Science and Technology

in the News

News Center

Artist’s rendering of a possible inertial fusion energy power plant.
// S&T Highlights

Energy Department funds LLNL for fusion energy research

The DOE announces $134 million in funding for two programs designed to secure U.S. leadership in emerging fusion technologies and innovation. 

Close-up of the surface of laser powder bed fusion (LBPF), a metal additive manufacturing (AM) process where a laser uses heat to fuse metal powder material and form structures.
// S&T Highlights

Enabling technologies for metal additive manufacturing

LLNL researchers are tackling this challenge by developing first-of-their-kind approaches to look at how materials and structures evolve inside a metal AM structure during printing. 

From left: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Materials Science Division (MSD) researcher Juergen Biener, Materials Engineering Division(MED) staff engineer Abhinav Parakh, physicist Kristi Beck, physics postdoctoral researcher Sayan Patra, and MED staff engineer Xiaoxing Xia.
// S&T Highlights

Miniaturized ion traps show promise of 3D printing for quantum-computing hardwa…

LLNL researchers and collaborators miniaturize quadrupole ion traps for the first time with 3D printing. 

A schematic of the SAPPHIRE diagnostic. The top half of a chirped laser beam passes through plasma, while the bottom half does not. Separating and recombining the beam creates interference patterns (right) that show how the plasma changes with time.
// S&T Highlights

Novel probe captures every scene of a plasma movie all at once

In a study published in Optica, LLNL researchers developed a new diagnostic that captures plasma evolution in time and space with a single laser shot. 

MIT Technology Review has named Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) research scientist Xiaoxing Xia as one of its 2025 Innovators Under 35 — a global list honoring early-career researchers and entrepreneurs who are shaping the future of science and technology.
// Recognition

LLNL’s Xiaoxing Xia named among MIT Technology Review’s top Innovators Under 35

MIT Technology Review has named LLNL research scientist Xiaoxing Xia as one of its 2025 Innovators Under 35.

Samples of algae were taken from the Eel River (left) and measured with NanoSIMS (center). The results, right, demonstrate that a symbiotic bacterium fixes nitrogen inside the algae.
// S&T Highlights

River ecosystem holds clues for sustainable nitrogen production

LLNL researchers and collaborators investigated a California river ecosystem and found a nitrogen-fixing bacterium that acts like a proto-organelle.

LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park was honored for her pioneering high-energy-density experimental work with the American Nuclear Society’s Edward Teller Award.
// Recognition

LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park receives Edward Teller Award

LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park wins the Edward Teller Award by the American Nuclear Society. 

Diana Chen, an optical engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been named a Senior Member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.
// Recognition

LLNL optical engineer Diana Chen named SPIE Senior Member for 2025

Diana Chen, an LLNL optical engineer, has been named a Senior Member of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics. 

A laboratory-scale carbon dioxide electrolyzer (left) and a schematic representation of the same (middle). This technology can be used to transform carbon dioxide into valuable products like fuel and plastics (right).
// S&T Highlights

Controlling water cuts energy costs for ethylene production

In a new study, LLNL researchers design a new polymer ink, called an ionomer, that controls how gas and water move in electrochemical devices. 

STARFIRE logo.
// S&T Highlights

LLNL-led fusion energy hub expands roster of diode experts

The STARFIRE Hub for IFE, led by LLNL, adds five new members to its Diode Technology Working Group.