News

LLNL Researchers Uncover Key to Resolving ICF Hohlraum Drive Deficit

LLNL researchers made advancements in resolving the long-standing “drive-deficit” problem in indirect-drive ICF experiments. This could pave the way for more accurate predictions and improved performance of fusion experiments at NIF.

Two LLNL Physicists Honored for International Collaboration

LLNL physicists Hye-Sook Park and George Swadling, Anna Grassi of France’s Sorbonne University, and former Lawrence Fellow Frederico Fiuza of Portugal’s Técnico Lisboa, received the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.

Celebrating Ignition at City Center Bishop Ranch

Visitors to City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon can now learn about LLNL’s historic fusion ignition achievement while they shop and dine thanks to a new art installation on the exterior of the center.

Advancements in Z-Pinch Fusion: New Insights From Plasma Pressure Profiles

LLNL scientists reported advancements in understanding plasma pressure profiles within flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion, a candidate for achieving net gain fusion energy in a compact device.

When Experiments Go Quiet: Maintaining the National Ignition Facility

When the lasers at NIF stop firing, the facility is anything but quiet. Facility maintenance and refurbishment teams work to keep NIF as finely tuned as a Formula One racecar (story includes a video).

LLNL Honors 23 as Distinguished Members of Technical Staff

Craig Siders and Vladimir Smalyuk from NIF&PS are among the 23 LLNL researchers named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff.

NIF Takes a Quantum Leap into Elusive Metallic Hydrogen

Experiments are underway in NIF’s Discovery Science program as researchers try to characterize hydrogen’s optical properties and equation of state — and perhaps create the metallic state of hydrogen predicted decades ago.

Fusion Ignition and the Path to Inertial Fusion Energy

The cover story in the latest edition of The Bridge magazine discusses LLNL’s achievement of ignition and what it means for stockpile stewardship and inertial fusion energy.

LLNL’s Annie Kritcher Honored with Liberty Science Center’s ‘Genius Award’

The Liberty Science Center of New Jersey presented LLNL physicist Annie Kritcher with its “Genius Award” for her work on the Lab team that achieved fusion ignition.

Video: Igniting Scientific Discovery with AI and Supercomputing

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

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.

Jupiter Laser Facility Gets a Reboot

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.

Machine Learning Optimizes High-Power Laser Experiments

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

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

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.

Comic Book Tells the Story of Ignition

LLNL illustrator John Jett used comic book art as another method for explaining how a Lab experiment at NIF made history.

Celebrating World Intellectual Property Day

The NIF and Photon Science directorate has a strong portfolio of lasers and optics patents.

Video: Simulation of Burning Plasma Shot on NIF

What does burning plasma look like? This simulation of a pivotal fusion experiment at NIF is an example of a next-generation multi-physics code that could advance high performance computing and engineering.

Ignition Takes Center Stage at NIF and JLF User Groups Meeting

Ignition took center stage at this year’s LLNL National Ignition Facility and Jupiter Laser Facility (NIF and JLF) User Groups Meeting.

Carolyn Albiston: A Modern Renaissance Woman

NIF Shot Data Systems software engineer Carolyn Albiston was curious about everything while growing up—sharks, fungi, the science of color—and about how different topics fit together.