2024 Nuclear Fusion Journal Award Recognizes Paper Co-authored by LLE Scientists

LLE scientists Patrick McKenty and Stephen Craxton and two former members of the LLE High School program, Emma Garcia and Yujia Yang, have been recognized as co-authors of a paper entitled, “High-yield polar-direct-drive fusion neutron sources at the National Ignition Facility,” which has been selected as the winner of the 2024 Nuclear Fusion Journal Award as “the most outstanding article from the 2021 volume.” Each year, just one paper published two or three years earlier is selected based on citation record and scientific impact. The winning paper, led by first author Charles Yeamans of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), describes collaborative work between LLE and LLNL that uses polar direct drive to produce very high neutron yields for radiation effects experiments and other high-energy-density physics investigations. Since the inaugural Nuclear Fusion Journal Award in 2006, all awards prior to the current award have been for articles on magnetic fusion. The 2024 award is the first to recognize work on inertial confinement fusion.