Happy Spring!
Welcome to the Livermore Lab Foundation’s March 2019 Newsletter! We’d like to highlight a few of the recent accomplishments that were enabled through your support.
LLF Sponsors Rae Dorough Speakers Series Talk
LLF was honored to sponsor novelist Janet Beard, author of The Atomic City Girls, as part of the Rae Dorough Speaker Series at Livermore Bankhead Theater March 14, which coincidentally was also Pi Day. Invited to present for women’s history month, Ms. Beard discussed what it was like to be a young woman working on the Manhattan Project in the secret city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II.
Donors to LLF were invited to attend the event as guests of the foundation. A packed house was able to enjoy historical photos of daily life at Oak Ridge and poignant stories from oral histories Ms. Beard came across in the course of her research. She also read a passage from her best selling book vividly describing the apprehensions of a country girl confronting the challenges of her new life in the secret city.
In keeping with its mission to promote science, technology, engineering and, especially math, LLF treated attendees to Pi Day refreshments following the presentation. Any way you slice (or calculate) it, the event was a great success. The foundation is delighted to tout its expanding programs designed to advance science.
We’re most grateful to the volunteers who helped with this event and would like to thank all who celebrated with us! If you’d like to join us as our guest for a future LLF event, please contact info@livermorelabfoundation.org.
LLF Sponsors William Leach at SPIE Photonics West Conference
LLF was proud to help LLNL intern, William Leach, participate in the February SPIE (the international society for optics and photonics) Photonics West Conference in San Francisco. A UCLA graduate student in Electrical Engineering, William is a Castro Valley native. William’s work at the Lab last summer applying artificial intelligence to National Ignition Facility diagnostics resulted in a publication. The conference included a week full of cutting-edge research presentations, technical courses, world-class exhibitions, and numerous networking opportunities. LLF provided financial support to allow this young scientist to attend the conference and present his results.
Spreading the Word
Scientific Advancement Projects Identified for 2019
Scientific research and STEM projects will continue as the main focus of LLF. In 2019, we plan to focus our efforts on identifying a significant research effort at LLNL. Since its inception, LLF has believed that the outstanding science at LLNL can be expanded to address some of the scientific challenges of the future. We look forward to sharing news of an exciting new partnership with you later this year.
LLF also plans to support and encourage a broad range of young scientists (high school and beyond) to take advantage of opportunities at LLNL. This will include the following:
LLF will support scientific advancement through the Lab’s High School Summer Internship Program, expanding the program to 12 students (four students from each of Livermore’s three high schools) and adding two new modules. Program description talks were held at each of the high schools in February to engage the broadest possible applicant pool. Look for the intern selection in our next Newsletter!
We renewed our commitment to LLNL Summer Student participation in the Lab’s Annual Poster Symposium. Once again we will offer cash awards to the top poster winners and participation gifts to all. Student feedback last year indicated the LLF poster award sponsorship impressed on participants the importance of STEM careers.
The American Physical Society’s (APS) Bridge Program focuses on bringing more women and under-represented groups into physics, and the LLNL HED (High Energy Density) Center is actively supporting this goal. The Foundation will partner with the HED Center to provide support for two women to work at the Lab this summer, one an undergrad and one a graduate student.
New this year, the LLF will support a Cal State East Bay (CSUEB) student for a year. The program begins full-time at LLNL this summer in the Data Science Institute, and continues part-time during the academic year, concluding with graduation in 2020. The one-year stipend allows the student time to focus on studies and the science integral to the LLNL internship.
Help us bring “Girls Who Code BIG” to Tri-Valley Students
LLF is seeking to raise $20,000 to bring 25 high-school students to the Lab for multiple days of hands-on programming specific to supercomputers. Supercomputers are extremely powerful research tools applicable to a wide range of science domains; but using them efficiently requires unique skills. This multi-day program would also provide computer cluster hardware to the schools at project completion so the students—and their classmates—could benefit for several years. Please help us reach our goal of bringing these students to LLNL by donating to our campaign.
Updates on Our 2018 High School Summer Internship Program alumni
We welcome your support!
Your support is critical! In addition to our existing STEM and research projects, new donations will help support projects in game-changing scientific advances in such fields as health, energy, new materials, clean water, and food safety. Help LLF open the Door to the Future!
Happy Spring!
Dona Crawford
LLF President