Shaping Futures: The LLE–LLNL Collaboration’s Lasting Impact

Left to right (seated): Alex Zylstra, Annie Kritcher, Jean-Michel Di Nicola, Michael Stadermann, Arthur Pak, and Tammy Ma at a Department of Energy Press Conference after ignition was achieved on the National Ignition Facility in 2022. Many of the fusion experiment’s architects can trace their careers back to their early years using the Omega Laser Facility. Photo courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

When Dayne Fratanduono was a graduate student at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, he spent long hours at the Omega Laser Facility gaining invaluable hands-on experience in the challenging work of compressing matter to its limits and studying its fundamental properties. Today, as Deputy Director for Capabilities at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Fratanduono helps lead the world’s most advanced experiments in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density (HED) science in support of the nation’s stockpile stewardship program. His story is one of many to emerge from the longstanding LLE–LLNL partnership—a collaboration that for decades has launched countless scientific careers.

While its partnership with LLNL is one of the most visible, LLE’s collaborative reach extends much further. LLE regularly joins forces with universities, national labs, and private industry, building networks that advance science while also cultivating the next generation of scientists, engineers, and technicians.

Dayne Fratanduono

Dayne Fratanduono’s career illustrates the profound impact of LLE’s longstanding partnership with LLNL. As a graduate student at the University of Rochester, Fratanduono conducted experiments at LLE, exploring how matter behaves under extreme pressures and temperatures. This foundational work prepared him for increasingly complex challenges. Currently, as Deputy Director for Capabilities at the National Ignition Facility, Fratanduono is leading the effort to upgrade the National Ignition Facility to boost fusion yields in support of stockpile stewardship and fundamental science.

An Incubator for Talent

In the early days of laser-driven fusion research, the field was both specialized and competitive. By the late 1990s, as the community prepared for the construction of the NIF, and LLNL decommissioned its earlier lasers, the OMEGA-60 facility at LLE had evolved into a uniquely flexible and powerful platform. This transition sparked a 25-year collaboration between LLE and LLNL, focused on high-energy-density physics (HEDP) and, crucially, on training future scientific leaders.

Concurrent with the HEDP studies was an effort by LLE to develop techniques and diagnostics that contributed to the 2022 achievement of fusion ignition. LLE scientists were stationed at Livermore for extended periods, and LLNL scientists worked on experimental campaigns at LLE. During this period, novel diagnostics were developed that provided the foundation for solving complex science issues on the NIF. Each effort provided a method, proven on Omega, to achieve measurements critical to understanding and improving the performance of NIF implosions. The groups responsible for these developments were comprised of senior scientists plus young researchers and graduate students. This intense experience was formative and a path to significant career advancement. Early-career researchers from LLNL have also led many laboratory basic science (LBS) experiments and collaborated with university researchers on their National Laser Users’ Facility (NLUF) projects for fundamental HED science on the Omega Laser Facility.

Building Foundations for Ignition

Long before NIF’s first full-power shots in 2010, LLE and LLNL scientists were laying the foundations for ignition, both in terms of technical capabilities and scientific expertise. From the late 1990s through the 2000s, Omega served not only as a testbed for experimental techniques but also as a training ground for the people who would one day lead NIF’s most critical campaigns. Over this decade, tightly knit teams of experimentalists, diagnosticians, theorists, and modelers—many of them early in their careers—worked side by side on a relentless schedule of experiments. They refined diagnostics, perfected target designs, and pushed modeling capabilities, all while learning to operate in the uniquely demanding environment of large-scale HED experiments, where precision, speed, and teamwork were paramount. These experiences prepared a community of scientists to tackle the challenges that NIF would bring on the journey to ignition.

When NIF’s lasers first came online, these researchers were more than technically ready—they had years of shared problem solving behind them, having served as principal investigators and coprincipal investigators on Omega campaigns. The result was a cadre of scientists—including Tammy Ma, Art Pak, Annie Kritcher, Alex Zylstra, along with other future ignition leaders—all poised to tackle NIF’s grand challenge. The years of preparation proved decisive. When the NIF team achieved fusion ignition in December 2022, many of the experiment’s architects (pictured at the press conference on page 18) could trace their careers back to their early years on Omega, thus bringing the achievement full circle. In total, the panelists participated in 1342 shots at LLE.

The 2022 ignition shot was not just the culmination of decades of pioneering advanced laser physics; it was a testament to a workforce pipeline that had been deliberately cultivated through sustained collaboration between LLE and the broader community. With further LLE–LLNL collaboration and the continued pipeline of scientists trained at LLE, NIF is now repeating fusion ignition at higher yields and greater target gain. The ignition experiment at the NIF in April 2025 set a record fusion yield of 8.6 MJ with a target gain >4.

What originally began as a partnership between a handful of LLE scientists and LLNL soon blossomed into a broad and enduring collaboration, with LLNL scientists taking on roles at LLE and the University of Rochester, over time expanding the mentoring network and supporting a growing cohort of early career scientists and student researchers. Today, LLE supports over 80 graduate student researchers throughout the community, offering them unparalleled access to world-class facilities and expertise—a veritable national laboratory experience at a university.

Michelle Marshall

Michelle Marshall’s journey through the LLE–LLNL partnership shows how technical innovation and mentorship work together to shape leaders. As a graduate student at LLE, she characterized the high-density carbon used in NIF capsules. This work fostered a collaboration with LLNL scientists, which motivated Marshall to become a postdoctoral researcher at LLNL, where she used her Omega expertise to lead NIF experiments. She then returned to LLE, where she now leads the High-Energy-Density Physics Experiments Group and is known for championing student researchers and fostering their growth as future leaders.

From Grad Student to Principal Investigator

A defining feature of the LLE–LLNL partnership is the degree of responsibility that is entrusted to students. Within a year of starting graduate school, students are participating in experiments on one of the world’s largest laser facilities. By their second year, many are leading experiments as principal investigators, coordinating teams, and making key decisions in real time.

At the Omega Laser Facility, students use high-power lasers to compress matter to millions of times atmospheric pressure, recreating conditions found deep within planets or even in distant exoplanets. Each experiment is a chance to discover new states of matter or to uncover clues about how planets evolve and whether they might support life. Students are also exposed to the complex instrumentation needed for these experiments, working in a world of picosecond timescales (approximately the time it takes light to transit the width of a single strand of hair) and micron spatial scales (approximately 1/100th the diameter of a strand of hair).

As a University of Rochester graduate student, Dayne Fratanduono was drawn to these opportunities. He focused on understanding materials under extreme conditions—research that demanded rigorous experimentation and creative problem-solving. At Omega, he developed expertise in dynamic compression experiments, probing the behavior of matter at the pressures and temperatures found in planetary interiors and nuclear detonations.

After earning his PhD, Fratanduono joined LLNL, where his research expanded across multiple high-energy-density facilities both within the laboratory and through national collaborations. He became known for his work on warm dense matter and material science at extreme conditions, ultimately contributing to experiments that bridged fundamental science and national security applications that had lasting impact on program priorities. His technical achievements led to broader responsibilities: he served as a scientific advisor to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Experimental Sciences, providing guidance to policymakers on the implications of high-energy-density physics for the nuclear stockpile.

Danae Polsin

Danae Polsin’s path shows how early access to world-class facilities accelerates scientific growth. A SUNY Geneseo graduate, Polsin came to LLE to study materials under extreme conditions using x-ray diffraction. That expertise led to rare opportunities at the NIF, where she led experiments on ramp-compressed sodium. As part of a joint LLE–LLNL team, she advanced multiframe x-ray diffraction on Omega. Now a Staff Scientist at LLE and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Rochester, Polsin views collaboration with LLNL as an essential part of her research—an example she passes on to her students.

From Student Researchers to Leaders in Fusion Science

The transition from student researcher to leader in fusion science is shaped by early immersion in meaningful research, sustained mentorship, and opportunities to make tangible contributions to national projects, while being exposed to the broader community that uses the LLE facilities on a daily basis. At LLE, students are given responsibility from the outset—designing and executing experiments, analyzing data, and presenting results to both peers and senior scientists. This environment instills confidence, cultivates independence, and develops the ability to navigate complex, multidisciplinary challenges.

Mentorship is central to this process. Guidance from experienced scientists doing research at LLE exposes students to a range of research cultures and problem-solving strategies. The collaborative model encourages students to build professional networks and to see themselves as contributors to a larger scientific mission.

High-Impact Science and Skill Building

LLE collaborations with the community are more than a training program, they are an incubator for leadership, creativity, and scientific innovation. Students gain hands-on experience with high-impact research, from supporting NIF’s ignition experiments to advancing planetary science in meaningful ways. For example, Maggie Huff led experiments to characterize iron under extreme conditions while she was a graduate student at LLE. Huff’s measurements have informed models of planetary interiors and the search for exoplanets capable of supporting life.

Beyond technical skills, students learn to lead teams, solve complex problems, communicate with stakeholders and the public, and thrive in high-pressure environments. Many alumni credit their experiences at LLE with shaping their careers and instilling a lifelong commitment to scientific discovery and collaboration.

JJ Ruby

JJ Ruby’s journey spans extremes—from studying matter at millions of degrees on the NIF as a Lawrence Fellow at LLNL to applying analytical innovation with Major League Baseball team the Houston Astros. A Horton Fellow at LLE, Ruby built a foundation in high-energy physics before making the leap into sports science. Now Senior Director of Research and Development for the Astros, Ruby blends physics and data analysis to advance player performance and mentor teams, bringing science directly onto the field.

Shaping National and Energy Security

The ripple effects of the LLE–national laboratory partnerships extend far beyond individual careers. Student contributions have advanced national security, fusion energy, and planetary science while also strengthening the leadership pipeline for critical national security and scientific discovery programs. The collaboration stands as a widely recognized national model for workforce development in high-energy-density science and demonstrate how hands-on research and cross-institutional mentorship can produce leaders who are exceptionally well equipped to tackle some of society’s most complex and pressing scientific challenges.

As the LLE–national laboratory collaboration enters its second quarter century, its impact is evidenced not just in scientific breakthroughs, but in the people it has trained and the relationships they have forged. Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders—scientists, mentors, and innovators who will shape the future of national laboratories and the frontiers of science for decades to come.