Jim Hammer, a physicist in the Laboratory’s Weapons and Complex Integration Principal Directorate, received the 2013 Edward Teller Medal from the American Nuclear Society Fusion Energy Division. Hammer was cited for “outstanding, innovative research in inertial confinement fusion and high energy density physics using both high-powered lasers and Z-pinch machines.”
Hammer joined the Laboratory in 1979, working first on magnetic fusion research and moving to inertial confinement fusion in the early 1990s. He is recognized for inventing and demonstrating new fusion and high-energy-density concepts as well as groundbreaking science.
The Edward Teller Medal recognizes pioneering research and leadership in the use of lasers, ion-particle beams, or other high-intensity drivers to produce unique high-density matter for scientific research and to conduct investigations of inertial fusion. The medal was established in 1991 in honor of the late Edward Teller, a director emeritus of Lawrence Livermore, senior research fellow at the Hoover Institution, and pioneer in inertial fusion science.
Former Lawrence Fellow David Lobell is one of 24 people to receive a 2013 MacArthur Fellowship from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He was cited “for unearthing richly informative, but often underutilized sources of data to investigate the impact of climate change on crop production and global food security.” Each year, the MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.
Lobell is an agricultural ecologist and assistant professor at Stanford University. While working at Livermore from 2005 to early 2008, he served as coinvestigator for a Laboratory Directed Research and Development project that studied the environmental consequences of deploying new energy sources on a large scale. His multidisciplinary background in remote sensing, statistics, ecosystem modeling, and land use enables him to draw insights from enormous data sets on weather, agricultural practices, and natural resources such as soil and water.
Livermore chemist Phil Pagoria received the 2013 Munitions Safety Award for Technical Achievement from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in recognition of his work in developing the energetic molecule LLM-105, which has the potential to enhance the safety of nuclear and conventional weapons. A Laboratory employee for 27 years, Pagoria serves as the deputy scientific capabilities leader for the Energetic Materials Center. He also chairs the Explosives Safety Committee and leads the Energetic Materials Synthesis Group for Livermore’s Physical and Life Sciences Directorate.
The NATO Munitions Safety Award for Technical Achievement is given annually to an individual or team to acknowledge significant advances in munitions safety technology. Pagoria was nominated for the 2013 award by scientists from the U.S. Army and the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.