Science and Technology Highlights

The PROSPECT-I detector in operation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor. Designed to be as close to the reactor core as possible, this unique instrument performed precise antineutrino measurements in the challenging background environment found at that facility on the earth's surface.
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Search for sterile neutrinos continues at nuclear reactors

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers from U.S. universities and national laboratories has set stringent limits on the existence and mass of sterile neutrinos. 

Researchers at Penn State University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are exploring "audible enclaves" — localized audio spots created through the nonlinear interaction of self-bending ultrasonic beams. The technique allows sound to be delivered to a precise location, circumventing physical barriers without the need for on-ear devices.
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LLNL and Penn State explore audible enclaves for precision audio

Researchers at Penn State University and LLNL unveil a novel technique that allows sound to be delivered to a precise location, circumventing physical barriers without the need for on-ear devices.

To-scale snapshots from molecular dynamics simulations illustrating hot-spot formation during pore collapse. The images show pores with diameters of 60, 100, 200 and 300 nanometers, illustrating that pores larger than 20 nanometers generate hot spots with scale-invariant (independent of size) temperature distributions.
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Simulating hot-spot formation in insensitive high explosives

Using LLNL’s Sierra supercomputer, a LLNL team has made significant progress in understanding how microscopic hot spots form in insensitive high explosives. 

High explosive LLM-105 before and after a laser-initiated burn inside a diamond anvil cell. Sample mass is ~ 1 microgram. The product is opaque at lower pressures and transparent at higher pressures (lower right panel). Note the increase and decrease in pressure, respectively.
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Probing deflagration to better understand detonation

LLNL researchers conducted laser ignition experiments in a diamond anvil cell and employed large scale quantum molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the products of deflagration at high pressures. 

General flowchart of the pipeline for building the Centrifuge reference database based on the BLAST nt database. The pipeline requires several weeks of processing on a high-performance computing server with high-memory-per-core ratio and a high-bandwidth, low-latency parallel filesystem.
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New nucleotide database could improve microbe identification for science and me…

LLNL researchers are working with the National Center for Biotechnology Information's (NCBI) Nucleotide (nt) database to create a vast repository of DNA sequences from across all known species. 

Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in collaboration with other leading institutions, have successfully used an AI-driven platform to preemptively optimize an antibody to neutralize a broad diversity of SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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LLNL scientists use AI to optimize antibodies against mutations

LLNL researchers, in collaboration with other leading institutions, successfully use an AI-driven platform to preemptively optimize an antibody to neutralize a broad diversity of SARS-CoV-2 variants. 

In a leap forward for materials science, a team of researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania has developed a pioneering method of 3D printing cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers, enabling complex, color-changing responsive materials and paving the way for novel applications like smart textiles and advanced robotics.
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LLNL and collaborators unleash a colorful future of responsive materials

A multi-institutional team of researchers invent 3D-printed, multi-stable structures capable of changing colors in response to stress, with a goal of combining the unique materials and techniques to help redefine smart materials.

Rick Cross works on the Titan compressor system at the Jupiter Laser Facility. The gratings (rainbow reflection) allow the Titan laser to provide peak power while preserving the optical components of the system.
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A brighter future for the Jupiter Laser Facility

Since the 1970s, the Janus laser, now part of JLF, has served as an experimental proving ground to LLNL laser and fusion programs and the broader high-energy-density and laser science communities.

A study led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists is providing new insights into the complex interactions between proteins and cell membranes, combining detailed molecular simulations and large-scale models. The scientists compared their new dynamic density functional theory (DDFT) model to “ground truth” datasets (labeled “MD”). The DDFT model can be run in a single afternoon on a laptop, instead of the several weeks required to generate the MD data on a supercomputing cluster.
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LLNL scientists take new approach to understanding protein-membrane interactions

A recent study led by LLNL scientists is offering new insight into modeling complex protein interactions using a combination of detailed molecular simulations and large-scale models. 

LLNL’s rare-earth element biomining research team in their lab, left to right: Yongqin Jiao, Patrick Diep, Ziye Dong, Jeremy Seidel, Gauthier Deblonde, Dan Park and Christina Kang-Yun.
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Inspired by nature, proteins pick out mission-critical metals

A research collaboration between LLNL and Pennsylvania State University has generated a portfolio of intellectual property (IP), jointly owned by both organizations, that uses bacterial proteins to pick out critical metal ions.