U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Brandon Williams visited Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Feb. 9 for briefings and tours focused on stockpile modernization, AI, supercomputing and the future of deterrence.
During the visit, Williams met with LLNL leadership, technical staff and NNSA's Livermore Field Office officials to learn more about the Laboratory's mission contributions. The visit began with a welcome from LLNL Director Kim Budil and senior leadership, followed by an overview of LLNL's mission portfolio.
Discussions emphasized the Lab's ongoing efforts in stockpile and nuclear security enterprise modernization enabled by science-based tools, including modeling and simulation, experimental facilities and advanced materials and manufacturing, and examined how emerging technologies and design approaches are shaping long-term deterrence planning.
"Seeing the work underway at LLNL reinforces how central this Laboratory is to the nuclear security mission," Williams said. "LLNL's scientists and engineers are tackling some of the most complex national security challenges we face, with rigor, creativity and a deep sense of responsibility."
Williams toured LLNL's Polymer Enclave, a cutting-edge manufacturing facility and collaborative production development environment that integrates AI, on-machine inspection, digital twins and other advanced manufacturing technologies to accelerate component development. Researchers demonstrated how the facility is strengthening connections across the NNSA complex and highlighted opportunities to further accelerate NNSA priorities through tighter integration of science, engineering and computing.
In the afternoon, the visit shifted to LLNL's computing work, including briefings on high-performance computing (HPC), AI and the Lab's support of the DOE-led Genesis Mission. LLNL's Weapon Simulation and Computing Associate Director Rob Neely called the incorporation of AI agents and digital twins an "exciting new frontier" for improving existing modeling and simulation workflows and accelerating delivery to meet mission demands.
Following a tour of the NNSA's first exascale supercomputer El Capitan, where he signed a compute rack, Williams participated in an all-hands meeting with Lab employees and a fireside chat with Lab Director Budil. Williams used his remarks and the discussion to emphasize the growing importance of the NNSA national laboratories in an increasingly complex global security environment and to highlight the vital role of LLNL's scientists and engineers in real-world national security outcomes.
"It's not clear what the future holds, but our nuclear weapons enterprise is as important as it's ever been in its history," Williams said. "There is a tremendous need at the highest levels of our government to appreciate what you do, the problems you solve and the mission you've set your lives to fulfill. My job is to represent those equities and that work to the nation's leadership at a profoundly important moment."
The conversation with Budil touched on mission urgency, the need to remove structural barriers that slow execution, the importance of building a modern workforce and the shift toward a more agile, production-oriented enterprise. Williams pointed to AI and DOE's Genesis Mission as critical enablers, bringing together data, HPC, experimental facilities and advanced manufacturing into a tightly coupled "flywheel" that strengthens stockpile stewardship while enabling future capabilities.
Williams also reflected on how the expertise, facilities and technologies he observed during his visit to LLNL represent not only today's mission, but the foundation for the future nuclear deterrent.
"I've not seen as much of the future all in one place as I've seen here today," Williams said. "This is exactly the kind of work the nuclear security enterprise will depend on going forward."
Additional tours included the National Ignition Facility (NIF) - where Williams and Lab leadership discussed NIF sustainment and the Enhanced Yield Capability project - and the Special Materials Enclave, exemplifying cross-site collaboration in support of stockpile modernization. The visit concluded with discussions on space security and LLNL capabilities aligned with emerging national defense initiatives.
