Serving the Nation as a Broad National Security Laboratory

OUR Laboratory was established in 1952 with a core mission:
to advance nuclear weapons science and technology. But that was not our only focus. Fusion energy research was also part of our charter. Over time, our mission focus has continued to broaden. We’ve anticipated and developed innovative solutions to changing national needs by applying advanced capabilities that stem from the Laboratory’s nuclear weapons mission. In the 1970s, for example, we grew energy and environmental programs and launched a biological research program that evolved into the Department of Energy’s pioneering efforts to sequence the human genome.

Today, while our foremost responsibility remains ensuring the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent, we serve as a broad national security laboratory. Livermore’s multidisciplinary approach to problem solving is well suited to tackling the complex issues that affect national security and global stability in the 21st century. Our portfolio of work includes nuclear security, international and domestic security, and energy and environmental security. The projects we engage in—often in collaboration with research partners—take full advantage of the Laboratory’s expertise in wide-ranging scientific and engineering disciplines and our unique research capabilities.

The article From Respiration to Carbon Capture features a high-performance computing project to explore improved methods for reducing the carbon dioxide emitted by coal-fired power plants. In a collaboration with industry and academia using the Laboratory’s supercomputers, researchers are simulating the performance of various molecules to find candidates that emulate the properties of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase—a natural catalyst found in our lungs. The most promising candidate molecules are synthesized for more extensive laboratory testing to determine if they can be adapted to capture carbon dioxide from flue gases before it reaches the atmosphere.

Livermore’s wide-ranging expertise also draws us into a broad range of activities of national importance. A recent example, described in the article Lending a Hand to an Oily Problem, is the technical support provided by the Laboratory following the explosion of the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu offered the expertise of Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, and Sandia national laboratories to help in the effort to contain the spill and cap the leaking well. All three laboratories provided technical staff for 24-hour coverage at the BP crisis center in Houston, Texas, as well as significant “home team” scientific efforts. At Livermore, up to 60 scientists and engineers engaged in the assistance efforts.

The Laboratory’s expertise in areas such as computer simulations, engineering, and diagnostics proved vital for addressing flow, capture, and containment issues. BP came to value the technical competence, problem-solving abilities, and alternative viewpoints offered by the national laboratory teams. In the process, we developed effective working relationships with BP engineers, experts from other oil companies, and government agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Livermore scientists are also developing innovative computer modeling systems that process decisions as we humans do, by recognizing and adapting to changes in our environment. In this project, which is discussed in the highlight A Complex Game of Cat and Mouse, the team’s goal is to use these systems to analyze adversarial relationships that threaten security.

As these articles show, the Laboratory’s outstanding technical staff offers the nation a wide range of resources and technology whether they are needed to assist in disaster response or are directed toward solving important national security problems. To expand such activities, we are strengthening our many current partnerships and developing new ones with other work sponsors and collaborators in academia and industry. As part of this effort, Lawrence Livermore and Sandia are developing the Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC) on 110 acres of contiguous land adjoining the southeast corner of Livermore’s main site and the northeast corner of Sandia’s California site. The highlight New Campus Set to Transform Two National Laboratories details the plans for LVOC, which will build on the two laboratories’ existing programs and strengths.

We are excited about our future as a broad national security laboratory and the opportunities LVOC will create. By increasing collaborations with the talented minds in industry and academia, we can continue to develop innovative technologies that strengthen national security, help to improve international relationships, and ensure that the U.S. maintains its economic competitiveness.