History @ Los Alamos

Research 

•   Energy
  Los Alamos has long been a leader in energy research. In addition to the Fenton Hill Hot Dry Rock Project, the Lab has been awarded more than $30 million in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding for myriad scientific endeavors related to renewable and alternative energy, nuclear physics, and fossil fuels.
  • Hot Dry Rock
•   Defense
  Defense research included work on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the production of replacement pits for the nation's nuclear stockpile, high-resolution imaging for understanding weapon performance, and prevention of the theft or illicit transport of nuclear materials.
  • Stockpile Stewardship
  • Nonproliferation
•   Computing
  Lab scientists invented the Monte Carlo Method of computing, used to design the first atomic bomb. In 1948, work began on the MANIAC computer, one of the first electronic, digital computers. In 2008, the Roadrunner Supercomputer became the first to break the "petaflop" barrier.
  • Supercomputing
•   Basic Science
  Basic science is the heart of all discoveries, and Los Alamos researchers have made many breakthroughs that have changed the world and how we view it. Scientists throughout the world from different fields of study unite to make Los Alamos one of the world's premiere research institutions.
  • Astrophysics