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Advanced Materials and Manufacturing
Innovation and Partnerships Office professional wins national tech transfer award
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Technology Transfer Working Group (TTWG) annually recognizes TTWG professionals at DOE national laboratories for “Best in Class” work involving licensing, intellectual property (IP) management, partnering and excellence in technology transfer supporting mission innovation commercialization. In 2026, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s …
LLNL supports NNSA partnerships at Innovation Day 2026
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s annual Innovation Day began in 2024 to foster a collaborative environment for industry organizations to explore potential partnerships with NNSA national laboratories, plants and sites. This summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) helped to host NNSA’s Innovation Day at the University of California Santa…
Recover rare-earth elements on the Big Ideas Lab podcast
Rare-earth elements are the spices of modern technology. You don't use much. A pinch here, a pinch there. But leave them out, and the whole thing falls apart. “To realize how much of your daily life you actually benefit from having rare-earth elements, they’re in the phosphors in your screens, they're in magnets. They're in your cell phone. They're essential all over the…
LLNL engineer honored with inaugural University of California Regents Innovation Award
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory engineer Christopher Spadaccini is one of 23 inaugural recipients of the University of California Regents Innovation Awards. He received a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for “innovations that have led to long-term positive impacts on the lives of others and inspiring UC inventors and entrepreneurs.” “I’m very honored to…
3D-printed, solid-state bioreactor converts methane waste to useful chemicals
When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource, and it could be recycled as a fuel, chemical feedstock or bioproduct. Capturing and converting waste methane offers an opportunity to recover energy and create useful products from an otherwise wasted gas…
CIMS harnesses national labs to accelerate adoption of computing in energy-intensive industries
Industrial companies often face complex technical challenges that are too time-consuming or costly to solve through physical testing alone. Computer modeling and simulation can spur the development of new technologies with lower energy intensity, improved performance and increased productivity. The Center for Industrial Modeling and Simulation (CIMS), led by Lawrence…
LLNL researchers have guts
Gut instinct, gut feeling or gutting it out — what exactly is the human gut? It’s the workhorse of the digestive system and home to a vast, dynamic community of microorganisms that influence human health. In fact, the human body contains roughly equal numbers of non-human (microbial) and human cells. Now, we are poised to learn much more about the gut and its pivotal role,…
AI-powered inspection system gives 3D printers ‘a brain behind the eyes’
Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a camera-based inspection system that can monitor complex 3D-printed structures layer by layer, using AI and machine learning (ML) to measure tiny variations and potentially identify problems before a part ever leaves the printer. The approach could reduce the time and labor required…
Machine learning uncovers how battery interphases can boost lithium-ion transport
Sandwiched between the electrolyte and electrodes in a lithium-ion battery is a remarkably thin layer of material that strongly dictates battery performance and durability: the interphase. Although typically only a few to tens of nanometers thick, interphases are among the least understood components of an operating battery cell. Their complex and constantly evolving…
Big Ideas Lab podcast takes on the science of scale-up
Rechargeable lithium batteries trace back to 1972, but they wouldn’t reach consumer products until 1991. Solar photovoltaic cells existed in the 1950s, long before solar panels appeared on rooftops. And the MRI was demonstrated in the 1970s, years before the machines became hospital staples. In each case, the core scientific principles had been proven. The difficult part…
LLNL CHAMPS team selected to develop a heavy-lift drone for DARPA competition
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers pushed the limits of unmanned aerial systems to earn a place at the DARPA Lift Challenge, hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The LLNL Collaborative Heavy-lift Aerial unManned Propellor Systems (CHAMPS) team ranked among the 132 teams selected from more than 480…
LLNL partners with industry to advance next-generation reactor fuel
Small, modular nuclear fission reactors are emerging as a resilient energy option, offering a scalable, cost-effective path to reliable power for remote or infrastructure-limited locations. However, these advanced reactor facilities typically run hotter and longer than conventional light water reactors, so they will require a new type of nuclear fuel tough enough to…
A more robust way to create entanglement in trapped ion qubits
While quantum computing could be the future, it is currently plagued by finicky hardware. To make the technology practical, researchers must demonstrate that it consistently and continuously works and performs at scale. In a new study, published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Ion Storage Group at the…
Lab scientists and engineers win six R&D 100 awards
The FlowVAM system eliminates the need to manually exchange print volume in Tomographic Volumetric Additive Manufacturing and incorporates in situ metrology, yielding a 200-fold improvement in part production rates. Image credit: Hazel Rose Galvan/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have earned six R&D 100 Awards, which recognize…
3D-printed ceramic waveguide lasers could surpass the power of glass fiber lasers by 10 times
At the bottom of the ocean, optical fibers transmit telecommunications and internet data across the world. Waveguides make that feat possible by channeling and amplifying the light — and therefore the data within — over enormous distances. And the technology goes beyond undersea cables. Waveguiding optics are among the most important advances in photonics since the…
Meet LLNL interns: Building skills through innovation and collaboration
Each summer, students from across the country join Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to gain hands-on experience, work alongside researchers and contribute to projects supporting the Lab’s mission. Meet four interns whose work spans emergency preparedness, artificial intelligence, actinide chemistry and additive manufacturing, and learn how their experiences…
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…
How LLNL is using AI, robotics and automation to accelerate advanced manufacturing
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers, in conjunction with the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), are increasingly looking to AI, robotics and automation to help accelerate advanced manufacturing, materials discovery and experimental science. The work is part of a broader push to move faster from…
Signal and image sciences community celebrates record-breaking 30th annual CASIS workshop
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory called and the signal and image sciences community answered: The Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences (CASIS) hosted their 30th annual workshop at the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center (UCLCC) on June 24-25, setting new records for attendance and technical contributions in the workshop’s three-decade…
LLNL, Oxylus Energy capture commercialization grant with reactor that converts carbon waste to methanol
Many industrial processes produce large volumes of carbon as a waste product. New reactor technology from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has the potential to turn that waste into a valuable feedstock for useful chemicals and fuels. The result could bolster domestic manufacturing, diversify supply chains and ensure lasting energy security in the U.S. These …
