(AGENPARL) – Fri 16 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,
Brian Andresen and Armando Alcaraz inside the Forensic Science Center at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2025. (Photo: Blaise Douros / LLNL)
Cracking the case
Forensic scientist Brian Andresen arrived at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, a
cemetery in Glendale, California, with massive wrought iron gates — the
largest in the world — and rolling green hills, a little before 7 a.m. on a
spring day in 1999.
A natural problem solver, Andresen, an organic chemist and founder of the
Forensic Science Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, had a
crucial job to do. Investigators at the Glendale Police Department had been
looking into the suspicious deaths of patients at a nearby hospital and
believed they might have a serial killer on their hands. A year earlier, a
respiratory therapist at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center named Efren
Saldivar had confessed to the killings. The media was calling him “the
Angel of Death.” Now, a task force headed by Glendale robbery-homicide
Sergeant John McKillop was working rigorously to prove Saldivar’s guilt. It
wasn’t going well.
The police suspected that Saldivar had injected patients using a syringe
filled with lethal doses of paralyzing drugs. But lacking evidence, they were
stuck.
Read More
Tammy Ma and the team at LLNL use the world’s most energetic laser — the
size of three football fields — to compress a tiny pellet of fuel until it
becomes a “miniature star.”
Fusion… but funny
https://www.latimes.com/b2b/events/ces/story/2026-01-09/ces-fusion-sklar-brothers-summary
The LA Times Studios and Monks lounge brought a different kind of spark to
CES this year.
At the bustling Foundry, a standing-room-only crowd gathered for “Hot Takes
on Fusion,” a session that traded dry technical specs for high-energy
“color commentary.” The event paired heavy-hitting nuclear physicists
with the comedic stylings of Randy and Jason Sklar, proving that the “Holy
Grail” of clean energy is actually a lot of fun to talk about.
The panel featured Dr. Tammy Ma, Director of the Livermore Institute for
Fusion Technology, and Dr. Alex Creeley, Chief Engineer at Commonwealth
Fusion Systems (CFS). While the scientists broke down the breakthroughs, the
Sklar brothers were on hand to provide “layman’s terms” and punchlines,
comparing the intricate physics of fusion to everything from Steve
Ballmer’s aggressive energy to the perils of 14-year-olds building reactors
in Arkansas garages.
Ma on the future of energy: “If we can make fusion happen, energy is no
longer a strategic commodity that we fight wars over. It just becomes a
regular commodity like salt… that’s what fusion can do for energy.”
Read More
https://www.latimes.com/b2b/events/ces/story/2026-01-09/ces-fusion-sklar-brothers-summary
Engineers Hillary Johnson and Collin Averill adjust a heat strap on the
infrared detector assembly from the James Webb Space Telescope next to a
model of Pandora’s telescope. (Photo: Garry McLeod/LLNL)
Pandora and Webb: a dynamic duo
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/nasas-newest-telescope-will-play-an-outsize-role-in-finding-earth-2-0/
Among other things, the James Webb Space Telescope is designed to get us
closer to finding habitable worlds around faraway stars. From its perch a
million miles from Earth, Webb’s huge gold-coated mirror collects more
light than any other telescope put into space.
The Webb telescope, launched in 2021 at a cost of more than $10 billion, has
the sensitivity to peer into distant planetary systems and detect the
telltale chemical fingerprints of molecules critical to or indicative of
potential life, like water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane. Webb can do
this while also observing the oldest observable galaxies in the Universe and
studying planets, moons and smaller objects within our own Solar System.
Naturally, astronomers want to get the most out of their big-budget
observatory. That’s where NASA’s Pandora mission comes in.
Pandora’s 17-inch (45-centimeter) telescope comes from Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in California, which had the technology on the shelf from
a national security program. Pandora uses a small satellite platform from
Blue Canyon Technologies, a Colorado company.
Read More
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/nasas-newest-telescope-will-play-an-outsize-role-in-finding-earth-2-0/
Target assembly developed by LLNL researchers, ready for an experiment at NIF
to measure nuclear reactions in high-energy-density plasma environments. 
A peek inside a star
https://interestingengineering.com/science/nuclear-reactions-inside-stars-thermonuclear-explosions
A California-based lab has made the first experimental measurements of
nuclear reactions in high-energy-density plasma environments, which are
similar to conditions found in stars, as well as thermonuclear explosions.
The feat was achieved by radiochemistry experts at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (LLNL) recently.
The ability to collect this experimental data in very hot, dense, star-like
plasma will help researchers validate and improve existing models of nuclear
reactions that are relevant to astrophysics research, as well as our
nation’s stockpile modernization efforts, according to John Despotopulos,
an LLNL radiochemist who leads the research team.
One of the key factors that enabled these first-ever experimental
measurements was access to the world’s highest-energy laser system, located
at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF). At NIF, researchers can create
plasma conditions that are similar to the temperatures and pressures that
exist in stars.
“Our initial proof-of-concept experiments demonstrated that our approach
can be used to calculate nuclear cross-sections for long-lived radioisotopes
in plasma environments,” said Despotopulos. “It’s exciting to tackle
such a challenging problem and be able to capture this type of experimental
data for the first time.”
Read More
https://interestingengineering.com/science/nuclear-reactions-inside-stars-thermonuclear-explosions
This year’s HOME campaign raised more than $3.7 million.
LLNL donations make an impact
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employees donated more than
$2.4 million to communities and nonprofit organizations last fall through the
annual Helping Others More Effectively (HOME) Campaign.
In addition, Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS), the management
collective that oversees LLNL operations, contributed another $1.3 million to
charitable organizations selected by LLNL employees, including a $1 million
direct match and $300,000 from a year-round giving campaign.
LLNL said 752 employees contributed to the HOME campaign between Oct. 30 and
Dec. 2, including 148 new donors. More than 1,000 charities received
contributions.
LLNL said its employees also contributed to several new Giving Pathways
initiatives in 2025, including $122,000 in an inaugural Open Match Giving
Campaign that raised more than $276,000, including LLNS matching funds, which
went to support more than 370 different organizations and causes.
“Our employees continue to inspire with their generosity and commitment to
making a difference,” said Kim Budil, LLNS president and laboratory
director. “The HOME Campaign and Giving Pathways initiatives reflect our
shared values and dedication to supporting communities near and far.”
Read More
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Founded in 1952, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory https://www.llnl.gov
provides solutions to our nation’s most important national security
challenges through innovative science, engineering and technology. Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory is managed by Lawrence Livermore National
Security, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security
Administration.
Read previous Lab Report articles online https://www.llnl.gov/news/lab-report
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