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Physical and Life Sciences

Sonny Ly, deputy group leader for the Laser Material Interaction Science Group in LLNL’s Materials Science Division, conducts hands-on work supporting laser physics and laser-material interactions research. (Photo: Garry McLeod/LLNL)

Meet LLNL: Laser Material Interaction Deputy Group Leader Sonny Ly

Sonny Ly has built a career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) combining laser physics, materials science and mentorship. A deputy group leader in the Laser Material Interaction Science Group within the Materials Science Division under Physical and Life Sciences, Ly first came to the Lab in 2010 as a graduate student from the University of California, Davis…

LLNL scientists Nicholas Watkins and Sankar Raju Narayanasamy run a high-throughput screening system to test hundreds of enzymes for their ability to break down cellulose. (Photos: Blaise Douros/LLNL)

Screening enzymes to break down plant waste and produce valuable biofuels

Locked away inside the walls of plant cells lies a valuable source of energy: sugar. But to access that sugar — which could provide a domestic source of bioenergy that strengthens U.S. energy security — researchers must first break down cellulose, the structural component of plant cell walls. A team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has designed two high…

LLNL's Dan Casey speaks with US IFE conference attendees

LLNL experts help advance inertial fusion energy at U.S. IFE conference

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) joined their counterparts from national laboratories, universities, industry and government in a conference last month to discuss the progress, challenges and priorities for moving toward an inertial fusion energy (IFE) future in the United States. The U.S. IFE conference brought together the growing IFE…

An artist conception of a neutron star

NASA's Roman telescope poised to transform hunt for elusive neutron stars

Astronomers have long known that neutron stars, the crushed cores left behind after massive stars explode, should be scattered throughout the Milky Way galaxy. However, most of them are effectively invisible. A new study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics suggests NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could spot them anyway. Using detailed simulations of…

LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships Office and the rare-earth element biomining research team

LLNL researchers, partnerships office earn technology transfer awards

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) has recognized the commercialization efforts of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s researchers and Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) for the mission innovation impact of two Lab-developed technologies through a 2026 award and an honorable mention. IPO’s Business Development Executive (BDE) Yash Vaishnav and…

A diagram of a fuel-cell assembly

3D-printed interlocking electrodes demonstrate optimization potential for energy storage

Good electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can store a lot of energy and release it quickly, but these design goals are often at odds with each other. Using design optimization and 3D printing, a team led by engineers and scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have overcome this tradeoff and…

An image from the Pandora mission

Pandora mission images help prepare for exoplanet atmosphere observations

A symbolic milestone in the lead-up to mission-readiness: the Pandora Observatory transmitted its first engineering images from low-Earth orbit on Jan. 19, 2026. The CODA telescope, developed by a team of scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in partnership with Corning Incorporated, captured an abstract portrait of the cosmos as it…

The AVLIS program began at LLNL in 1973 and was suspended in 1999. Now, the technology is being revived to create a domestic process for enriching lithium and fuel an energy-resilient nation.

Revitalized laser technology captures commercialization grant

Small, modular nuclear fission reactors and fusion facilities could each be the future of resilient and secure energy in the U.S. and around the world. But these technologies rely on isotopes of lithium to cool fission reactors and create fusion fuel. Currently, there is no sustained, domestic production mechanism for lithium isotopes in the U.S. that meets projected…

Ground motion simulation of a magnitude 7 earthquake on the Hayward fault using the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory-Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Earthquake Simulation platform.

Simulations predict ground motion for earthquakes on Bay Area’s Hayward fault

The Hayward fault, part of the larger San Andreas fault system, runs 74 miles through the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The fault is overdue for an earthquake that could cause extensive damage to such a dense population zone. In a recent study, published in Seismological Research Letters, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Lawrence…

Researchers from all 17 national laboratories gathered at the U.S. Capitol for the 2026 National Lab Research SLAM. (Photos: Blaise Douros/LLNL)

Early-career researchers show off science and communication skills at 2026 National Lab Research SLAM

From recovering valuable metals and identifying unknown pathogens to designing robust quantum hardware and providing a 3D view of microplastics, Department of Energy (DOE) scientists are tackling the problems that matter. At the 2026 National Lab Research SLAM, 17 early-career researchers had a chance to show off that work — and to compete. In just three minutes and using…

LLNL researchers invented a high-throughput platform that screens proteins for their rare earth element binding preferences at unprecedented scale. (Photos: Blaise Douros/LLNL)

New protein-screening platform accelerates rare-earth separation for U.S. supply chain

To ensure a robust domestic supply chain in the U.S., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are using bacterial proteins to separate the rare-earth elements that are ubiquitous in magnets, batteries and electronics. These proteins, called lanmodulin, evolved in bacteria that use rare-earth elements to power their metabolism. But to scale up and advance…

Educators lead an activity titled 'Be the Quantum Computer.' Three students hold single-digit placards showing 1 or 0, while seven students wear placards displaying various 3-digit combinations of 0s and 1s.

Quantum computing leaps into Science on Saturday

LLNL’s popular education outreach program, Science on Saturday, continued its “Computing the Future” lecture series on the last weekend of February with a presentation titled “Quantum Computing: A Cool Way to Compute the Impossible.” LLNL quantum physicists Kristin (Kristi) Beck and Sean O'Kelley (both PHYS) teamed up with veteran educator Stan Hitomi from Dougherty Valley…

Audience view of the stage, where a presenter shows a 4-panel cartoon about a stardust grain forming in a star, then traveling through space, final panel depicts scientist with a telescope.

‘Science on Saturday’ lecture brings students along a cosmic treasure hunt to find stardust in meteorites

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) educational outreach program Science on Saturday kicked off its 2026 program with an impactful lecture on meteorites and cosmochemistry. Held on Saturday mornings at the Mertes Center for the Arts in Las Positas College, the annual series offers local students and other community members a glimpse into the life and work of…

The Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research (JASPER) facility at the Nevada National Security Site uses a two-stage gas gun to study plutonium under extreme conditions.

Big Ideas Lab podcast explores JASPER and the science of measuring plutonium under extreme conditions

In less than a microsecond, a projectile traveling thousands of meters per second strikes its target, generating pressures and temperatures too extreme to observe directly. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), scientists use that moment to answer complex questions for national security. The latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast takes listeners to the…

With recently awarded funding, LLNL will develop quantum and machine learning-accelerated software tools and apply them to discovering ultra-strong, lightweight magnets that are crucial for electronic motors, generators and high-performance information technology. (Image: Janelle Cataldo / LLNL)

LLNL to harness quantum computing for next-generation magnets

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been selected to lead a project that will receive $4.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) as part of the Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) program. QC3 seeks to develop and apply quantum algorithms to accelerate simulations of chemistry…

Adding an optimized void structure (top right) counteracts a shockwave-induced instability, reducing jetting (bottom right) that can interfere with inertial confinement fusion. Without this void, significant jetting occurs (bottom left). (Image: Strucka et al.)

Looking into the void to cancel out material instabilities

Picture two materials sandwiched together. The boundary between them may appear flat, but, in reality, it is full of tiny bumps and dents. Suddenly, the materials are hit with a shockwave. If that wave hits a bump in the material interface, it slows down. If it hits a dent, it accelerates forward. This imbalance creates fast, narrow jets of material — called the Richtmyer…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has announced five research teams selected for awards through the Lab’s FY26 Academic Collaboration Team annual call for proposals.

Weapons Physics & Design ACT awards drive university partnerships and research

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has announced five research teams selected for awards through the Lab’s FY26 Academic Collaboration Team (ACT) annual call for proposals. Awards support university research partners for up to three years to perform research in collaboration with Lab scientists and offer an important way to build long-term connections with…

Wyatt Larrinaga studies how proteins bind to radioactive elements during a graduate student fellowship at LLNL. (Graphic: Dan Herchek and Jeremy Gardner / LLNL)

Grad student Wyatt Larrinaga explores how proteins bind to radioactive elements for fellowship at LLNL

As a fifth-year graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University, Wyatt Larrinaga investigates how proteins can be used to separate lanthanides. These elements, plus two others, make up the rare earth elements that are critical for technology, defense and a robust domestic energy supply. But somewhere along the way, Larrinaga grew interested in branching out. Or,…

Artist’s depiction of NASA’s Dragonfly rotorcraft exploring the icy, hydrocarbon-rich landscapes of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. (Courtesy image: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben)

LLNL delivers advanced gamma-ray spectrometer for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to explore Titan

Hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth, the landscape of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, bears a striking resemblance to our own planet — but with dunes of hydrocarbon sands rather than silica sands, and rain, rivers, lakes and seas of liquid methane and ethane rather than liquid water. The NASA Dragonfly mission is set to explore this world in unprecedented detail…

The latest Big Ideas Lab episode examines the how the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-managed High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation program is translating advanced computing into measurable impact for U.S. industry and expanding what’s possible for American manufacturing, Listen on Apple or Spotify.

Big Ideas Lab explores how HPC for Energy Innovation advances U.S. industry

Some of the toughest challenges in American manufacturing are being solved without ever stepping onto a factory floor. Inside supercomputers, scientists are modeling systems too complex, costly or time-consuming to test in the real world. In the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) spotlights the High-Performance…