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Superconducting circuits: How LLNL is building on Nobel Prize-winning quantum technology
This fall, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Clarke, Michel Devoret and John Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantization in an electric circuit.” At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), these award-winning discoveries underpin two fronts of ongoing innovation: fundamental research in quantum…
LLNL caps SC25 with HPC leadership, major science advances and artificial intelligence
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) capped a milestone week at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC25) with renewed leadership in supercomputing on the Top500, a Gordon Bell Prize win for real-time tsunami forecasting and a slate of sessions that underscored the Lab’s expanding role at the intersection…
LLNL, UT & UCSD win Gordon Bell Prize with exascale tsunami forecasting
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the University of Texas at Austin’s (UT) Oden Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on Nov. 20 were awarded the prestigious 2025 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Gordon Bell Prize for developing a real-time tsunami early-warning framework…
Gordon Bell finalist team pushes scale of rocket simulation on El Capitan
Researchers used Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) exascale supercomputer El Capitan to perform the largest fluid dynamics simulation ever — surpassing one quadrillion degrees of freedom in a single computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problem. The team focused the effort on rocket–rocket plume interactions. El Capitan is funded by the National Nuclear Security…
El Capitan retains title as world’s fastest supercomputer in latest Top500
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) El Capitan once again claimed the top spot on the Top500 List of the world’s most powerful supercomputers, announced today at the 2025 International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC25) conference in St. Louis. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) first exascale…
LLNL and partners launch record-breaking protein-folding workflow on world’s fastest supercomputer
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and collaborators at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Columbia University have achieved a milestone in biological computing: completing the largest and fastest protein structure prediction workflow ever run, using the full power of El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer. El Capitan is funded by the Advanced…
El Capitan revealing hidden worlds in previously unattainable high-fidelity simulations
El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer, may be new to scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), but it's already allowing them to explore physical systems in ways that weren’t possible before. With the arrival of El Capitan, LLNL researchers are entering a new era of scientific simulation — one in which they can model extreme physical events with…
LLNL scientists explore real-time tsunami warning system on world’s fastest supercomputer
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have helped develop an advanced, real-time tsunami forecasting system — powered by El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer — that could dramatically improve early warning capabilities for coastal communities near earthquake zones. The exascale El Capitan, which has a theoretical peak performance of 2.79…
LLNL researchers train liquid droplets to play tic-tac-toe
Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing are driving up the demand for massive sources of energy. But neuromorphic computing, which aims to mimic the structure and function of the human brain, could present a new paradigm for energy-efficient computing. To this end, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) created a droplet-based platform…
LLNL’s Lori Diachin named to 2025 ‘legends’ of high-performance computing list
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Principal Deputy for Computing Lori Diachin has been named one of HPCwire’s “35 Legends” for 2025, a recognition that celebrates pioneers, visionaries and champions who have left an enduring mark on high-performance computing (HPC). Now in its second year, the 35 Legends class is selected by HPCwire’s editors and advisors to honor…
El Capitan reigns supreme across three major supercomputing benchmarks
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) flagship exascale machine El Capitan maintained its status as the fastest supercomputer on the planet — claiming the No. 1 spot on not just one, but three of the most prestigious high-performance computing (HPC) rankings. In the 65th edition of the TOP500 List, released June 10 at the ISC High Performance conference in…
Big Ideas Lab podcast enters the quantum realm
Imagine a particle that slips through a wall like a ghost. Now imagine two particles, separated by vast distances yet somehow linked, instantly influencing each other's states. A story with two endings, both true, until turning the final page. A universe where simply looking changes what’s real. These are not thought experiments. This is quantum physics. And for decades,…
Big Ideas Lab unlocks the secrets of drug discovery through supercomputing and AI
In the world of medicine, the journey from ancient practices to modern pharmaceuticals is both fascinating and complex. The latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast delves into the evolution of drug discovery, and how cutting-edge computing technologies and industry partnerships are transforming the way we develop life-saving medications. Historically, the quest for…
LLNL dedicates El Capitan, ushering in new era in supercomputing for national security
More than 300 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employees, government officials and industry leaders gathered at LLNL on Jan. 9 to celebrate the dedication of El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer. The event marked a monumental achievement with the acceptance and deployment of the first exascale computing system built for the National Nuclear Security…
A look back at SC24: El Capitan crowned as LLNL’s legacy of supercomputing leadership reaches new heights
SC24, held recently in Atlanta, was a landmark event, setting new records and demonstrating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) unparalleled contributions to high-performance computing (HPC) innovation and impact. SC, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, is the biggest supercomputing event of the year…
A look back at SC24: El Capitan crowned as LLNL’s legacy of supercomputing leadership reaches new heights
SC24, held recently in Atlanta, was a landmark event, setting new records and demonstrating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) unparalleled contributions to high-performance computing (HPC) innovation and impact. SC, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, is the biggest supercomputing event of the year…
A look back at SC24: El Capitan crowned as LLNL’s legacy of supercomputing leadership reaches new heights
SC24, held recently in Atlanta, was a landmark event, setting new records and demonstrating Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) unparalleled contributions to high-performance computing (HPC) innovation and impact. SC, the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis, is the biggest supercomputing event of the year…
LLNL teams win two HPCwire awards at SC24
Two teams led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) computer scientists won Editor’s Awards from HPCwire, a leading high-performance computing industry publication, at the 2024 Supercomputing Conference (SC24) in Atlanta. Researchers at LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and Cerebras Systems took home the publication’s award for…
LLNL teams win two HPCwire awards at SC24
Two teams led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) computer scientists won Editor’s Awards from HPCwire, a leading high-performance computing industry publication, at the 2024 Supercomputing Conference (SC24) in Atlanta. Researchers at LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and Cerebras Systems took home the publication’s award for…
NNSA researchers break the molecular-dynamics timescale barrier with world’s largest chip
In a groundbreaking development for computational science, a team of National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tri-Lab researchers has unveiled a revolutionary approach to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the Cerebras Wafer-Scale Engine (WSE), the world’s largest computer chip. Running on the second-generation Cerebras WSE-2 — a cutting-edge processor…
