A major US federal research facility established in 1952 as a second nuclear-weapons design lab (alongside Los Alamos), now also a centre for high-performance computing, fusion energy, climate modelling and bioscience. The lab employs over 8,000 staff and is the city's largest employer.
The lab itself is closed to the public for security reasons. The Discovery Center, a small visitor centre on Greenville Road, has free exhibits on the lab's history and current work, including a working model of the National Ignition Facility laser array. The Discovery Center is open Tuesday to Friday and the first Saturday of each month.