The Livermore-designed warhead for the submarine-launched Polaris missile
The Laboratory was established in
1952 to meet an urgent national security need by helping
to advance nuclear weapons science and technology.
At Berkeley, Ernest O. Lawrence had created the model
of how large-scale science should be pursued—through
multidisciplinary team efforts. Lawrence and Edward
Teller argued for the creation of a second laboratory
to augment the efforts of Los Alamos. Activities began
at Livermore under the aegis of University of California
with a commitment by our first director, Herbert York,
to follow Lawrence’s team-science approach and
be a “new ideas” laboratory. Since then,
with support principally from the Department of Energy
(DOE) and its predecessors, Livermore has been making
history and making a difference.
In the 1950s, Livermore made its
first major breakthrough—the design of a megaton-class
warhead for missiles that could be launched from highly
survivable submarines. We went on to develop the first
high-yield warheads compact enough that several could
be carried on each ballistic missile. More recently,
we successfully completed a life-extension program
to keep the nation’s most modern ICBM warhead,
the W87, part of the U.S. strategic arsenal well into
the 21st century. Also, when the Laboratory opened,
we started to explore the feasibility of civilian fusion
energy. That quest will come one step closer to fruition
through future experiments in the National Ignition
Facility.
Biological research
In the 1960s, our exploration of
the peaceful use of nuclear explosives spawned bioscience
and environmental programs at Livermore. Biotechnology
developments at Livermore and Los Alamos, such as chromosome
biomarkers and high-speed- cell sorters, enabled the
DOE to launch its Human Genome Initiative in 1987.
That initiative grew to become an international endeavor
that completed sequencing the human genome in 2000.
Our bioscience programs are now also contributing to
national efforts to combat the threat of bioterrorism.
Environmental programs have led to novel groundwater
remediation technologies in use at Superfund sites,
models that are contributing to understanding the human
impact on global climate change, and the establishment
of the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability
(NARAC) at Livermore. NARAC contributes to emergency
response decisions after release of radioactivity or
toxic materials, such as the Three Mile Island and
Chernobyl events.
The National Ignition Facility
In the 1970s, Livermore began a
laser research program, and the Laboratory has been
at the forefront of laser science and technology ever
since. A sequence of ever-larger lasers to explore
inertial confinement fusion has led to construction
of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), which will
provide essential support to our national security
mission. Like its predecessors, NIF will enable new
scientific discoveries and is stimulating the development
of new products and processes in U.S. industry. The
energy crisis in the 1970s invigorated energy research
programs at the Laboratory, which are part of the government–industry
partnership to develop long-term reliable, affordable,
clean sources of energy.
Univac, the earliest
computer at Livermore
In the late 1980s, Livermore researchers
began to explore the feasibility of using multiple
parallel processors for scientific computing. For five
decades, the need for ever more powerful simulations
for nuclear weapons design has guided industry’s
development of supercomputers. Livermore frequently
has been home to “serial number one” of
new computers, and we have helped industry make prototype
machines ready for a wider range of users. Now multiple
parallel processing is central to the Advanced Simulation
and Computing (ASC) Program, which is a key component
of efforts to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons
stockpile. “Terascale” computing is also
offering unprecedented opportunities for scientific
discovery.
The 11.2-teraops
Multiprogrammatic Capability
Resource (MCR) supercomputer
In the 1990s, the Laboratory helped
DOE to define the Stockpile Stewardship Program, which
is ensuring the safety, security, and reliability of
the nation’s nuclear deterrent as weapons continue
to age. We are a key participant in the program and
home to unique capabilities for the effort, such as
the ASC supercomputers and NIF. In addition, concerned
about the prospect of proliferation, Livermore established
in 1991 the Nonproliferation, International Security,
and Arms Control directorate to focus analysis efforts
and technology development to deal with what was then
an emerging threat—use of weapons of mass destruction
by terrorists or a nation state.
BASIS biosensor deployed in Times Square, New York City
As
the Laboratory enters its second half-century, our
focus remains as clear as it was on the first day in
1952—ensuring our country’s national security
through scientific research and engineering development,
responding to new threats in our ever-changing world,
and developing new technology that will benefit people
everywhere. “Making history, making a difference” was
the theme of our golden anniversary celebrations, and
it will be the Laboratory’s continuing course
for its next 50 years.