Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in

Livermore, California Livermore (formerly Livermorès, Livermore Ranch, and Nottingham) is a city in Alameda County, California. With a 2020 population of 87,955, Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley. It is located on the eastern edge of Californ ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response to the detonation of the first atomic bomb by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

during the Cold War. It later became autonomous in 1971 and was designated a national laboratory in 1981. A

federally funded research and development center Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are public-private partnerships that conduct research and development for the United States Government. Under Federal Acquisition Regulationbr>§ 35.017 FFRDCs are operated by univ ...

, Lawrence Livermore Lab is primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and it is managed privately and operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (a

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

), Bechtel,

BWX Technologies BWX Technologies, Inc. (), headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia is a supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. On July 1, 2015, BWX Technologies Inc. began trading separately from its former subsidiary Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc ...

AECOM AECOM (, ; formerly AECOM Technology Corporation) is an American multinational infrastructure consulting firm. AECOM has approximately 51,000 employees, and is number 157 on the 2019 Fortune 500 list. The company's official name from 1990 t ...

, and Battelle Memorial Institute in affiliation with the

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...

. In 2012, the laboratory had the synthetic chemical element

livermorium Livermorium is a synthetic chemical element with the symbol Lv and has an atomic number of 116. It is an extremely radioactive element that has only been created in a laboratory setting and has not been observed in nature. The element is named afte ...

(element 116) named after it.

Overview

LLNL is self-described as a "premier research and development institution for science and technology applied to national security." Its principal responsibility is ensuring the safety, security and reliability of the nation's nuclear weapons through the application of advanced science, engineering, and technology. The laboratory also applies its special expertise and multidisciplinary capabilities towards preventing the proliferation and use of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...

, bolstering homeland security, and solving other nationally important problems, including energy and environmental needs, scientific research and outreach, and economic competitiveness. The laboratory is located on a 1 sq. mi.(2.6 km²) site at the eastern edge of Livermore. It also operates a remote experimental test site known as Site 300, situated about southeast of the main lab site. LLNL has an annual budget of about $2.7 billion and a staff of nearly 9,000 employees.

History

Origins

LLNL was established in 1952, as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch, an offshoot of the existing University of California Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley. The lab at Livermore was intended to spur innovation and provide competition to the nuclear weapon design laboratory at Los Alamos in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, home of the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

that developed the first

atomic weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

Edward Teller Edward Teller ( hu, Teller Ede; January 15, 1908 – September 9, 2003) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who is known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb" (see the Teller–Ulam design), although he did not care for ...

and

Ernest Lawrence Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American nuclear physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He is known for his work on uranium-isotope separation fo ...

, director of the Radiation Laboratory at Berkeley, are regarded as the co-founders of the Livermore facility. The new laboratory was sited at a former naval air station of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It was already home to several University of California Radiation Laboratory projects that were too large for its location in the

Berkeley Hills The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la ...

above the UC campus, including one of the first experiments in the magnetic approach to confined thermonuclear reactions (i.e. fusion). About half an hour southeast of Berkeley, the Livermore site provided much greater security for classified projects than an urban university campus. Lawrence tapped his former graduate student

Herbert York Herbert Frank York (24 November 1921 – 19 May 2009) was an American nuclear physicist of Mohawk origin.http://www.edge.org/conversation/nsa-the-decision-problem. The Decision Problem He held numerous research and administrative positions ...

, age 32, to run Livermore. Under York, the Lab had four main programs:

Project Sherwood Project Sherwood was the codename for a United States program in controlled nuclear fusion during the period it was classified. After 1958, when fusion research was declassified around the world, the project was reorganized as a separate division w ...

(the magnetic-fusion program), Project Whitney (the weapons-design program), diagnostic weapon experiments (both for the Los Alamos and Livermore laboratories), and a basic physics program. York and the new lab embraced the Lawrence "big science" approach, tackling challenging projects with physicists, chemists, engineers, and computational scientists working together in multidisciplinary teams. Lawrence died in August 1958 and shortly after, the university's board of regents named both laboratories for him, as the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. Historically, the Berkeley and Livermore laboratories have had very close relationships on research projects, business operations, and staff. The Livermore Lab was established initially as a branch of the Berkeley laboratory. The Livermore lab was not officially severed administratively from the Berkeley lab until 1971. To this day, in official planning documents and records, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is designated as Site 100, Lawrence Livermore National Lab as Site 200, and LLNL's remote test location as Site 300.

Renaming

The laboratory was renamed Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) in 1971. On October 1, 2007 LLNS assumed management of LLNL from the University of California, which had exclusively managed and operated the Laboratory since its inception 55 years before. The laboratory was honored in 2012 by having the synthetic chemical element

named after it. The LLNS takeover of the laboratory has been controversial. In May 2013, an Alameda County jury awarded over $2.7 million to five former laboratory employees who were among 430 employees LLNS laid off during 2008. The jury found that LLNS breached a contractual obligation to terminate the employees only for "reasonable cause." The five plaintiffs also have pending age discrimination claims against LLNS, which will be heard by a different jury in a separate trial. There are 125 co-plaintiffs awaiting trial on similar claims against LLNS. The May 2008 layoff was the first layoff at the laboratory in nearly 40 years. On March 14, 2011, the City of Livermore officially expanded the city's boundaries to annex LLNL and move it within the city limits. The unanimous vote by the Livermore city council expanded Livermore's southeastern boundaries to cover 15 land parcels covering that comprise the LLNL site. The site was formerly an unincorporated area of Alameda County. The LLNL campus continues to be owned by the federal government.

Major projects

Nuclear weapons

From its inception, Livermore focused on new weapon design concepts; as a result, its first three

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, Nuclear weapon yield, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detona ...

s were unsuccessful. The lab persevered and its subsequent designs proved increasingly successful. In 1957, the Livermore Lab was selected to develop the warhead for the Navy's

Polaris missile The UGM-27 Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fueled nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). As the United States Navy's first SLBM, it served from 1961 to 1980. In the mid-1950s the Navy was involved in the Jupiter missi ...

. This warhead required numerous innovations to fit a nuclear warhead into the relatively small confines of the missile nosecone. During the Cold War, many Livermore-designed

warhead A warhead is the forward section of a device that contains the explosive agent or toxic (biological, chemical, or nuclear) material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, torpedo, or bomb. Classification Types of warheads include: * Expl ...

s entered service. These were used in missiles ranging in size from the

Lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

surface-to-surface tactical missile to the megaton-class Spartan antiballistic missile. Over the years, LLNL designed the following warheads: W27 (Regulus cruise missile; 1955; joint with Los Alamos), W38 (Atlas/Titan ICBM; 1959), B41 (B52 bomb; 1957), W45 (Little John/Terrier missiles; 1956),

W47 The W47 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on the Polaris A-1 sub-launched ballistic missile system. Various models were in service from 1960 through the end of 1974. The warhead was developed by the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory between 1 ...

(Polaris SLBM; 1957),

W48 The W48 was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any standard howitzer. A tactical nuclear weapon, it was manufactured starting in 1963, and all units were retired in 1992. It was known as the XM454 AFAP (artillery ...

(155-mm howitzer; 1957), W55 (submarine rocket; 1959),

W56 The W56 (originally called the Mark 56) was an American thermonuclear warhead produced starting in 1963 which saw service until 1993, on the Minuteman I and II ICBMs. The warhead had a yield of and a demonstrated yield-to-weight ratio of , ve ...

(Minuteman ICBM; 1960),

W58 The W58 was an American nuclear bomb, thermonuclear warhead used on the UGM-27 Polaris, Polaris A-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Three W58 warheads were fitted as multiple warheads on each Polaris A-3 missile. The W58 was in diameter a ...

(Polaris SLBM; 1960), W62 (Minuteman ICBM; 1964),

W68 The W68 warhead was the warhead used on the UGM-73 Poseidon SLBM missile. It was developed in the late 1960s at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Specifications The W68 weighed and had an official design yield of . The design was revol ...

(Poseidon SLBM; 1966),

W70 W70 was a two-stage, thermonuclear warhead that was developed for the MGM-52 Lance missile by the United States. Designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Mod 1 and Mod 2 version of the weapon entered service in 1973, while the enha ...

(Lance missile; 1969), W71 (Spartan missile; 1968),

W79 The W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP), also known as the XM753 (Atomic RA) was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any NATO howitzer e.g. the M115 and M110 howitzer. Produced in two models, the enhanced ...

(8-in. artillery gun; 1975),

W82 The W82 (also known as the XM785 shell) was a low-yield tactical nuclear warhead developed by the United States and designed to be used in a 155 mm artillery shell. It was conceived as a more flexible replacement for the W48, the previous gene ...

(155-mm howitzer; 1978), B83 (modern strategic bomb; 1979), and

W87 The W87 is an American thermonuclear missile warhead formerly deployed on the LGM-118A Peacekeeper ("MX") ICBM. 50 MX missiles were built, each carrying up to 10 W87 warheads in multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), and were ...

(LGM-118 Peacekeeper/MX ICBM; 1982). The W87 and the B83 are the only LLNL designs still in the U.S. nuclear stockpile. With the collapse of the

in 1991 and the end of the Cold War, the United States began a moratorium on nuclear testing and development of new nuclear weapon designs. To sustain existing warheads for the indefinite future, a science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) was defined that emphasized the development and application of greatly improved technical capabilities to assess the safety, security, and reliability of existing nuclear warheads without the use of nuclear testing. Confidence in the performance of weapons, without nuclear testing, is maintained through an ongoing process of stockpile surveillance, assessment and certification, and refurbishment or weapon replacement. With no new designs of nuclear weapons, the warheads in the U.S. stockpile must continue to function far past their original expected lifetimes. As components and materials age, problems can arise. Stockpile Life Extension Programs can extend system lifetimes, but they also can introduce performance uncertainties and require maintenance of outdated technologies and materials. Because there is concern that it will become increasingly difficult to maintain high confidence in the current warheads for the long term, the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration initiated the

Reliable Replacement Warhead The Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) was a proposed new American nuclear warhead design and bomb family that was intended to be simple, reliable and to provide a long-lasting, low-maintenance future nuclear force for the United States. Initiated ...

(RRW) Program. RRW designs could reduce uncertainties, ease maintenance demands, and enhance safety and security. In March 2007, the LLNL design was chosen for the Reliable Replacement Warhead. Since that time, Congress has not allocated funding for any further development of the RRW.

Plutonium research

LLNL conducts research into the properties and behavior of

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

to learn how plutonium performs as it ages and how it behaves under high pressure (e.g., with the impact of high explosives). Plutonium has seven temperature-dependent solid

allotropes Allotropy or allotropism () is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element: th ...

. Each possesses a different density and

crystal structure In crystallography, crystal structure is a description of the ordered arrangement of atoms, ions or molecules in a crystalline material. Ordered structures occur from the intrinsic nature of the constituent particles to form symmetric patterns ...

. Alloys of plutonium are even more complex; multiple phases can be present in a sample at any given time. Experiments are being conducted at LLNL and elsewhere to measure the structural, electrical and chemical properties of plutonium and its alloys and to determine how these materials change over time. Such measurements will enable scientists to better model and predict plutonium's long-term behavior in the aging stockpile. The Lab's plutonium research is conducted in a specially designed facility called the SuperBlock, with emphasis on safety and security. Work with highly enriched uranium is also conducted there. In March 2008, the

National Nuclear Security Administration The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a United States federal agency responsible for safeguarding national security through the military application of Nuclear physics, nuclear science. NNSA maintains and enhances the Stockpil ...

(NNSA) presented its preferred alternative for the transformation of the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Under this plan, LLNL would be a center of excellence for nuclear design and engineering, a center of excellence for high explosive research and development, and a science magnet in high-energy-density (i.e., laser)

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. In addition, most of its special nuclear material would be removed and consolidated at a more central, yet-to-be-named site. On September 30, 2009, the NNSA announced that about two thirds of the special nuclear material (e.g., plutonium) at LLNL requiring the highest level of security protection had been removed from LLNL. The move was part of NNSA's efforts initiated in October 2006 to consolidate special nuclear material at five sites by 2012, with significantly reduced square footage at those sites by 2017. The federally mandated project intends to improve security and reduce security costs, and is part of NNSA's overall effort to transform the Cold War era "nuclear weapons" enterprise into a 21st-century "nuclear security" enterprise. The original date to remove all high-security nuclear material from LLNL, based on equipment capability and capacity, was 2014. NNSA and LLNL developed a timeline to remove this material as early as possible, accelerating the target completion date to 2012.

Global security program

The Lab's work in global security aims to reduce and mitigate the dangers posed by the spread or use of weapons of mass destruction and by threats to energy and environmental security. Livermore has been working on global security and homeland security for decades, predating both the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. LLNL staff have been heavily involved in the cooperative nonproliferation programs with Russia to secure at-risk weapons materials and assist former weapons workers in developing peaceful applications and self-sustaining job opportunities for their expertise and technologies. In the mid-1990s, Lab scientists began efforts to devise improved biodetection capabilities, leading to miniaturized and autonomous instruments that can detect biothreat agents in a few minutes instead of the days to weeks previously required for DNA analysis. Today, Livermore researchers address a spectrum of threats – radiological/nuclear, chemical, biological, explosives, and cyber. They combine physical and life sciences, engineering, computations, and analysis to develop technologies that solve real-world problems. Activities are grouped into five programs: *Nonproliferation. Preventing the spread of materials, technology, and expertise related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and detecting WMD proliferation activities worldwide. *Domestic security: Anticipating, innovating and delivering technological solutions to prevent and mitigate devastating high-leverage attacks on U.S. soil. *Defense: Developing and demonstrating new concepts and capabilities to help the Department of Defense prevent and deter harm to the nation, its citizens and its military forces. *Intelligence: Working at the intersection of science, technology, and analysis to provide insight into the threats to national security posed by foreign entities. *Energy and environmental security: Furnishing scientific understanding and technological expertise to devise energy and environmental solutions at global, regional and local scales.

Other programs

LLNL supports capabilities in a broad range of scientific and technical disciplines, applying current capabilities to existing programs and developing new science and technologies to meet future national needs. *The LLNL chemistry, materials, and life science research focuses on chemical engineering, nuclear chemistry, materials science, and biology and bio-nanotechnology. *Physics thrust areas include

condensed matter Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...

and high-pressure physics, optical science and

high energy density physics High-energy-density physics (HEDP) is a new subfield of physics intersecting condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics and plasma physics. It has been defined as the physics of matter and radiation at energy densities in excess of a ...

, medical physics and

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

, and nuclear, particle and

accelerator physics Accelerator physics is a branch of applied physics, concerned with designing, building and operating particle accelerators. As such, it can be described as the study of motion, manipulation and observation of relativistic charged particle beams ...

. *In the area of energy and environmental science, Livermore's emphasis is on carbon and climate, energy, water and the environment, and the national nuclear waste repository. *The LLNL engineering activities include micro- and nanotechnology,

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

s and

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

precision engineering Precision engineering is a subdiscipline of electrical engineering, software engineering, electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and optical engineering concerned with designing machines, fixtures, and other structures that have exce ...

, nondestructive characterization, modeling and simulation, systems and decision science, and sensors, imaging and communications. *The LLNL is very strong in computer science, with thrust areas in computing applications and research, integrated computing and communications systems, and

cyber security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...

. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has worked out several energy technologies in the field of coal gasification,

shale oil extraction Shale oil extraction is an industrial process for unconventional oil production. This process converts kerogen in oil shale into shale oil by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. The resultant shale oil is used as fuel oil or up ...

, geothermal energy, advanced battery research, solar energy, and

fusion energy Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...

. Main

oil shale Oil shale is an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen (a solid mixture of organic chemical compounds) from which liquid hydrocarbons can be produced. In addition to kerogen, general composition of oil shales constitut ...

processing technologies worked out by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are LLNL HRS (hot-recycled-solid), LLNL RISE (''

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

'' extraction technology) and LLNL radiofrequency technologies.

Key accomplishments

Over its 60-year history, Lawrence Livermore has made many scientific and technological achievements, including: *Critical contributions to the U.S. nuclear deterrence effort through the design of nuclear weapons to meet military requirements and, since the mid-1980s, through the stockpile stewardship program, by which the safety and reliability of the enduring stockpile is ensured without underground nuclear testing. *Design, construction, and operation of a series of ever larger, more powerful, and more capable laser systems, culminating in the 192-beam

National Ignition Facility The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device, located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, United States. NIF's mission is to achieve fusion ignition w ...

(NIF), completed in 2009. *Advances in

particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams. Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...

and

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

technology, including magnetic fusion,

free-electron laser A free-electron laser (FEL) is a (fourth generation) light source producing extremely brilliant and short pulses of radiation. An FEL functions and behaves in many ways like a laser, but instead of using stimulated emission from atomic or molecula ...

accelerator mass spectrometry Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a form of mass spectrometry that accelerates ions to extraordinarily high kinetic energies before mass analysis. The special strength of AMS among the mass spectrometric methods is its power to separate a r ...

, and

inertial confinement fusion Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a fusion energy process that initiates nuclear fusion reactions by compressing and heating targets filled with thermonuclear fuel. In modern machines, the targets are small spherical pellets about the size of ...

. *Breakthroughs in

high-performance computing High-performance computing (HPC) uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Overview HPC integrates systems administration (including network and security knowledge) and parallel programming into a mult ...

, including the development of novel concepts for massively parallel computing and the design and application of computers that can carry out hundreds of trillions of operations per second. *Development of technologies and systems for detecting nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, and explosive threats to prevent and mitigate WMD proliferation and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. *Development of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) for fabricating next-generation

computer chips An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

. *First-ever detection of

massive compact halo object A massive astrophysical compact halo object (MACHO) is a kind of astronomical body that might explain the apparent presence of dark matter in galaxy halos. A MACHO is a body that emits little or no radiation and drifts through interstellar space ...

s (MACHOs), a suspected but previously undetected component of

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not a ...

. *Advances in genomics,

, and

biodetection A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell rece ...

, including major contributions to the complete sequencing of the human

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding g ...

though the

Joint Genome Institute The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), first located in Walnut Creek then Berkeley, California, was created in 1997 to unite the expertise and resources in genome mapping, DNA sequencing, technology development, and i ...

and the development of rapid PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology that lies at the heart of today's most advanced DNA detection instruments. *Development and operation of the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC), which provides real-time, multi-scale (global, regional, local, urban) modeling of hazardous materials released into the atmosphere. *Development of highest resolution

global climate model A general circulation model (GCM) is a type of climate model. It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean. It uses the Navier–Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms ...

s and contributions to the

International Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) ...

which, together with former vice president

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

, was awarded the 2007

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

. *Co-discoverers of new superheavy elements 113, 114,

115 115 may refer to: * 115 (number), the number * AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD * 115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army * 115 (Leicestershire) ...

, 116,

117 117 may refer to: *117 (number) *AD 117 *117 BC *117 (emergency telephone number) *117 (MBTA bus) * 117 (TFL bus) *117 (New Jersey bus) *''117°'', a 1998 album by Izzy Stradlin *No. 117 (SPARTAN-II soldier ID), personal name John, the Master Chief ...

, and

118 118 may refer to: *118 (number) *AD 118 *118 BC *118 (TV series) *118 (film) *118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment *118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers See also *11/8 (disambiguation) *Oganesson Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element wi ...

. *Invention of new healthcare technologies, including a microelectrode array for construction of an artificial

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

, a miniature glucose sensor for the treatment of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, and a compact proton therapy system for

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radi ...

. On July 17, 2009 LLNL announced that the Laboratory had received eight R&D 100 Awards – more than it had ever received in the annual competition. The previous LLNL record of seven awards was reached five times – in 1987, 1988, 1997, 1998 and 2006. Also known as the "Oscars of invention," the awards are given each year for the development of cutting-edge scientific and engineering technologies with commercial potential. The awards raise LLNL's total number of awards since 1978 to 129. On October 12, 2016, LLNL released the results of computerized modeling of Mars's moon Phobos, finding that it has a connection with keeping the Earth safe from asteroids. In December, 2022 scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced, in a breakthrough for

fusion power Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices de ...

technology, that they have used the technique of

to achieve a net gain of energy.The

(NIF) became the first fusion reactor to achieve breakeven on December 5, 2022, with an experiment producing 3.15 megajoules of energy from a 2.05 megajoule input of laser light for an energy gain of about 1.5.

Key facilities

Exterior patio of the National Ignition Facility

Biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc.) to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, thes ...

and

Nanoscience The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...

Laboratory. Researchers apply advances in

nanoscience The nanoscopic scale (or nanoscale) usually refers to structures with a length scale applicable to nanotechnology, usually cited as 1–100 nanometers (nm). A nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The nanoscopic scale is (roughly speaking) a lo ...

to develop novel technologies for the detection, identification, and characterization of harmful biological

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

s (viruses, spores, and bacteria) and chemical toxins. * Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry: LLNL's Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS) develops and applies a wide range of isotopic and ion-beam analytical tools used in basic research and technology development, addressing a spectrum of scientific needs important to the Laboratory, the university community, and the nation. CAMS is the world's most versatile and productive accelerator mass spectrometry facility, performing more than 25,000 AMS measurement operations per year. * High Explosives Applications Facility and Energetic Materials Center: At HEAF, teams of scientists, engineers, and technicians address nearly all aspects of

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...

s: research, development and testing, material characterization, and performance and safety tests. HEAF activities support the Laboratory's Energetic Materials Center, a national resource for research and development of explosives, pyrotechnics, and propellants. * National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center: NARAC is a national support and resource center for planning, real-time assessment, emergency response, and detailed studies of incidents involving a wide variety of hazards, including nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, and natural atmospheric emissions. *

: This 192-beam, stadium-size laser system is used to compress fusion targets to conditions required for thermonuclear burn. Experiments at NIF study physical processes at conditions that exist only in the interior of stars and in exploding nuclear weapons (see National Ignition Facility and photon science). * Superblock: This unique high-security facility houses modern equipment for research and engineering testing of

nuclear material Nuclear material refers to the metals uranium, plutonium, and thorium, in any form, according to the IAEA. This is differentiated further into "source material", consisting of natural and depleted uranium, and "special fissionable material", co ...

s and is the place where

expertise is developed, nurtured, and applied. Research on highly enriched

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

also is performed here. * Livermore Computing Complex: LLNL's Livermore Computing Complex houses some of the world's most powerful computers, including the 20 petaflop Sequoia, the 5-petaflop Vulcan system; Jade and Quartz systems at 3 petaflops each; the 970-teraflop Zin system; 431-teraflop Cab system; and additional large multi-core, multi-socket Linux clusters with various processor types. The newest machine, Sierra, occupied the No. 3 position on the TOP500 list in June 2018. The complex has nearly 10,000 square feet of machine floor space, supporting both classified and unclassified national security programs. * Titan Laser: Titan is a combined nanosecond-long pulse and ultrashort-pulse (subpicosecond) laser, with hundreds of joules of energy in each beam. This petawatt-class laser is used for a range of high- energy density physics experiments, including the science of fast ignition for

energy.

Largest computers

Throughout its history, LLNL has been a leader in computers and scientific computing. Even before the Livermore Lab opened its doors, E.O. Lawrence and Edward Teller recognized the importance of computing and the potential of computational simulation. Their purchase of one of the first UNIVAC computers set the precedent for LLNL's history of acquiring and exploiting the fastest and most capable supercomputers in the world. A succession of increasingly powerful and fast computers have been used at the Lab over the years. LLNL researchers use supercomputers to answer questions about subjects such as materials science simulations,

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, and reactions to natural disasters. LLNL has a long history of developing computing

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

and systems. Initially, there was no commercially available software, and computer manufacturers considered it the customer's responsibility to develop their own. Users of the early computers had to write not only the codes to solve their technical problems, but also the routines to run the machines themselves. Today, LLNL computer scientists focus on creating the highly complex physics models, visualization codes, and other unique applications tailored to specific research requirements. A great deal of software also has been written by LLNL personnel to optimize the operation and management of the computer systems, including operating systems such as TOSS, operating system extensions such as

CHAOS (Linux Clustering) Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

, and resource management packages such as

SLURM The Slurm Workload Manager, formerly known as Simple Linux Utility for Resource Management (SLURM), or simply Slurm, is a free and open-source job scheduler for Linux and Unix-like kernels, used by many of the world's supercomputers and compu ...

. LLNL also initiated and continues leading the development of ZFS on Linux, the official port of

ZFS ZFS (previously: Zettabyte File System) is a file system with volume management capabilities. It began as part of the Sun Microsystems Solaris operating system in 2001. Large parts of Solaris – including ZFS – were published under an ope ...

to the

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...

operating system.

Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC)

In August 2009, a joint venture was announced between

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...

/California campus and LLNL to create an open, unclassified research and development space called the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC). The motivation for the LVOC stems from current and future national security challenges that require increased coupling to the private sector to understand threats and deploy solutions in areas such as high performance computing, energy and environmental security, cyber security, economic security, and non-proliferation. The LVOC is modeled after research and development campuses found at major industrial research parks and other U.S. Department of Energy laboratories with campus-like security, a set of business and operating rules devised to enhance and accelerate international scientific collaboration and partnerships with U.S. government agencies, industry and academia. Ultimately, the LVOC will consist of an approximately 110-acre parcel along the eastern edge of the Livermore Laboratory and Sandia sites, and will house additional conference space, collaboration facilities and a visitor's center to support educational and research activities. Objectives of LVOC *Enhance the two laboratories' national security missions by substantially increasing engagement with the private sector and academic community. *Stay at the forefront of the science, technology and engineering fields. *Ensure a quality future workforce by expanding opportunities for open engagement of the broader scientific community.

Budget

For Fiscal Year 2009 LLNL spent $1.497 billion on research and laboratory operations activities: Research/Science Budget: *

– $301.1 million *Nuclear Weapon Deterrent (Safety/Security/Reliability) – $227.2 million *Advance Simulation and Computing – $221.9 million *Nonproliferation – $152.2 million *Department of Defense – $125.9 million *Basic and Applied Science – $86.6 million *Homeland Security – $83.9 million *Energy – $22.4 million Site Management/Operations Budget: *Safeguards/Security – $126.5 million *Facility Operations – $118.2 million *Environmental Restoration – $27.3 million

Directors

The LLNL director is appointed by the board of governors of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) and reports to the board. The laboratory director also serves as the president of LLNS. Over the course of its history, the following scientists have served as LLNL director: *1952–1958

*1958–1960

*1960–1961 Harold Brown *1961–1965 John S. Foster, Jr. *1965–1971 Michael M. May *1971–1988 Roger E. Batzel *1988–1994 John H. Nuckolls *1994–2002 C. Bruce Tarter *2002–2006 Michael R. Anastasio *2006–2011 George H. Miller *2011–2013 Penrose C. Albright *2013–2014 Bret Knapp, acting director *2014–2021 William H. Goldstein *2021–present Kimberly S. Budil

Organization

The LLNL director is supported by a senior executive team consisting of the deputy director, the deputy director for science and technology, principal associate directors, and other senior executives who manage areas/functions directly reporting to the laboratory director. The director's office is organized into these functional areas/offices: * Chief Information Office * Contractor Assurance and Continuous Improvement * Environment, Safety and Health * Government and External Relations * Independent Audit and Oversight * Office of General Counsel * Prime Contract Management Office * Quality Assurance Office * Security Organization * LLNS, LLC Parent Oversight Office The laboratory is organized into four principal directorates, each headed by a principal associate director: * Global Security * Weapons and Complex Integration * National Ignition Facility and Photon Science * Operations and Business ** Business ** Facilities & Infrastructure ** Institutional Facilities Management ** Integrated Safety Management System Project Office ** Nuclear Operations ** Planning and Financial Management ** Staff Relations ** Strategic Human Resources Management Three other directorates are each headed by an associate director who reports to the LLNL director: * Computation * Engineering * Physical & Life Sciences

Corporate management

The LLNL director reports to the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) board of governors, a group of key scientific, academic, national security and business leaders from the LLNS partner companies that jointly own and control LLNS. The LLNS board of governors has a total of 16 positions, with six of these governors constituting an executive committee. All decisions of the board are made by the governors on the executive committee. The other governors are advisory to the executive committee and do not have voting rights. The University of California is entitled to appoint three governors to the executive committee, including the chair. Bechtel is also entitled to appoint three governors to the executive committee, including the vice chair. One of the Bechtel governors must be a representative of Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) or the Washington Division of URS Corporation (URS), who is nominated jointly by B&W and URS each year, and who must be approved and appointed by Bechtel. The executive committee has a seventh governor who is appointed by Battelle; they are non-voting and advisory to the executive committee. The remaining board positions are known as independent governors (also referred to as outside governors), and are selected from among individuals, preferably of national stature, and can not be employees or officers of the partner companies. The University of California-appointed chair has tie-breaking authority over most decisions of the executive committee. The board of governors is the ultimate governing body of LLNS and is charged with overseeing the affairs of LLNS in its operations and management of LLNL. LLNS managers and employees who work at LLNL, up to and including the president and laboratory director, are generally referred to as laboratory employees. All laboratory employees report directly or indirectly to the LLNS president. While most of the work performed by LLNL is funded by the federal government, laboratory employees are paid by LLNS, which is responsible for all aspects of their employment, including providing health care benefits and retirement programs. Within the board of governors, authority resides in the executive committee to exercise all rights, powers, and authorities of LLNS, excepting only certain decisions that are reserved to the parent companies. The LLNS executive committee is free to appoint officers or other managers of LLNS and LLNL, and may delegate its authorities as it deems appropriate to such officers, employees, or other representatives of LLNS/LLNL. The executive committee may also retain auditors, attorneys, or other professionals as necessary. For the most part the executive committee has appointed senior managers at LLNL as the primary officers of LLNS. As a practical matter most operational decisions are delegated to the president of LLNS, who is also the laboratory director. The positions of president laboratory director and deputy laboratory director are filled by joint action of the chair and vice chair of the executive committee, with the University of California nominating the president and laboratory director and Bechtel nominating the deputy laboratory director. The current LLNS chairman is Norman J. Pattiz, founder and chairman of

Westwood One Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...

, America's largest radio network, who also currently serves on the board of regents of the University of California. The vice chairman is J. Scott Ogilvie, president of Bechtel Systems & Infrastructure, Inc., who also serves on the board of directors of Bechtel Group, Inc. (BGI) and on the BGI Audit Committee.

Public protests

The Livermore Action Group organized many mass protests, from 1981 to 1984, against nuclear weapons which were being produced by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Peace activists Ken Nightingale and Eldred Schneider were involved. On June 22, 1982, more than 1,300

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...

protesters were arrested in a nonviolent demonstration. More recently, there has been an annual protest against nuclear weapons research at Lawrence Livermore. In August 2003, 1,000 people protested at Livermore Labs against "new-generation nuclear warheads". In the 2007 protest, 64 people were arrested. More than 80 people were arrested in March 2008 while protesting at the gates. On July 27, 2021, the Society of Professionals, Scientists, and Engineers – University of Professional & Technical Employees Local 11, CWA Local 9119, went on a three-day strike over unfair labor practices.

Footnotes

References

* * * *

External links and sources

*
Lawrence Livermore National Security, a Limited Liability Corporation
(official website) * *
LLNL Industrial Partnerships and Commercialization (IPAC)
(official website)
University of California Office of Laboratory Management
(official website)
Society of Professionals, Scientists and Engineers
(Union representing UC Scientists and Engineers at LLNL)
University of California LLNL Retiree Group
(Legal Defense Fund for UC Retirees from LLNL)
Annotated bibliography for Livermore from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
{{Authority control Laboratories in California United States Department of Energy national laboratories Federally Funded Research and Development Centers Livermore, California Livermore Valley Research institutes in the San Francisco Bay Area Nuclear research institutes Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States Supercomputer sites University of California Buildings and structures in Alameda County, California 1952 establishments in California Superfund sites in California Battelle Memorial Institute Ernest Lawrence Military in the San Francisco Bay Area Military research of the United States

Overview

History

Origins

Renaming

Major projects

Nuclear weapons

Plutonium research

Global security program

Other programs

Key accomplishments

Key facilities

Largest computers

Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC)

Sponsors

Budget

Directors

Organization

Corporate management

Public protests

See also

Footnotes

References

External links and sources