(AGENPARL) – ven 16 giugno 2023 A weekly compendium of media reports on science and technology achievements
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Though the Laboratory reviews
items for overall accuracy, the reporting organizations are responsible for
the content in the links below.
….. LLNL Report, June 16, 2023
The Palisades fire was a wildfire that burned in Topanga State Park, in the
Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Los Angeles on May 14, 2021. Photo by
Amir AghaKouchak/UC Irvine.**
… Humans front and center when it comes to California wildfires
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-12/california-wildfires-now-are-five-times-bigger-than-in-the-1970s?srnd=green#xj4y7vzkg
Summer fires in California consume several times more area than they did a
few decades ago, scientists say, an increase driven largely by climate
change. 
The extent of area burned in California’s summer wildfires increased about
fivefold from 1971 to 2021, and climate change was a major reason why,
according to a new analysis by a Lawrence Livermore researcher and
collaborators. Scientists estimate the area burned in an average summer may
jump as much as 50% by 2050. 
Days after wildfire smoke from Canada turned skies orange along the US
Eastern Seaboard, the study is further confirmation of past research showing
that higher temperatures and drier conditions in many parts of the world make
wildfires more likely. Wildfires worsened by greenhouse gases emitted by
human activities tore through Australia in 2019 and 2020 and Siberia in
2020. 
The study shows that nearly all the recent increase in summer wildfire burned
area in California is attributable to human-caused (anthropogenic) climate
change. Anthropogenic simulations yielded burn areas an average of 172%
higher than natural variation simulations.
Read More
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-12/california-wildfires-now-are-five-times-bigger-than-in-the-1970s?srnd=green#xj4y7vzkg
Lawrence Livermore engineers Brian Wihl and Jacob Trueblood use their laptop
computers to pilot drones under the netting of the OS-150 Robotics Laboratory
for a Department of Defense project. Photo by Julie Russell/LLNL.**
… Building a better drone
https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/tv/47219
Mechanical engineers in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Global
Security Directorate used computer-aided design and the latest additive
manufacturing techniques to design and build custom components for drones.
3D printing technologies can graphically prototype commercially unavailable
parts that can be integrated with unmanned systems or drones.
“I think it’s amazing,” said Lawrence Livermore engineer Brian Wihl.
“To have this [pen] essentially next to our building, we can just come out
here and fly. We don’t have to make sure we meet all the requirements that
add a lot of overhead. It basically allows us to be a lot more efficient in
our testing, achieve quicker turnaround times and, as we move forward and
really figure out our operations, it’s really going to benefit our projects
and make sure we get the data and testing we need a lot faster.”**
Read More https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/tv/47219
The AI for Science, Energy, and Security report is a product of a series of
workshops held in 2022 under the guidance of the U.S. Department of
Energy’s Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security
Administration.**
… A scientific blueprint for AI
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-unveils-ambitious-roadmap-harness-power.html
Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly shaping our world,
from virtual assistants and chatbots to self-driving cars and automated
manufacturing. Seizing on the potential of AI to transform science, the
nation's leading experts in science and technology have released a blueprint
for the United States to accelerate progress by expanding its capabilities in
AI and big data analysis.
“AI for Science, Energy, and Security” lays out a comprehensive vision
for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to expand its work in scientific use
of AI by building on its existing strengths in world-leading high performance
computing systems and data infrastructure.
The report is the product of a series of workshops held in 2022 under the
guidance of DOE's Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security
Administration. The sessions brought together more than 1,000 scientists,
engineers and staff from DOE labs, academia and technology companies to talk
about the rapidly emerging opportunities and challenges of scientific AI.
The report identifies six AI capabilities and describes their potential to
transform DOE’s program areas. These range from control of complex systems
like power grids to foundation models like the large language models behind
generative AI programs such as ChatGPT. The report also lays out the
crosscutting technology needed to enable these AI-powered transformations.
Six DOE national laboratories led the AI workshop series and resulting
report: Argonne, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.**
Read More
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-06-unveils-ambitious-roadmap-harness-power.html
W80-4 test article on ceramic test stand in the test enclosure.
… A certifiable safety measure
https://www.defensedaily.com/nuke-labs-complete-second-temperature-test-of-w80-4-cruise-missile-warhead/nuclear-modernization/
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have
successfully performed a second joint abnormal thermal environment test for
the W80-4 Life Extension Program. 
Carried out at Sandia’s Cross Wind Test Facility in New Mexico at an
undisclosed date, this abnormal thermal environment test, or ATE-2, was a
fast-heat, fully engulfing system-level fuel fire test, the first for
Livermore in more than three decades.
The test is another milestone toward nuclear safety certification of the
W80-4 and provides data to validate computational models of the warhead’s
performance.
“These system-level tests are essential for providing evidence that nuclear
safety requirements are met and provide the primary basis for nuclear safety
certification,” said Charlie Hamann, the W80-4 Systems Engineering and
Integration group leader in the Defense Engineering Technologies Division at
Livermore.**
Read More
https://www.defensedaily.com/nuke-labs-complete-second-temperature-test-of-w80-4-cruise-missile-warhead/nuclear-modernization/
La Paz Scandium and Rare Earth Project located in La Paz County, Arizona
Researchers are using a naturally occurring protein to extract and purify
rare earth elements from abundant, domestic ore-based feedstocks and waste
materials without harming the environment. Image courtesy of Western Rare
Earths.**
… Bacteria takes it or leaves it

Bacteria Select Between Different Rare Earth Elements

Penn State and Lawrence Livermore scientists have discovered a new mechanism
by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements. That is
using the ability of a bacterial protein to bind to another unit of itself
when it is bound to certain rare earths, but prefer to remain a single unit,
or when bound to others.
The team discovered a protein found naturally in a bacterium isolated from
English oak buds exhibits strong capabilities to differentiate between rare
earths. Harnessing its power could revolutionize the entire tech sector by
fundamentally changing how critical minerals like rare earths are harvested
and purified.
The discovery is important because rare earth elements, like neodymium and
dysprosium, are critical components to almost all modern technologies, from
smartphones to hard drives, but they are notoriously hard to separate from
the Earth’s crust and from one another.
By figuring out how this molecular handshake works at the atomic level, the
researchers have found a way to separate these similar metals from one
another quickly, efficiently, and under normal room temperature conditions.
This strategy could lead to more efficient, greener mining and recycling
practices for the entire tech sector, the researchers said.
Read More

Bacteria Select Between Different Rare Earth Elements

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