Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States

Also known as: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory(Show More)

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June 30, 2026

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The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, located in Berkeley, California, is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory. It was founded in 1931 by Ernest Orlando Lawrence, who also invented the cyclotron, the first particle accelerator to achieve high energies. This invention earned him the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics.1

The laboratory's early work with cyclotrons led to the artificial creation of elements like technetium and the production of isotopes for medical use, including radioactive iodine for treating hyperthyroidism and neutron beams for cancer therapy. During World War II, Lawrence was involved in the Manhattan Project, contributing to the separation of uranium-235 for the atomic bomb. The laboratory continues to be a significant site for scientific research, particularly in particle physics and nuclear science.1

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Steven Chu
…Berkeley as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, an institution with a long history of research in atomic and nuclear physics that is now part of the system of national laboratories supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. There he encouraged research into renewable energy, particularly the use of…
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…Berkeley as director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, an institution with a long history of research in atomic and nuclear physics that is now part of the system of national laboratories supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. There he encouraged research into renewable energy, particularly the use of…
Read More

dubnium
…group of investigators at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley announced that they had synthesized isotope 260 of element 105, whereupon they proposed the name hahnium for the element, in honour of Otto Hahn, the discoverer of nuclear fission. The American team could not duplicate…
Read More
…group of investigators at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley announced that they had synthesized isotope 260 of element 105, whereupon they proposed the name hahnium for the element, in honour of Otto Hahn, the discoverer of nuclear fission. The American team could not duplicate…
Read More

moscovium
…Dubna, Russia, and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, U.S., announced the production of four atoms of moscovium when calcium-48 was fused with americium-243. Two isotopes of moscovium were produced with atomic weights of 287 and 288; these isotopes decayed in 46.6 and 19–280 milliseconds, respectively. Its…
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…Dubna, Russia, and at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, U.S., announced the production of four atoms of moscovium when calcium-48 was fused with americium-243. Two isotopes of moscovium were produced with atomic weights of 287 and 288; these isotopes decayed in 46.6 and 19–280 milliseconds, respectively. Its…
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oganesson
Discovery and recognition
In 1999 scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, announced the production of atoms of oganesson as a result of the bombardment of lead-208 with atoms of krypton-86. However, in 2001 this result was retracted after it was discovered that some of the data had been falsified.
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In 1999 scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, announced the production of atoms of oganesson as a result of the bombardment of lead-208 with atoms of krypton-86. However, in 2001 this result was retracted after it was discovered that some of the data had been falsified.
Read More

rutherfordium
…of American researchers at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley announced that they had identified isotopes of the element, different from the one identified by the Soviets; the Americans then proposed the name rutherfordium, in honour of the British physicist Ernest Rutherford.
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…of American researchers at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory of the University of California at Berkeley announced that they had identified isotopes of the element, different from the one identified by the Soviets; the Americans then proposed the name rutherfordium, in honour of the British physicist Ernest Rutherford.
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seaborgium
…the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory) of the University of California at Berkeley reported their synthesis of the identical element. Disagreement arose between the two groups over the results of their experiments, both having used different procedures to achieve the synthesis. The Soviet scientists had bombarded lead-207 and…
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…the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory (now Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory) of the University of California at Berkeley reported their synthesis of the identical element. Disagreement arose between the two groups over the results of their experiments, both having used different procedures to achieve the synthesis. The Soviet scientists had bombarded lead-207 and…
Read More