National Ignition Facility & Photon Science

Members of the International Cooperation on Next-Gen Inertial Confinement Fusion Lasers team visit NIF

LLNL and Fraunhofer ILT Partner on Next-Generation Fusion Lasers

Dec. 19, 2025-

LLNL and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) are joining forces to cross-validate their sophisticated laser simulation models.

LLNL Laser Safety Officer Hayden Johnson with his Laser Application Demonstration

Where Beam Paths and Career Paths Intersect

Dec. 17, 2025-

As a laser safety officer, Hayden Johnson knows the location and handling protocols for hundreds of lasers across the Lab. Here's why serving in this role is especially fulfilling.

LLNL Conducts Milestone Nuclear Survivability Experiment at NIF

Dec. 1, 2025-

LLNL conducted an experiment at NIF to assess the ability of U.S. nuclear weapons to survive encounters with adversary missile defenses and reach their targets, demonstrating a new capability that advances stockpile modernization.

Target Fab's Suhas Bhandarkar: From Inception to Ignition and Beyond

Dec. 1, 2025-

Tiny parts and absolute meticulousness define Suhas Bhandarkar’s award-winning career. He leads a team that helps transform LLNL’s physicists’ bold ideas into reality at NIF.

NIF&PS Principal Associate Director Vincent Tang

Vincent Tang Returns to Lead NIF&PS Directorate

Nov. 19, 2025-

LLNL Director Kim Budil named Vincent Tang as the principal associate director (PAD) to lead the NIF and Photon Science directorate.

Members of a team that demonstrated direct artificial intelligence control

Using AI for Real-Time Control of Rapid-Fire Lasers

Nov. 19, 2025-

In a major step forward for HED science and inertial fusion energy, LLNL researchers and their colleagues demonstrated how machine learning and AI could exert instantaneous control of a rapid-fire laser system.

Scientist Patricia Cho conducting research on electron fast ignition using the Jupiter Laser Facility’s Titan laser platform

HEDS Fellow Patricia Cho Probes Cosmic Mysteries

Nov. 13, 2025-

For Patricia Cho, an experimental physicist who is conducting opacity measurement experiments at NIF, a High Energy Density Science Center fellowship allowed her to branch out from her Ph.D. work to explore new areas of astrophysics.