Back
Academic Engagement
A decade of discovery: the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory begins survey of the sky
The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory marked a major milestone with the beginning of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a 10-year effort to capture the universe in unprecedented detail. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) engineer and former project manager for the LSST Camera, Vincent Riot reflected on the culmination of the project and the journey…
Meet LLNL interns: advancing engineering, national security and artificial intelligence
Each summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) welcomes students from broad academic backgrounds who bring fresh perspectives and technical expertise to the Lab’s mission. This year, interns are contributing to engineering, national security, high-energy laser research and artificial intelligence. Meet four interns and learn how their LLNL experiences are…
LLNL celebrates incoming and graduating machinist apprentices
Central to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) prestigious Machinist Apprenticeship Program is a tradition of mentorship and support. That was evident on July 23, when four new apprentices joined the program and three graduating apprentices transitioned to state-certified machinists. “We are so proud of you,” said Manuel Iniguez, Manufacturing Engineering…
LLNL students, mentors put agentic AI tools to work at cross-laboratory clinic
Nearly 100 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) students, mentors and staff joined colleagues from across the Department of Energy (DOE) complex recently for a hands-on clinic focused on using agentic artificial intelligence tools in real scientific and technical work. Held in the Lab’s Research Library, the 2026 Cross-Laboratory AI Clinic combined shared…
LLNL, UC Davis announce strategic collaboration to innovate food systems
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the University of California, Davis Innovation Institute for Food & Health (IIFH) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance scientific discovery, technology translation and innovation across food systems and human health. “Lawrence Livermore's mission has always been to apply cutting-edge science and…
First high-resolution images of chlamydia protein pave the way for better vaccine designs
Chlamydia is the most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the world, with 150 million people infected in 2023. Although the infection can be treated with antibiotics, it often leads to infertility and other health problems. A safe and effective chlamydia vaccine would help prevent asymptomatic but transmissible infections that often go undiagnosed. For 40…
LLNL selected to lead 10 projects under DOE’s Genesis Mission
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have been selected to lead 10 Phase I projects under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission, applying AI to challenges spanning high-performance computing (HPC), fusion energy, Earth systems science, materials discovery, biology, quantum technologies and fundamental physics. LLNL…
A new way to connect with LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is home to some of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the century — from fusion ignition and exascale computing to monolithic telescopes. But thanks to LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO), those breakthroughs don’t remain inside the fence. “We connect cutting-edge science with real-world applications,…
NASA’s Psyche mission tests LLNL-built gamma-ray sensor on Mars flyby
On a multi-billion-mile journey to the asteroid Psyche, a gamma-ray sensor developed by a team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) took its first measurements of a planetary surface after 2.6 years in deep space. NASA’s Psyche spacecraft flew behind Mars for a gravity assist, with the red planet’s gravitational field acting as a slingshot to change the flight…
“AI Science at Scale” summit showcases advances in AI-enabled research and innovation
Recently, the University of California (UC), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) convened researchers and leaders from across the UC system in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the first annual AI Science at Scale summit. The summit was planned in recognition of AI’s growing role in scientific discovery and the Department of…
Modernizing high-explosives manufacturing
For decades, manufacturing plastic-bonded high explosives, or PBXs, has relied on legacy processes like slurry coating. In this method, explosive crystals are mixed with a binder, a polymer that helps hold the material together, to form small granules called prills. Those prills are then pressed into dense explosive parts. This process is difficult to control, inefficient…
Measuring iron in motion at earth-core conditions
It was a journey to the center of the Earth, if only for the briefest of moments. But rather than tunneling thousands of miles from the Earth’s surface, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and several universities used the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to recreate those extreme temperature and pressure conditions of the Earth’s inner core…
Registration open for Real-World Quantum Computing workshop at LLNL
Registration is now open for the 2026 Real-World Quantum Computing workshop, jointly hosted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and San Jose State University (SJSU). The two-day workshop is designed for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students in engineering, physics or related fields. Interns are encouraged to apply. Applications will be accepted on a…
Researchers create first-of-a-kind laser spring with LLNL’s highest-precision optics to date
When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening up new possibilities for fusion energy, particle acceleration, astrophysics and beyond. In new…
Laser experiments push helium to record shock pressures
Deep inside gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, hydrogen and helium coexist under pressures millions of times greater than Earth’s atmosphere. At those conditions, helium may separate from hydrogen and influence a planet’s internal heat flow, structure and magnetic field. Understanding these processes and how these materials behave under extreme conditions is essential to…
Meet LLNL: Workforce Development Administrator Shaine Athey
Shaine Athey did not follow a linear path to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), but she helped create one for others. A workforce development administrator in the Engineering Directorate’s Associate Director’s Office, Athey works in recruiting and workplace development programming. Her job centers on bringing people together, from students arriving for summer…
Agreement opens new opportunities for LLNL, UC Merced
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC Merced have long been partners in cutting-edge science and technology. University students and researchers take part in numerous lab activities such as the Data Science Challenge, which brings students to Livermore to for an intensive two-week summer experience where they collaborate on complex scientific and…
LLNL’s Big Ideas Lab podcast goes behind the scenes of the National Lab Research SLAM
Finalists representing each of the 17 U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories gathered at the Congressional Auditorium for the first National Lab Research SLAM in 2023. With one slide, three minutes and months of preparation behind them, each scientist stepped up to the microphone to explain their research through compelling storytelling to an audience outside of…
Bridging the gap between neuromorphic ionic computing and more efficient AI
The human brain is the ultimate supercomputer. It uses a highly-branched and interconnected network of neurons and synapses to achieve massive computational power with extreme efficiency. In the age of AI, the brain, a paradigm of efficient neuromorphic computing, is providing inspiration for scientists. Ionic computing — which uses ions to compute instead of the electrons…
LLNL, UC San Diego host workshop for innovative fusion concepts
More than 80 attendees recently gathered at the University of California (UC) Livermore Collaboration Center for the Innovative Concepts for Inertial Fusion Energy (IC-IFE) 2026 International Physics Workshop. Hosted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC San Diego, the three-day conference was supported by the Japan-U.S. Collaboration Program in Fusion…
