OUR MISSION

Strengthening National Security

Our Mission

For over 70 years, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has applied science and technology to make the world a safer place.

The Lab’s mission is to enable U.S. security and global stability and resilience by empowering multidisciplinary teams to pursue bold and innovative science and technology.

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Mission Areas

Enhancing and expanding our mission in the broad national security space.

By splitting our broad and evolving mission into four areas relevant to the current and future stability of our world, we’re better able to address issues of nuclear deterrence, threat preparedness and response, climate and energy security and multi-domain deterrence. In all four areas of our central mission, we count on our talented workforce to think bigger. With exceptional work in preeminent areas of science and operations, the Lab’s influence doesn’t stop at our country’s borders — our innovations make the world a better place to live.

Mission Focus Areas

Focused cross-Laboratory efforts addressing targeted challenges.

Today’s most pressing challenges require broad-ranging solutions with immediate impact. Unique programs have been established in each Mission Focus Area that exploit existing technical expertise, take advantage of deep mission knowledge and employ decision analyses. By putting Laboratory capabilities and experts at the core of this pilot effort, Mission Focus Areas enrich LLNL’s mission contributions. 

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A booklet cover reading "2024 LLNL Strategic Direction: From Innovation to Transformation."

From Innovation to Transformation

Leadership in applying mission-directed science and technology (S&T) to national security challenges is part of LLNL's DNA. Learn how we're seizing this transformational opportunity with an ambitious strategy built upon four pillars: expediting mission and program delivery, driving S&T innovation, delivering operational excellence and nurturing our people and culture.​

​Read About Our Strategic Direction

Our Current Mission Areas & Focus Areas

Mission Area: Nuclear Deterrence

Develop and apply the scientific insight and engineering prowess to assure the safety, security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile in an ever-changing threat environment and enable the modernization and transformation of the NNSA production enterprise. Key operations include:

  • Annual assessment 
  • Stockpile modernization 
  • Advanced science and technology 
  • NNSA enterprise agility and resilience 

Mission Focus Area: Stockpile and Enterprise Transformation

Increases responsiveness and resilience of the Nuclear Security Enterprise by improving key technology, resources and skills across the enterprise; advances experimental, design and computational capabilities; and leverages collaborative networks within the NSE, academia and industry.

Mission Area: Threat Preparedness and Response

Provide unique capabilities and innovative solutions to stem proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, understand capabilities and anticipate adversarial actions and support response and consequence mitigation of natural and man-made threats. Key operations include: 

  • Nuclear counterproliferation and counterterrorism
  • Pandemic response tools and biosecurity
  • Forensic science
  • All-source intelligence

Mission Focus Area: Bio Resilience
Integrates LLNL’s unique computing and experimental capabilities to identify, characterize and counter natural and man-made biological threats at dramatically reduced timescales.

Mission Area: Climate and Energy Security

Advance understanding of the global climate system, develop technologies to reduce accumulation of greenhouse gases and pursue the domestic production and supply of affordable, clean and increasingly carbon-free energy delivered across a secure and sustainable infrastructure. Key operations include:

  • High-fidelity climate impact assessments
  • Reliable, secure, low-carbon energy
  • Infrastructure sustainability
  • Advanced materials and manufacturing

Mission Focus Area: Climate Resilience
Couples biogeochemistry, materials science, geology and climate simulation with infrastructure analysis to mitigate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and predict climate impacts at scale.

Mission Area: Multi-Domain Deterrence

Create a global strategic advantage through innovative technologies, strategies and analyses to bolster escalatory and defensive capabilities across the full spectrum of domains including strategic defense, conventional strike, space, cyber and technology competition.

  • Emerging technology R&D and assessments
  • Strategic defense and conventional strike
  • Space/cyber security
  • Cognitive simulation/artificial intelligence

Mission Focus Area: Integrated Deterrence and Technology Competition
Uses integrated science and technology to win the strategic competition, focusing on regional deterrence scenarios.

Help us work together to keep our nation safe.

Embark on a career that serves your community and your nation. At LLNL, we bring our expertise to bear on the toughest challenges through community-engaged research.

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