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Discoveries

More than 80 years of Science and Engineering Discoveries

The history of discovery by Los Alamos scientists and engineers began with Project Y of the Manhattan Project in 1943 and continues to the present day.

The Laboratory’s ability to deliver on its several missions is made possible by excellence across the breadth of science and engineering. In pursuit of that excellence, the Laboratory delivers discoveries that change our understanding of the universe and underlie our ability to contribute to the nation and the world. Our science and engineering is organized into 6 Capability Pillars. While the discoveries below fall into 5 pillars, they make possible the Laboratory’s sixth pillar, Weapons Systems.

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Explore the Discoveries

Much of this history of discovery came from work at the boundary between disciplines. Although each discovery is mapped to one of the Laboratory’s Capability Pillars, several discoveries cross Pillar boundaries.

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  • Nuclear and Particle Futures

    This pillar integrates diverse experiments, theory, and simulation in order to understand and engineer complex nuclear phenomena.

    • Neutrons
    • Neutrinos
    • Nuclear Applications
    • Cosmic Explosions
    • All Nuclear and Particle Futures discoveries

  • Information Science and Technology

    This pillar stimulates and leverages advances in physical theory, applied math, data science, algorithms, and diverse approaches to high-performance computing to accelerate predictive capability.

    • Nonlinear Dynamics
    • On-line Archives
    • Algorithms
    • All Information Science and Technology Discoveries

  • Materials for the Future

    This pillar pursues the discovery science and engineering for advanced and new materials to intentionally control functionality and predict performance to enable our missions.

    • Advanced Manufacturing
    • Integrated Nanomaterials
    • Plutonium science
    • Quantum Materials
    • All Materials for the Future discoveries

  • Science of Signatures

    This pillar's goal is to discover new signatures, revolutionize the measurement of signatures, and engineer and deploy advanced signature-related technologies from the lab to the field.

    • Biomedical Isotopes
    • Dynamic Imaging
    • Quantum Information
    • All Science of Signatures discoveries

  • Complex Natural and Engineered Systems

    This pillar focuses on engineered systems such as nuclear weapons and the power grid, to understanding the interface of human and engineered systems from the subsurface to space, to studying how complex natural systems such as disease impact humanity.

    • Fuel Cells
    • The Genome
    • Earth Systems Modeling
    • The Subsurface
    • The Planets
    • Space Science