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Materials Science
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
PLS interns shine at the annual poster showcase
The 2026 Physical and Life Sciences (PLS) Summer Student Showcase took place on July 29 in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Library. The day-long event featured the research projects of nearly 130 student interns from across PLS’s divisions. This annual event is a great way for students to practice their science communication skills and gives them the…
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 …
With machine learning, LLNL researchers embrace the atomic-scale complexity of batteries
For grid-scale energy storage and national energy resilience, the U.S. needs better batteries. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are tackling that challenge in many ways, but one approach is making a significant impact: physics-informed machine learning. In two recent publications, LLNL researchers examined how integrating molecular dynamics…
Modernizing high-explosives manufacturing
For decades, manufacturing plastic-bonded high explosives, or PBXs, has relied on legacy processes like slurry coating. In this method, explosive crystals are mixed with a binder, a polymer that helps hold the material together, to form small granules called prills. Those prills are then pressed into dense explosive parts. This process is difficult to control, inefficient…
Measuring iron in motion at earth-core conditions
It was a journey to the center of the Earth, if only for the briefest of moments. But rather than tunneling thousands of miles from the Earth’s surface, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and several universities used the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to recreate those extreme temperature and pressure conditions of the Earth’s inner core…
Computational Tools for Designer Alloys
Livermore-developed alloy optimization software combines a proven methodology with machine-learning processes to accelerate discovery of new alloys.
Researchers create first-of-a-kind laser spring with LLNL’s highest-precision optics to date
When a high-intensity laser interacts with plasma, the charged particles typically oscillate back and forth like waves on the ocean. But what if the laser itself could twist like a whirlpool? Researchers have now demonstrated a rotating, spring-shaped laser pulse, opening up new possibilities for fusion energy, particle acceleration, astrophysics and beyond. In new…
Bridging the gap between neuromorphic ionic computing and more efficient AI
The human brain is the ultimate supercomputer. It uses a highly-branched and interconnected network of neurons and synapses to achieve massive computational power with extreme efficiency. In the age of AI, the brain, a paradigm of efficient neuromorphic computing, is providing inspiration for scientists. Ionic computing — which uses ions to compute instead of the electrons…
LLNL’s Forensic Science Center develops a new capability to detect chemical weapons
In the aftermath of suspected chemical attacks, investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) step in to collect chemical, environmental and biomedical samples. Thorough forensic laboratory analysis of these samples is essential for proving what — if any — chemical agents were used and verifying their identities. Researchers at Lawrence…
Meet Alex Baker: Deputy Group Leader, Advanced Materials Process Science
Alex Baker wears many hats at LLNL; his roles run the gamut from project leadership to operations efforts to scientific research of his own. Being from the United Kingdom, he traveled quite a distance to get here, but it was no accident. Baker completed his PhD at Oxford University and Diamond Light Source, one of the UK’s national labs, during which he regularly visited…
