Lab scientists win three R&D 100 awards

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and engineers have earned three R&D 100 awards from the trade journal R&D World Magazine. The LLNL awards include a spectral beam combining optic that enables a single, high-power beam with unparalleled compactness and damage resistance; an open-source memory-mapping library with increased power and flexibility; and a user-level file system for high performance computing systems. With this year’s results, the Laboratory has now collected a total of 182 R&D 100 awards since 1978.

Carolyn Zerkle Named Lawrence Livermore’s Deputy Director

Carolyn Zerkle has been selected as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s deputy director and vice president of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, Lab Director Kim Budil announced today. Her appointment is effective Sept. 12, 2022. As deputy director, Zerkle will participate in the day-to-day management of the Laboratory, including interfacing with the Livermore Field Office (LFO), acting as director in Budil’s absence and serving as a key member of the Laboratory’s senior management staff, providing executive-level guidance and direction.

NASA funds LLNL to demonstrate “Replicator” 3D printer to produce cartilage in space

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced April 15 it has awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and a private company with funding to develop LLNL’s revolutionary volumetric additive manufacturing (VAM) 3D printing technology to produce artificial cartilage tissue in space.

U.S. Department of Energy to Showcase National Lab Expertise at SC21

The scientific computing and networking leadership of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) national laboratories will be on display at SC21, the International Conference for High-Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis. The conference takes place Nov. 14-19 in St. Louis via a combination of on-site and online resources.

LLNL-led team uses machine learning to derive black hole motion from gravitational wave data

A team including a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) mathematician and collaborators at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and the University of Mississippi, has developed a machine learning-based technique capable of automatically deriving the motion of binary black holes from raw gravitational wave data.

LLNL joins Human Vaccines Project to accelerate vaccine development and understanding of immune response

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has joined the international Human Vaccines Project, bringing Lab expertise and computing resources to the consortium to aid development of a universal coronavirus vaccine and improve understanding of immune response.

LLNL explores laser beam shaping to improve metal 3D printing

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are addressing the issue of porosity and other phenomenon that causes defects in metal 3D printing by exploring alternative shapes to the Gaussian beams commonly employed in high-power laser printing processes such as laser powder bed fusion (LBPF).

Bradley Wallin selected to lead Weapons and Complex Integration

Bradley Wallin has been named Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) principal associate director (PAD) for Weapons and Complex Integration (WCI), Lab Director Kimberly Budil announced today. In this role, Wallin will lead the Laboratory’s nuclear weapons program in its responsibilities to support U.S. strategic deterrence by assuring the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and by providing the science, technology and engineering capabilities and experts required to enable and advance this essential responsibility.

Taking cues from nature, breakthrough ‘cellular fluidics’ technology could have sweeping impacts

Inspired by the way plants absorb and distribute water and nutrients, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have developed a groundbreaking method for transporting liquids and gases using 3D-printed lattice design and capillary action phenomena.

Lawrence Livermore makes Glassdoor’s ‘best places to work’ in 2021 list, ranked top lab and government employer

For the third consecutive year, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been honored with a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, recognizing the Best Places to Work in 2021. Other accolades include LLNL being the No. 1 government/government contractor employer and the No. 1 laboratory employer. LLNL also is No. 2 on the list of large employers in the Bay Area.

Preparing for exascale: LLNL breaks ground on computing facility upgrades

To meet the needs of tomorrow’s supercomputers, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has broken ground on its Exascale Computing Facility Modernization (ECFM) project, which will substantially upgrade the mechanical and electrical capabilities of the Livermore Computing Center.

LLNL providing critical assistance in addressing national swab shortage for COVID-19 testing

To address the nationwide shortage of specialized nasal swabs used for COVID-19 diagnoses, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory engineers formed an ad hoc, rapid response team that tested more than a dozen novel, 3D-printed swab designs from a grassroots coalition of commercial and academic partners. The mechanical tests performed at the Lab provided valuable feedback that improved the designs, enabling them to meet requirements for COVID-19 testing. The Lab’s work on swabs is continuing with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and expanding into other 3D-printed components for COVID-19 test kits.

LLNL’s new machine learning platform generates novel COVID-19 antibody sequences for experimental testing

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have identified an initial set of therapeutic antibody sequences, designed in a few weeks using machine learning and supercomputing, aimed at binding and neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The research team is performing experimental testing on the chosen antibody designs.

New lattice designs defy conventional wisdom on metamaterials

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have designed a new class of 3D-printed lattice structures that combine light weight and high stiffness, despite breaking a rule previously thought to be required to exhibit such properties. One of the new structures additionally displays perfectly uniform response to forces in all directions.