Collaboration for Transformation

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Brad Wallin

Brad Wallin

Deputy Director for Strategic Deterrence

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was founded on the principles of collaborative, interdisciplinary science and innovative solutions for pressing national security challenges. That legacy continues with the Energetic Materials Development Enclave Campus (EMDEC), the home of energetic materials manufacturing innovation within the nuclear security enterprise and the featured topic of this issue of Science & Technology Review. The article “Energizing Enclaves” outlines the many ways EMDEC—a combination of existing, emerging, and planned energetic materials facilities—supports the transformation of the nuclear security enterprise by improving the speed and effectiveness of manufacturing processes and strengthening partnerships with production agencies responsible for manufacturing high explosives. At its core, EMDEC embodies Livermore’s commitment to bridge gaps in communication between weapon designers and producers by bringing together these historically separate entities under one roof. The partnership between Livermore, as a design agency, and the Pantex Plant, as a production agency, is not only critical to the success of EMDEC but provides a roadmap for potential partnerships with other organizations in the future. 

The expanded capabilities and process improvements EMDEC introduces to the multi-institutional manufacturing complex reflect Livermore’s pursuit of solutions for ever-evolving national security challenges and deterrence needs. EMDEC aligns with enduring mission efforts to maintain the active stockpile and deliver modernization programs as well as national efforts to transform nuclear security research and development and prioritize agility and responsiveness. The feature article uncovers the many ways EMDEC and the enclave model revitalize and expedite manufacturing processes and improve the flow of communications between teams and facilities within the enterprise.

As this issue’s research highlights reveal, EMDEC is not the only example of how Livermore addresses national security challenges through collaborative research and reenergized partnerships. The first highlight, “A New Dimension of Glass,” describes how Livermore scientists have scaled fabrication of glass-only metasurfaces to tailor the performance of custom-made laser optics without added coatings. Such metasurfaces, typically achieved with precise patterning carved onto optical glass, had not been a practical solution for large optics such as those at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Following on from a Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program project yielding a dewetting and etching technique to precisely control nanoscale structures on glass surfaces, researchers are refining metasurface designs to address optics damage from NIF’s high-energy laser beams and to suit smaller lasers used in diverse research applications.  

Also critical to the success of the mission is the accessibility of rare-earth elements (REE), the importance of which is presented in the second research highlight entitled “Advancing Rare-Earth Biomining for a Secure Supply.” Livermore scientists developed an unprecedented methodology for separating these irreplaceable elements that offers potential for more accessible REEs to be used in everyday electronics as well as national security and renewable energy applications. Partnerships across academic institutions, other Department of Energy national laboratories, and government organizations, have been instrumental in innovating biomining technologies to secure more of these important materials. 

The final highlight showcases the Laboratory’s Superblock, one of only two defense plutonium research and development facilities in the nation. As “The Superblock: An Essential Facility for Nuclear Operations” details, the facility plays a crucial role in the effort to assess the active stockpile, modernize the stockpile for the future, and understand essential properties of plutonium. The facility offers numerous one-of-a-kind capabilities that support the manufacture of plutonium samples for a range of experiments and play a role in other mission areas such as nuclear threat reduction.

Collaboratively developing new technologies and adapting research and manufacturing techniques ensures Livermore’s readiness to meet the nation’s evolving needs in a rapidly changing threat landscape. From our capabilities and partnerships at EMDEC to our state-of-the-art laboratories to our well-established facilities such as Superblock, Livermore delivers innovation and transformation rising to future challenges and continuing to make essential contributions to national security.