a simultaneous boost in energy and power density. The research could be a boon for the energy storage industry. “This is the first example in which we were…
Lab physicist to lead APS’ plasma physics division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Denise Hinkel has been elected vice chair of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics (DPP). Her term as vice chair began last month and is the first step in a four-year leadership commitment with APS, which culminates with service as APS-DPP chair in year three. As vice chair, Hinkel will lead…
Brooks awarded John S. Foster Jr. Medal
National security leaders past and present filled the Bldg. 453 auditorium last month to pay tribute to one of the nation’s visionaries in the fields of nuclear deterrence and arms control, former ambassador for arms control, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), nuclear submarine officer and the 2019 recipient of the John S. Foster, Jr…
Frustraum hohlraum design is shaping up
Hohlraums shaped like cylinders have been the workhorse of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research for three decades. But now an angular hohlraum named “Frustraum” could become a key to the next stages of ICF research at the National Ignition Facility. The LLNL-designed Frustraum could enable a significant boost in the amount of laser-induced energy absorbed…
New TOP500 List unveiled: Sierra stays No. 2 with six other LLNL supercomputers in top 100
The latest TOP500 List of the world's most powerful computers was released today at the 2019 International Supercomputing Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC19) in Denver. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL's) IBM/NVIDIA Sierra supercomputer held steady at the No. 2 spot, one of seven Lab systems to crack the top 100,…
NIH looks to Lab to help develop chlamydia vaccine
A cooperative research center that aims to develop vaccines for chlamydia has been established by the National Institutes of Health at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The new center, to be funded under a five-year, $10.1 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will be a three-way partnership between LLNL and…
Artist wins award for ‘Best Comic Design’
Artist John Jett of the NIF & Photon Science Document Services Team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was honored with a special Adobe Government Creativity Award for creating an educational comic book explaining the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the types of careers that support the operation of the world’s largest and most energetic laser. Judges…
Six Lawrence Livermore scientists named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff
Six Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have been named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff (DMTS) for their extraordinary scientific and technical contributions to the Laboratory and its missions, as acknowledged by their professional peers and the larger community. Chris Carson of the Global Security Directorate, Larry Fried of the Materials…
Register now for the annual San Joaquin 'Expanding Your Horizons' Conference
Registration is open and spaces are filling up fast for the 26th annual San Joaquin Expanding Your Horizons (SJEYH) Conference, scheduled for Sat., Sept. 21, at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. SJEYH is a popular daylong event, serving young women in grades 6-12, designed to increase interest in and foster awareness of careers in science, technology, engineering…
Energy Department, Weill Foundation sign MOU to advance AI for biomedicine, health research
At an event held Monday at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Sandy Weill, founder of the Weill Family Foundation, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formally initiate a public-private partnership for artificial intelligence (AI), neurological disorders and related subjects. The partnership will apply DOE-fueled AI…
'Quantum annealer' shows promise in study
An international team of researchers, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Arjun Gambhir, has developed a new algorithm for solving polynomial systems of equations using a type of quantum computer called a "quantum annealer." The team systematically examined how this method scales when facing increasingly difficult mathematical equations, with…
Three Lawrence Livermore scientists named senior members of the Optical Society
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists Félicie Albert, Eyal Feigenbaum and Bruce Warner have been named senior members of the Optical Society (OSA), an international organization for optics and photonics scientists, engineers, educators and business leaders. Senior membership status recognizes members with more than 10 years of professional experience in…
Two-week workshop lets UC Merced students step into shoes of Lab computer scientists
University of California Merced student Asmaa Mohamed, who immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt in 2013, recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in developmental biology. She plans on pursuing her Ph.D. through Dartmouth College and is studying immunology in hopes of someday creating novel cancer immunotherapies. When Mohamed found out Lawrence Livermore National…
Ellen Tauscher, LLNS Board of Governors chair and former congresswoman, dies at 67
Former California Rep. Ellen O’Kane Tauscher — a centrist Democrat whose career took her from the New York Stock Exchange to Congress and then to negotiating major international nuclear arms treaties for the Obama administration — died Monday of complications from pneumonia at Stanford University Medical Center. She was 67. Tauscher had been serving as chair of the Board…
LLNL hosts DOE's 2019 Better Plants Technology Days to spur industry partnerships
Officials from the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) joined representatives from more than two dozen private companies in visiting Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on April 9 for the 2019 Better Plants Technology Days. The annual event, hosted this year at LLNL and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, is aimed at…
Tammy Ma named 'Woman of the Year'
Tammy Ma, an experimental plasma physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been named Woman of the Year for the 16th Assembly District by Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. "I am extremely pleased to announce Dr. Tammy Ma as my Woman of the Year for Assembly District 16. A Pleasanton resident and first-generation American, Dr. Ma is strongly…
A Nobel story -- from grad school to fairy tale
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has a reputation for developing world-leading lasers, ranging from the NOVA Petawatt to today’s ultra-high-peak-power laser systems, such as the Advanced Radiographic Capability and the High-repetition-rate Advanced Petawatt Laser. What these systems have in common is a foundational technology – chirped-pulse amplification (CPA),…
