(AGENPARL) – Fri 30 January 2026 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, Jan. 30, 2026
Researchers at LLNL combined tiny, atom-scale simulations (right) with
hydrodynamics code that describes the macroscopic world (center). The result
can be used to study fusion targets (left). (Image: Dan Herchek/LLNL)
Bridging atoms to the real world
https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/llnl-new-code-connects-microscopic-insights-to-the-macroscopic-world/
In inertial confinement fusion, a capsule of fuel begins at temperatures near
zero and pressures close to vacuum. When lasers compress that fuel to trigger
fusion, the material heats up to millions of degrees and reaches pressures
similar to the core of the sun. That process happens within a minuscule
amount of space and time.
To understand this process, scientists need to know about the large-scale
conditions, like temperature and pressure, throughout the target chamber.. But
they also want detailed information about the material — and the atoms —
contained within. Until now, computer models have struggled to bridge that
gap across the wide range of conditions encountered in such experiments.
In a recent study published in Physical Review E, researchers at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Davis created
a new framework that couples tiny, atom-scale simulations to code that
describes the macroscopic world, all within the same simulation.
Read More
https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/llnl-new-code-connects-microscopic-insights-to-the-macroscopic-world/
Deployed in 2024, LLNL’s El Capitan is ranked as the world’s most
powerful supercomputer, capable of performing more than 2.79 exaflops per
second.
Meet the supercomputer fleet
https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/accelerating-scientific-discovery-through-advanced-computing
Rows and rows of computer banks stretch into the distance, filling a huge
warehouse-like room. Cooling systems hum, creating a constant background
buzz. Colorful murals unfurl across the cabinets, portraying scientific
symbols and figures. The computers’ names even evoke greatness: Frontier,
Aurora, Perlmutter.
Ever since computers came on the scientific scene in the 1950s, computing has
been essential to research. The agencies that served as predecessors to the
Department of Energy (DOE) played a key role in establishing networks used
around the world today. Researchers and engineers who work on the
supercomputers at DOE’s National Laboratories now continue that
tradition. 
As of November 2025, the DOE currently manages the three most powerful
computers in the world, according to the Top500 list. All three are exascale
computers. These are El Capitan at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
Frontier at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF), and Aurora at
the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF). 
Read More
https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/accelerating-scientific-discovery-through-advanced-computing
With computational models, researchers at LLNL identified a pathway for a
carbon monoxide and oxygen mixture to form a polymer that retains its
stability even after it decompresses. (Image: Stanimir Bonev)
Polymer under pressure
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-fleeting-stable-scientists-uncover-recipe.html
When materials are compressed, their atoms are forced into unusual
arrangements that do not normally exist under everyday conditions. These
configurations are often fleeting: when the pressure is released, the atoms
typically relax back to a stable low-pressure state. Only a few very specific
materials, like diamond, retain their high-pressure structure after returning
to room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
But locking those atomic arrangements in place under ambient conditions could
create new classes of useful materials with a wide range of potential
applications. One particularly compelling example is energetic materials,
which are useful for propellants and explosives.
In a study published in Communications Chemistry, researchers at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) identified a first-of-its-kind carbon
dioxide-equivalent polymer that can be recovered from high-pressure
conditions.
“A polymeric form of carbon dioxide stores far more energy than ordinary
carbon dioxide because its atoms are locked into a dense, covalently bonded
network,” said LLNL scientist and author Stanimir Bonev. “If such a
material can be recovered and stabilized, it represents a high-energy-density
material — meaning it can store and potentially release large amounts of
energy per unit mass or volume.”
Read More
https://phys.org/news/2026-01-fleeting-stable-scientists-uncover-recipe.html
By adjusting the speed of the laser in a compositionally complex alloy (also
called a high-entropy alloy), LLNL discovered a method to guide how the atoms
settle as the metal solidifies, controlling the material’s properties
directly at the atomic scale.
Scanning speeds steer structure
https://www.voxelmatters.com/llnl-scientists-achieve-control-over-atom-arrangement-in-alloy-3d-printing/
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a
method to control the atomic-scale structure of metals during additive
manufacturing by varying the speed of laser scanning.
The team at LLNL worked with academic collaborators to tackle a longstanding
limitation in metal 3D printing, which results in far-from-equilibrium
microstructures causing unpredictable mechanical properties.
Additive manufacturing had already advanced aerospace, defense, and energy
applications significantly, but it relied on a limited number of pre-existing
metallic alloys, ones that were not originally designed for the rapid heating
and cooling cycles that come with laser-based 3D printing.
The team focused on compositionally complex materials — known as
high-entropy alloys — a promising class of metal materials, and combined
thermodynamic modeling and molecular dynamics to simulate their 3D printing.
This allowed them to study how different laser scan speeds affected
solidification during the printing process, and by modeling the rapid cooling
process, the team evaluated how atoms arranged themselves under different
thermal conditions.
Read More
https://www.voxelmatters.com/llnl-scientists-achieve-control-over-atom-arrangement-in-alloy-3d-printing/
Charles Ball participated in an offsite assignment between LLNL and the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he earned the Medal for Exceptional
Public Service in 2021. 
Eye on the Ball
https://www.exchangemonitor.com/charles-ball-appointed-head-of-ai-genesis-mission-at-nnsa/
Charles Ball was named the lead for the Genesis Mission at the National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the agency’s head Brandon Williams
said Tuesday in his keynote at Exchange Monitor’s Nuclear Deterrence
Summit.
The Genesis Mission is an executive order from November by President Donald
Trump which calls for a national effort to use artificial intelligence (AI)
to accelerate “the speed of scientific discovery” for national security
development purposes. Shortly after the executive order was released, NNSA
published a request for information from interested entities with aims to
incorporate AI into the agency’s critical operations.
Ball’s official title is senior advisor for artificial intelligence, an
NNSA spokesperson told the Monitor Tuesday.
Ball was formerly deputy assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction
and Arms Control. His tenure in the nuclear space also includes over 25 years
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in policy and leadership positions
in counterproliferation and counterterrorism. He is also a retired
intelligence officer from the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Read More
https://www.exchangemonitor.com/charles-ball-appointed-head-of-ai-genesis-mission-at-nnsa/
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Read previous Lab Report articles online https://www.llnl.gov/news/lab-report
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