Energetic Materials Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Abstract 

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) which operates under the U. S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE, NNSA). The Energetic Materials Center (EMC) at LLNL develops and maintains expertise on energetic materials (high explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics) in support of national security. An overview of research areas in the Energetic Materials Center at LLNL will be provided as well as information about upcoming internship opportunities. 

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-ABS-2026567.

 About the Speaker 

Emily Weerakkody is the Outreach Programs Research Scientist for the Energetic Materials Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). She received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and joined LLNL as a postdoc in 2021 and became a staff scientist in 2024. Her graduate study was on spectroscopic signatures in the post-detonation nuclear fireball under Professor Nick Glumac. Since her hire at LLNL, she has been working on various safety and performance experiments on high explosives with colleagues in the High Explosive Applications Facility in addition to continuing research in nuclear forensics. 

Host: Professor Nick Glumac