Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

LLNL was founded in 1952 as a nuclear weapons research and design laboratory to provide scientific and engineering support for the development of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The main laboratory site is located 40 miles east of San Francisco in Alameda County. Site 300 is a 7,000-acre experimental test site located in the Altamont Hills south of Livermore. The main activities of LLNL include designing thermonuclear weapons, providing diagnostic measurements for weapons tests, harnessing energy for civilian power sources, and physics research. LLNL also leads research programs in environmental science, global climate modeling, biosciences, computing, and forensic science. Energy independence and stockpile safety and surveillance were recently added to LLNL's areas of responsibility.