Vincent Tang
Principal associate director of the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Directorate.
Since the beginning of laser research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been a world leader advancing the field of large-scale, high-energy, and high-power laser systems. Decades of expertise culminated in the achievement of fusion ignition in December 2022, using the most energetic laser in the world at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), with subsequent experiments producing even higher fusion energy yields. These milestones advance Livermore’s core mission to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear deterrent. They also strengthen a broader mission: applying cutting-edge science and technology to enhance national and global security, including energy security.
We are proud to have achieved 10 ignition experiments at NIF to date, but in many respects, this is only the beginning. Lawrence Livermore has long been defined by its willingness and ability to tackle the hardest problems using some of the most extreme science and engineering undertaken by humankind. The feature article in this issue of Science & Technology Review (S&TR) describes how the Laboratory is building on its foundations in laser research to design next-generation diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) systems with far greater power density, higher repetition rates, and dramatically improved efficiency. Early results demonstrate that DPSSL concepts achieve remarkable efficiency and performance for their compact scale—packing significant capability into a much smaller footprint compared to NIF’s expansive laser architecture.
The Laboratory’s DPSSL research is providing critical insight into how such systems could be integrated into national security applications, including prospective inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants for energy security. Realizing a future in which fusion ignition occurs many times per second—rather than today’s longer timescales—demands innovative drivers capable of sustained, reliable operation under extreme conditions. The concepts described in this feature article represent early but essential steps on that path—technologies that can ultimately be incorporated into future IFE power plants and other demanding national security and industrial applications based on laser-generated plasma sources driven at high repetition rates.
To accelerate this progress and translate innovation beyond the Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore has established the Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT) as a hub that brings together the Laboratory’s expertise in fusion science, laser and target technology, materials, modeling, and systems engineering. By coordinating efforts across the Laboratory and engaging the emerging fusion industry, LIFT is helping to turn the scientific achievement of ignition into a foundation for practical fusion energy and long-term energy security in synergy with the Laboratory’s deterrence and defense missions.
This issue of S&TR also features three highlight articles that underscore the breadth of Livermore’s mission. The first introduces the research called studying polymers on a chip (SPOC), a multidisciplinary effort to automate and accelerate materials development. SPOC combines the Laboratory’s strengths in additive manufacturing, high-performance computing, machine learning, engineering, and materials chemistry to rapidly design, synthesize, and screen new materials, leading to a partnership with a California-based battery manufacturer. SPOC illustrates how Livermore’s integrated capabilities can shorten the path from concept to application for polymers and other materials with both commercial and national security relevance.
The second highlight article looks back on the significant contributions Livermore physicists have made to research at CERN. Reflecting the Laboratory’s tradition of collaboration in big science, Livermore scientists have played key roles in the discovery and characterization of the Higgs boson and in experiments probing the microstructure of quark–gluon plasma. Livermore’s sustained involvement in these efforts contributed to the CERN collaborations that were recognized with the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
The final highlight celebrates the people and capabilities at Site 300, Lawrence Livermore’s experimental test site, on the occasion of its 70th anniversary in 2025. Site 300 has been indispensable to the nation’s security, providing the facilities and expertise needed to experimentally evaluate prototypes developed in Laboratory settings. Equally important are the highly skilled, dedicated staff who operate, sustain, and modernize these capabilities. Their work ensures that Site 300 remains a vital, evolving component of the Laboratory’s mission.
Together, the articles in this issue highlight how Livermore’s people, facilities, and partnerships are advancing the frontiers of science and technology—from lasers and fusion to advanced materials, fundamental physics, and experimental test capabilities— in service to the nation.
