National Ignition Facility & Photon Science

Video: Igniting Scientific Discovery with AI and Supercomputing

June 10, 2024-

LLNL’s ignition breakthrough at NIF was enabled by a combination of traditional fusion target design methods, world-class supercomputing, and artificial intelligence techniques.

Video: The Latest Developments in Fusion Energy

May 30, 2024-

In a presentation at the United Kingdom’s Royal Institution, LLNL plasma physicist Tammy Ma discussed ICF experiments at NIF and explained why “we are at a pivotal moment in fusion research.

Lab employees and guests had the opportunity to peer inside the target chamber of the three lasers at the Jupiter Laser Facility.

Jupiter Laser Facility Gets a Reboot

May 21, 2024-

JLF helps to “deliver what we need for stockpile stewardship and Discovery Science,” NIF & Photon Science Principal Associate Director Jeff Wisoff said during the facility’s reopening celebration.

Elizabeth Grace (LLNL, right) and Filip Grepl (ELI Beamlines, left) assemble the PROBIES diagnostic

Machine Learning Optimizes High-Power Laser Experiments

May 20, 2024-

LLNL, Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology, and Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI ERIC) scientists collaborated on an experiment that used machine learning to optimize performance of the L3-HAPLS laser, which was developed at LLNL.

World’s Most Powerful Supercomputers List

May 13, 2024-

Three new systems currently or soon-to-be sited at LLNL, including one already used to model ICF experiments at NIF, debuted on the latest Top500 list of most powerful supercomputers in the world.

STEM Day Students Tour NIF

April 30, 2024-

LLNL hosted about 200 students and chaperones from the Central Valley for “STEM Day at the Lab,” which included a tour of NIF that was supported by 37 volunteers.