UCLCC - University of California Livermore Collaboration Center

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A Little Goes a Long Way

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How MRPI Pilot Awards Turn Seed Funding into Lasting Impact

Breakthroughs often start from small investments. Multicampus Research Programs and Initiatives (MRPI) Pilot Awards were designed to prompt cross-campus research with broad implications for the UC system and communities across the state. With seed funding, researchers test new ideas, build collaborations, and generate early results that position them for larger grants. MRPI Pilot Awardees exemplify how this approach pays off: transforming initial support into research initiatives, new partnerships, and tangible real-world benefits.

To showcase how these investments grow, we are sharing grantee perspectives on how their projects parlayed small investments into big rewards.

UC San Diego Will Lead a New California Effort to Make Fusion Energy a Practical Reality

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The University of California San Diego has been selected to lead a new multi-institution research effort aimed at solving materials, fuel, diagnostic and workforce challenges required to make clean, affordable fusion energy a commercial reality.

The California Center for Fusion Energy – Materials and Diagnostics for Extreme Conditions (MDEC) is a strategic partnership among four University of California (UC) campuses (San Diego, Los Angeles, Irvine and Santa Cruz) and two national labs (Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos). MDEC is funded with a $4 million award from the UC National Laboratory Fees Research Program, and is part of the broader UC Initiative for Fusion Energy, a partnership between UC National Laboratories and the UC Research Grants Program Office.

UC awards $8 million to solve next big scientific and engineering challenges in fusion energy

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The University of California has awarded $8 million in multicampus research grants, in partnership with UC-managed national laboratories, to accelerate progress toward a future powered by abundant, stable, zero-carbon fusion energy.

The UC Initiative for Fusion Energy provides two grants of $4 million over three years. The two winning teams are composed of UC faculty across a wide range of disciplines, representing five UC campuses and the UC-managed Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Labs. This research is funded by fee income the university receives for managing the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories.

Lawrence, High Energy Density Science Center, and Foster and Brown Postdoctoral Fellowships at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

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We invite you to join us on Friday, August 15, 10:30 AM – 12:00PM (Pacific Time) for an optional information session. 

Please register here

We are pleased to solicit applications for three prestigious postdoctoral fellowships: the Lawrence, High Energy Density Science Center, and Foster and Brown Postdoctoral Fellowships at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Please help us spread the word by encouraging talented students and collaborators to apply to these positions. 

Opportunity shared on behalf of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Details and Contact Information below.    
Dear Colleagues:
We are pleased to solicit applications for three prestigious postdoctoral fellowships: the Lawrence, High Energy Density Science Center, and Foster and Brown Postdoctoral Fellowships at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Please help us spread the word by encouraging talented students and collaborators to apply to these positions. 
  We invite you to join us on Friday, August 15, 10:30 AM – 12:00PM (Pacific Time) for an optional information session.  Please register here   Lawrence Fellowship The Lawrence Fellowship is a highly competitive postdoctoral position at LLNL that is open to all technical disciplines. Fellowships are awarded to candidates with exceptional talent, scientific track records, and potential for significant achievements. Fellows are free to pursue their own independent research agenda within an environment of subject matter experts who provide guidance and mentorship.              Salary: $146,820
           Term: Three years
           Application Deadline: October 1, 2025
           Reference Letter Deadline: October 15, 2025
           LLNL Posting: not up yet
           More information
           Contact: Michelle Perez-Robles, perezrobles1@llnl.gov                   
High Energy Density Science Center Fellowship High Energy Density Science is the study of matter and energy under extreme conditions, and we are looking for candidates with expertise ranging from atomic, plasma, nuclear, planetary, stellar, high pressure, and condensed matter physics to high performance computing, diagnostics, and instrumentation.  Applications need to include a CV, research proposal, summary slide, transcripts, and three references.               Salary: $145,980
           Term: Two years with the possibility of extension to a maximum of three years
           Application Deadline: October 6, 2025
           Reference Letter Deadline: October 13, 2025
           LLNL Posting
           More Information
           HEDS Center Website
           HEDS Research Areas
           Contact: Jessica Karlton, karlton1@llnl.gov  
John S. Foster, Jr. Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Harold Brown Postdoctoral Fellowship (US citizens only) Named after two renowned physicists, John S. Foster, Jr. and Harold Brown, these fellowships recognize individuals whose research aligns with the laboratory’s national security mission. These prestigious postdoctoral fellowships will allow you to take your skills to the next level and apply them to solving the nation’s most pressing science and engineering challenges.
           Salary: $145,980
           Term: Two years with the possibility of extension to a maximum of three years
           Application Deadline: September 29, 2025
           Reference Letter Deadline: October 6, 2025
           LLNL Posting
           More Information
           Contact: Tricia Marquez, marquez33@llnl.gov   Sincerely, Paul Grabowski, Ted Baumann, and Matthew Buckner

UCLCC Launches a New Pilot Program: High Energy Density Science Summer School

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By Caroline Liu (UCLCC Communications Intern 2025)

UCLCC Successfully Pilots HEDS Summer School to Meet a Growing and Critical Need

This August, the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center (UCLCC) launched a High Energy Density Science (HEDS) Summer School aimed at encouraging the next generation of scientists to pursue degrees and careers in this emerging and important discipline.

HEDS – the study of matter under extreme conditions of high pressure, temperature, and energy density, such as those found in stars and planets – is essential for fields that are critical to the country’s future and security, such as clean energy, astrophysics and material science. Since 2022, when Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) became the first facility to achieve fusion ignition, the demand for a talented HEDS workforce has dramatically amped up. Yet HEDS remains underrepresented in academia and relatively unknown to many talented young scientists.

The UCLCC summer school sought to address those concerns by introducing undergraduates from across the UCs to HEDS-related fields. A high-powered collaboration among UC campuses and LLNL allowed the program to successfully expose students to current research and experimental facilities at LLNL, offer tips for applying to graduate school, and facilitate networking with UC professors, LLNL scientists, and fellow students.

A Comprehensive Introduction to the Field

Over the course of one week, 24 undergraduates and post baccalaureates from UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and UC San Diego participated in lectures, hands-on learning activities and small group discussions. The HEDS-related topics – taught by experts from UC and LLNL – ranged from shock and plasma physics to laboratory astrophysics and planetary science.

Those sessions also offered a chance for students to interact closely with HEDS scientists, a rare and fulfilling experience. “I did not have much exposure to this many scientists before,” said Anushka Rajasekhar, a junior at UC Berkeley. “Talking to scientists made me understand my career path.”

To that end, the students also participated in professional development workshops that included tips on resume writing and discussions about careers at the national labs. Many also attended tours at LLNL and even had time for self-organized social activities, such as rock climbing.

A Powerful Collaborative Effort

The program demonstrates the power of growing collaborations among the UC campuses and the national labs.  Federica Coppari, Ph.D., from LLNL,  Camille Bibeau, Ph.D., from UC Office of the President, Franklin Dollar, Ph.D., from UC Irvine, David Stubbe, Ph.D., from UC Merced and Farhat Beg, Ph.D., from UC San Diego led the effort.

Christopher Zhen, an incoming junior at UC San Diego believes, “the HEDS Summer School program has opened multiple pathways in exploration of plasmas, lasers and fusion. I greatly appreciate the speakers I’ve listened to, the facilities I’ve toured, the knowledge and connections I have made here.”

He also appreciated the opportunities to connect with UC students from different campuses interested in the same field, adding, “I have made such good friends here and it was overall a great experience.”

As the importance of programs and careers in HEDS continues to grow, filling the pipeline with brilliant young scientists will be essential. The HEDS Summer School offers one exciting example of just how that work can get done.