Here's information provided by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory employees, along with Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), have raised more than $3.6 million to give to surrounding communities. Laboratory employees pledged more than $2.6 million to the HOME Campaign (for Helping Others More Effectively) — an annual charitable drive that benefits community/nonprofit agencies in the Tri Valley, San Joaquin Valley and Greater Bay Area. In addition, Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, which manages the Lab, announced it would …

OK, Livermore folks. If this happens chalk it up as one of the more interesting tidbits about our city alongside having the longest-burning lightbulb and receiving a Native American curse. Science officials are looking to rename No. 116 on the Periodic Table of Elements as "Livermorium" in honor of the City of Livermore and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists who helped create it, according to reports. Bay Area News Group Reporter Suzanne Bohan writes in this article: Lab scientists and colleagues at a Russian institute synthesized a superheavy element a decade ago and it landed…

Here is an announcement provided by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: Penrose “Parney” C. Albright has been named the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Norman J. Pattiz, chairman of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), which manages the lab for the U.S. Department of Energy, made the announcement Thursday. The appointment takes effect December 1. Albright also will serve as president of LLNS. Appointed with the concurrence of DOE, Albright is the 11th director of the Lab since it was established in 1952. He replaces George Miller, who is stepping down …

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, it is a nondescript modular building. For i-GATE, the Tri-Valley’s designated business development incubator, it is simply a big open room leading to private offices. But the two facilities were good reasons Thursday to celebrate the achievement of early goals toward a long-term vision of new green industries supporting thousands of manufacturing jobs in the Tri-Valley. Congressmen John Garamendi and Jerry McNerney headlined a long list of dignitaries on hand for the grand opening of LLNL’s High-Performance Computing Innovation Center in the …

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory officials are dedicating a high-performance computing innovation center today at that will make the lab's supercomputing expertise available to industry and academia. The Interim High-Performance Computing Innovation Center will be the first building on the lab's open campus collaboration zone, which is meant to boost American industry's global competitiveness, according to the lab. Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Creek, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, Livermore Mayor Marshall Kamena, and other elected officials are scheduled to attend the 12:30 p.m. …

Climate scientist Ben Santer has been elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences for his research on human-induced climate change. Santer, an expert in the climate change research community, has worked in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison (PCMDI) for nearly 20 years, and is a frequent contributor to congressional hearings on the science of climate change. He credits his success to the exceptional scientists he collaborates with at LLNL."I never expected to receive the phone call I got at 6 a.m. this morning (Tuesday…

Tri-Valley CARES is calling for a new comprehensive environmental impact statement for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories in light of new projects and plans described in a five-year supplementary review of the laboratory's current EIS. In an interview, Tri-Valley CARE executive director Marylia Kelley criticized the Draft Supplemental Analysis to the 2005 site-wide EIS for failing to address potentially hazardous projects on the sprawling research facility in north Livermore and for glossing over the ramifications of the proposed Livermore Valley Open Campus. “The supplemental analysis …

A release provided by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory: George H. Miller announced Tuesday that he will step down as director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in October. Miller also will step down as president of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), which manages the Laboratory for the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. In a special meeting with employees, Miller announced the “difficult decision” of stepping down, but added “this is the best time for me personally and for the laboratory to make this change. It has been my great …

The Department of Energy is downplaying a threat of a federal government shutdown on operations at the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia California national laboratories. The DOE announced in a statement Thursday that none of its employees or contractors would be furloughed next week in the event of a federal government shutdown Friday. Federal agencies would be forced to cease nonessential services Monday, if Congress is unable to pass a long-stalled fiscal year 2011 federal budget. Federal spending has been authorized by a series of short extensions since the previous budget expired in October…

Research good enough to impress even experienced scientists was displayed this week at the 15th annual Tri-Valley Science and Engineering Fair. Three hundred projects from 413 middle- and high-school students from Danville, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Sunol vied for honors at the event, sponsored by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The field was 30 percent larger than last year’s competition, noted LLNL spokeswoman Lynda Seaver. The program was expanded to a second exhibit hall at the Robert Livermore Community Center in Livermore to present all the projects. “It …

If you have heard that the United States faces no risk at this point from radioactive emissions from the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plants, the assessment probably came from scientists at an emergency command center on the campus of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The New York Times reported Monday that the Department of Energy has activated the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center (NARAC) at LLNL as part of efforts to predict how events at the nuclear power plant complex about 65 kilometers south of Sendai on the northeast Japanese coast will affect …

Livermore can now officially say two national laboratories reside in town. Well, almost. The city council on Monday unanimously approved an application to annex the campuses of Lawrence Livermore and Sandia California national laboratories inside the city limits of Livermore. The Alameda County Local Agency Formation Commission must sign off on the plan and will consider the application at its May 12 meeting, officials said. The plan expands Livermore’s southeastern boundaries to cover 15 land parcels covering 1,057 acres east of Vasco Road, south of Patterson Pass Road and west of Greenville…

By Janna Brancolini -- Bay City News Service Space exploration often involves bringing the seemingly impossible to fruition, but when leaders of a NASA mission to Mercury approached a group of physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2002 for help, the numbers were particularly daunting. Could the team find a way to get measurements near the surface of Mercury, which reaches about 800 degrees Fahrenheit, from an instrument that operates at about -330 degrees? The answer will be revealed next week, when the team's gamma-ray spectrometer is scheduled to begin sending back …

A plan to bring the campuses of Lawrence Livermore and Sandia California national laboratories inside the city limits of Livermore moved closer to reality Tuesday with a unanimous vote of the city’s planning commission to recommend the proposal to the City Council. The annexation plan would expand Livermore’s southeastern boundaries to cover 15 land parcels covering 1,057 acres east of Vasco Road, south of Patterson Pass Road and west of Greenville Road. The property includes the 627-acre campus of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the 390-acre site of Sandia California National …

What do two Ford shuttle buses, a 2006 Toyota Prius and a mobile electric light stand have in common? They are examples of hydrogen-powered technologies developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and showcased in Livermore on Tuesday by Lawrence Livermore and Sandia California national laboratories. Officials from the two labs were joined by DOE representatives in a parking lot next to the Bankhead Theater to introduce residents to two hydrogen gas-powered Ford E-450 passenger vans. They arrived this month as part of a demonstration project at Sandia and LLNL. The 9-passenger vehicles will …

Physicist Kennedy Reed was among five scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recognized recently as fellows of major international scientific societies. Reed was honored Saturday with appointment as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The honor from the AAAS membership recognizes Kennedy’s contributions to the understanding of atomic theory and long-term efforts to increase minority participation in the physical sciences in the United States and Africa. He is one of 503 AAAS members to receive the honor this year. Reed has written more …

Inattentive management practices at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory could lead to the misuse and theft of heroin, cocaine and other controlled substances used in research at the Livermore-based facility, according to a report from the Department of Energy’s Office of the Inspector General. The report issued Feb. 10 found lax oversight of inventory and handling procedures for 42 controlled substances used in bio-medical research and forensic science. The substances include black tar heroin, cocaine, phencyclidine (angel dust) and steroids. No direct evidence of lost or stolen drugs was …

From the Deepwater Horizon oil leak to the START nuclear weapons treaty, the annual report of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory describes the crucial behind-the-scenes roles its staff played in some of the most memorable and important events of 2010. Founded by physicist Edward Teller in 1952 to develop hydrogen bomb technologies for the U.S. military, the lab’s mission covers homeland and global security, energy independence, environmental science, computer engineering and industrial development. LLNL is Livermore’s largest employer by far. Its $1.57 billion budget supported the …

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been recognized for helping discover a new element on the periodic table. The lab was honored Friday by the National Nuclear Security Administration for receiving a Gordon Battelle Prize for scientific discovery and technology impact. “Everyone at NNSA is very proud that the research being conducted across our enterprise is pushing the frontiers of science and discovery on a daily basis,” said Brig. Gen. Sandra E. Finan, an NNSA principal assistant deputy administrator for military application. "I applaud the men and women at Lawrence Livermore …

Representatives of Tri-Valley city governments gathered recently at Sandia National Laboratories for a briefing on two initiatives designed to realize the potential of green energy technologies while creating industries and jobs in the region. The Jan. 12 briefing was on Innovation for Green Advanced Transportation Excellence, or i-GATE, and Innovation Tri-Valley.  The effort is a regional public-private partnership designed to support small businesses and maximize the economic potential of green transportation and clean-energy technologies, according to the i-GATE website. It was one of 12 …