LLNL 09LDRD.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
About the Cover: A time-integrated photograph of a laser shot at the OMEGA facility at the University of Rochester to study diamond melt under high pressure. This ground-breaking research was an outgrowth of Livermore Laboratory Directed Research and Development project 09-SI-005, “Physics and Chemistry of the Interiors of Large Planets: A New Generation of Condensed Matter,” in which researchers measured the melt curve of diamond up to 11 Mbar—the highest pressure ever achieved for a solid in the laboratory. The diamond target is at center-right, and the bright white light is ablated plasma. This research focuses on establishing a new generation of experiments accessing the unexplored regime of ultrahigh compression, with applications that range from understanding the origin and evolution of planets to testing and significantly extending funda- mental theories of condensed matter. Results have appeared in 2008 and 2009 articles in Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Phys- ics, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Physical Society. UCRL-TR-113717-09 Available to DOE and DOE contractors from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Prices available from (423) 576-8401 http://www.osti.gov/bridge/ Available to the public from the National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce 5285 Port Royal Rd. Springfield, VA 22161 http://www.ntis.gov/ or Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Technical Information Department Digital Library https://library-ext.llnl.gov/ Disclaimer This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government, Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorse- ment purposes. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. ii LDRD FY09 ANNUAL REPORT Acknowledgments The Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program extends its sincere appreciation to the principal investigators of fiscal year 2009 projects for providing the content of the annual report and to the publications team. The program also thanks the following members of the Institutional Science and Tech- nology Office for their many contributions to this publication: Nancy Campos, database manager; Steve McNamara, computer specialist; and Cathleen Sayre, resource manager. Scientific Editors: Judith Kammeraad, Kenneth Jackson Publication Editors: Jeffrey Sketchley, Paul Kotta Proofreader: Karen Kline Publication Designer: Lucy Dobson LDRD FY09 ANNUAL REPORT iii Director’s Statement The Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program, authorized by Congress in 1991 and administered by the Institutional Science and Technology Office at Lawrence Livermore, is our primary means for pursuing innovative, long-term, high-risk, and potentially high-payoff research. The LDRD Program supports the full spectrum of national security interests encompassed by the missions of the Laboratory, the Department of Energy, and National Nuclear Security Administration. The accomplishments described in this annual report demonstrate the strong align- ment of the LDRD portfolio with these missions and contribute to the Laboratory’s success in meeting its goals. The LDRD budget of $85 million for fiscal year 2009 sponsored 168 projects. These projects were selected through an extensive George Miller, Director review process to ensure the highest scientific quality and mis- sion relevance. Each year, the number of deserving proposals far exceeds the funding available, making the selection a tough one indeed. Our ongoing investments in LDRD have reaped long-term rewards for the Laboratory and the nation. Many Laboratory programs trace their roots to research thrusts that began several years ago under LDRD sponsorship. In addition, many LDRD projects contribute to more than one mission area, leveraging the Laboratory’s multidisciplinary team approach to science and tech- nology. Safeguarding the nation from terrorist activity and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will be an enduring mission of this Laboratory, for which LDRD will continue to play a vital role. The LDRD Program is a success story. Our projects continue to win national recognition for excellence through prestigious awards, papers published in peer-reviewed journals, and patents granted. With its reputation for sponsoring innovative proj- ects, the LDRD Program is also a major vehicle for attracting and retaining the best and the brightest technical staff and for establishing collaborations with universities, industry, and other scientific and research institutions. By keeping the Laboratory at the forefront of science and technology, the LDRD Program enables us to meet our mission challenges, especially those of national security in an evolving global context. iv LDRD FY09 ANNUAL REPORT Contents Overview About the FY2009 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report ................................................................................... 2 Program Overview— Innovation for Our Nation .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Structure of the LDRD Program .................................................................................................................................................................... 4 The LDRD 2009 Portfolio .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Highlights of 2009 LDRD Accomplishments .................................................................................................................................................. 7 LDRD Metrics .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Awards and Recognition ............................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Advanced Sensors and Instrumentation Biophysical Characterization of Pathogen Invasion —Amy Hiddessen (06-ERD-013) ................................................................................. 22 Serrated Light Illumination for Deflection-Encoded Recording (SLIDER)—John Heebner (07-ERD-017) .................................................... 23 Ultraviolet-Visible Resonance Raman Studies of High Explosives, Impurities, and Degradation Products for Enhanced Standoff Detection—Jerry Carter (07-ERD-041) ........................................................................................................................ 24 Salicylic Acid Derivatives: A New Class of Scintillators for High-Energy Neutron Detection—Natalia Zaitseva (07-ERD-045) ................... 24 Broadband Heterodyne Infrared Spectrometer: A Path to Quantum Noise-Limited Performance—Joseph Tringe (08-ERD-016) ............ 25 Tracing the Shadows of Planetary Systems—Bruce Macintosh (08-ERD-043) ........................................................................................... 26 Point-of-Care Diagnostic for Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus—Jane Bearinger (08-ERD-044) .................................................................... 27 Cadmium–Zinc–Telluride Sandwich Detectors for Gamma Radiation—Rebecca Nikolić (08-ERD-051) ..................................................... 27 Hybridization, Regeneration, and Selective Release of DNA Microarrays—John Dzenitis (08-ERD-064) ................................................... 28 Optimized Volumetric Scanning for X-Ray Area Sources—Sean Lehman (09-ERD-045) ............................................................................. 29 Ultrasensitive Rare-Event Detection for Global Nuclear Security—Adam Bernstein (09-ERD-052) ........................................................... 30 Advanced Computational Techniques for Improving Space Flight Safety—Scot Olivier (09-ERD-058) ...................................................... 31 Superimposed Plasmonic and Photonic Detection Platform—Sarah Baker (09-LW-003) ........................................................................... 32 Antibiotic Heteroresistance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Microchemostat Studies at the Single-Cell Level—Frederick Balagadde (09-LW-112) ....................................................................................................................... 33 Biological Sciences