June 2021

John M. “Bud” Chesser, senior supervisor of the Advanced Coating and Vacuum Process Lab in the Materials Engineering Division of Lawrence Livermore National Lab, looks for two things when screening applications of entry-level technicians: basic mechanical skills and inquisitiveness. During interviews, he asks: “Did you take apart your parents’ drill motor and put it back […]

At LLNL Correa Barrios designs, builds, operates, and maintains vacuum systems that take air and gas contaminants out of stainless steel vessels to create sterile environments. The empty vessels are back filled with ionized argon, which bombards the metals placed in the vessels and results in physical vapor deposition on items. The process of depositing