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Kim Budil selected as director of Lawrence Livermore
Kim Budil has been named director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Charlene Zettel, chair of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), which manages the Laboratory for the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), made the announcement to Laboratory employees Jan. 28. Budil will begin her new role on March 2…
Lawrence Livermore's '2020 Year in Review'
Though 2020 was dominated by events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic — whether it was adapting to social distancing and the need to telecommute, safeguarding employees as they returned to conduct mission-essential work or engaging in COVID-related research — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) managed an exceptional year in all facets of science and technology…
Lab's ACT-UP awards focus on collaborative research
With a focus on increasing joint research efforts between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and universities, the Lab’s Weapon Physics and Design (WPD) Academic Collaboration Team (ACT) University Program has awarded this year’s ACT-UP awards. Now in its second year, the ACT-UP awards were created to encourage and advance strategic partnerships among…
Lab's ACT-UP awards focus on collaborative research
With a focus on increasing joint research efforts between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and universities, the Lab’s Weapon Physics and Design (WPD) Academic Collaboration Team (ACT) University Program has awarded this year’s ACT-UP awards. Now in its second year, the ACT-UP awards were created to encourage and advance strategic partnerships among…
Lab analysis reveals forensic signatures of nuclear material during international smuggling exercise
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists received mock evidence, consisting of two uranium oxide (UO2) fuel pellets, as part of an international nuclear forensic exercise in support of a simulated nuclear smuggling investigation. The exercise was part of the CMX-5 Collaborative Materials Exercise organized by the Nuclear Forensics International Technical…
Former intern, a 'Voice for Tomorrow,' wins Rieser award
A former intern from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL's) Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) has been named the recipient of the 2020 Leonard Rieser Award from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Jake Tibbetts, who worked as a research associate at CGSR from May 2019 to May 2020, won the honor for a “Voices of Tomorrow” essay he wrote for the…
Examining climate effects of regional nuclear exchange
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers has found that the global climatic consequences of a regional nuclear weapons exchange could range from a minimal impact to more significant cooling lasting years. The five LLNL scientists examined the potential for global climate changes from large urban fires ignited in a hypothetical regional nuclear…
LLNL delivers ‘Scorpius’ pulsers amidst the pandemic
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers completed assembly and qualification of 16 prototype high-voltage solid state pulsed-power drivers (pulsers) in July, enabling the project to still meet the delivery schedule for the Scorpius radiography project, despite COVID-19 workplace restrictions. Eight of those pulsers were shipped to Sandia National…
Warhead replacement program passes first key milestone
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers passed their first program level key milestone in the W87-1 Modification Program (W87-1 Mod) on Sept. 24, keeping the program on schedule despite work stoppages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The W87-1 Mod will replace the W78 thermonuclear warhead with a modified design of the W87 warhead. The W78 is nearing the end…
Warhead replacement program passes first key milestone
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers passed their first program level key milestone in the W87-1 Modification Program (W87-1 Mod) on Sept. 24, keeping the program on schedule despite work stoppages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The W87-1 Mod will replace the W78 thermonuclear warhead with a modified design of the W87 warhead. The W78 is nearing the end…
LLNL delivers ‘Scorpius’ pulsers amidst the pandemic
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers completed assembly and qualification of 16 prototype high-voltage solid state pulsed-power drivers (pulsers) in July, enabling the project to still meet the delivery schedule for the Scorpius radiography project, despite COVID-19 workplace restrictions. Eight of those pulsers were shipped to Sandia National…
Lab earns 'A' grade in OPCW test
In another month-and-a-half, a score of chemists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Forensic Science Center (FSC) will start two weeks of long days to undertake the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) environmental proficiency test. Livermore chemists have been taking the proficiency tests each October since 2001, with LLNL serving as one…
LLNL an OPCW-designated lab for biomedical samples
In addition to maintaining its Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) laboratory designation for analyzing suspect environmental samples, LLNL also is an OPCW-designated laboratory for the analysis of biomedical samples. (See "Lab earns 'A' in OPCW test) In this instance, OPCW inspectors have the ability to collect biomedical samples for cases of…
Lab assists in NASA launch of Mars rover
When an Atlas V-541 rocket lifted off Thursday morning (July 30) for Mars from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the Perseverance rover in tow, two Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists had front row seats. The pair, Steve Homann and Jessica Osuna, researchers in the Lab’s National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC), part of the Nuclear…
Lawrence Livermore, Tyvak Systems announce agreement to develop telescopes for nanosatellites
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems Inc. have reached a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to develop innovative compact and robust telescopes for nanosatellites. The four-year, $2 million CRADA will combine LLNL’s Monolithic Telescope (MonoTele) technology with Tyvak’s expertise producing high-reliability…
Lab delivers innovation jolt with pulsed power modules
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers delivered four pulsed power modules to Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) this month, making excellent time despite many challenges presented by COVID-19. The modules are key elements in a novel diagnostic capability jointly developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), NNSS and LLNL to be deployed in the…
Work resumes in support of stockpile modernization
The effort to resume hands-on work in support of stockpile modernization programs reached a major milestone May 7 with the successful execution of a focused experiment at the High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The experiment is the first using high explosives at the Laboratory since Alameda County issued a shelter…
Planetary defenders validate asteroid deflection code
Planetary defense researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) continue to validate their ability to accurately simulate how they might deflect an Earth-bound asteroid in a study that will be published in the April issue of the American Geophysical Union journal Earth and Space Science. The study, led by LLNL physicist Tané Remington, also identified…
Laboratory researchers describe how antineutrino detectors could aid in nuclear nonproliferation efforts
A tiny, invisible particle could offer help for a big problem — the threat of nuclear proliferation. For more than six decades, scientists have been developing instruments for fundamental physics that can detect antineutrinos, particles that have no electric charge, almost no mass and easily pass through matter. Antineutrinos are emitted in vast quantities by nuclear…
LLNL, Argon Electronics sign cooperative research agreement to bolster realistic radiation training
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Argon Electronics (UK) Ltd. have reached a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) that will facilitate the development of an ultra-realistic radiation simulator tool for first responders. The project, which has been funded by a Department of Energy (DOE) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) grant, will…
