Original Date: 01/27/1997
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) was founded in 1952 by E.O. Lawrence, a Nobel laureate and distinguished pioneer in managing large-scale, innovative research projects that combined the expertise of many disciplines. The facility, built on the site of an old World War II naval air station, was established to ensure National security through the design, development, and stewardship of nuclear weapons. Today, LLNL focuses on global security to reduce nuclear danger; global ecology to harmonize the economy with the environment; and bioscience to advance the understanding of life and health. Beyond these primary focuses, LLNL facilitates the sharing of its expertise through industrial and academic partnerships; champions the building of scientific foundations through innovative science and technology research; and encourages future generations of scientists and engineers through community outreach programs. Located in Livermore, California, LLNL encompasses one square mile of land and employs 8,500 personnel. Its 1995 fiscal budget was in excess of $1 billion.

LLNL has been administered since its inception by the University of California, first for the Atomic Energy Commission and now for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Throughout its history, LLNL has developed into a multidisciplinary facility with a broad range of technical capabilities, specific core strengths, and unique scientific expertise. Like other national laboratories, LLNL faces new changes, challenges, and opportunities. The facility’s most distinguishing feature is the ability to solve complex technical problems by integrating its diverse capabilities in science, engineering, and management. In addition, LLNL continues to attract the best researchers in the world, promote scientific excellence and technological achievement as high priorities, and achieve success through an efficient management and cost-effective infrastructure. Among the best practices documented were LLNL’s precision systems and precision manufacturing technology; laser cutting and machining; accelerator mass spectrometry; nondestructive and mechanical evaluation; and zephyr paperless procurement system.

As an exclusive technology, LLNL is developing high precision cutting which uses extremely short pulse lasers (pulse width <200 femtoseconds). Advantages of this technology include extreme precision, very high cutting efficiency, virtually no heating of the material being cut, and no detectable heat-affected zone at the cut edges. Holes drilled with femtosecond pulses are more precise and cleaner than those drilled by conventional methods. In addition, nondestructive and mechanical evaluation is becoming an increasingly more important element of the design and manufacturing processes. LLNL has applied various technologies (e.g., computer axial tomography [CAT], radiography, scanning x-ray fluorescence microscopy) to unique inspection situations (e.g., evaluating heart valves; automobile brakes and gears; mines buried in sand; plastic explosives). LLNL works routinely with production plants in a flexible manufacturing environment, transfers developed technology from the laboratory to industry, and actively promotes the role of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technology in concurrent engineering.

As a world-renown facility, LLNL’s vision for the future is one of sustained, results-oriented excellence. LLNL continues to cultivate and inspire a quality-driven laboratory staff guided by high principles and strong core values. Through its scientific and technical expertise, LLNL remains committed to serving the Nation; supporting innovative, cutting-edge initiatives; fostering scientific and mathematical education; and inspiring future generations of scientists and engineers. The BMP survey team considers the following practices to be among the best in industry and government.

TABLE OF ACRONYMS
The following acronyms were used in this report:

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.