In Their Element: SJSU Students Contribute to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Element 116 Breakthrough

When scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory discovered a new way to make livermorium (element 116) this summer, it made national news. This discovery, important on its own, may open the door to new element discoveries, including element 120.

One of the most exciting parts of this discovery, however, may be closer to home: the SJSU professor and his four student researchers who were a part of this incredible team.

Nick Esker, assistant professor of chemistry, was actually present at the shift where the first element 116 was produced and detected, along with two students, Willem Botha, '26 Chemical Engineering, and Brandon Barrios, '23 BS, '25 MS Chemistry -although at the time, they didn't realize or know what had happened.

In fact, the group's researchers didn't know they'd created livermorium until well after the shift was over, when the data was pored over and analyzed. They learned about their incredible work in retrospect.

"When you produce this heavy element, it only exists for a couple of milliseconds; it's not going to exist for very long," Esker explains. "But it undergoes a radioactive decay to a different element, which then exists for a couple of milliseconds, maybe a second if you're lucky, and then it'll radioactively decay again and again." Scientists can confirm the presence of the elusive element by the signatures of that decay.

In this case, they observed the radioactive decay of element 116 (twice!). With true scientific caution, Esker explains that they technically can't be 100% sure that they saw it, but, he adds, "We can say there is an astronomically low chance that we did not see it."

Even without the Eureka moment, it was a pretty special experience. When they first saw the results, Esker's reaction "started with disbelief," although he found the data "exciting and kind of intriguing."

"The moment that it was confirmed was great," he adds. "I thought, 'Oh my God, we see [an atom of element 116] and we see it a lot earlier than we were expecting. So we said, 'Well, we see one, let's continue on. And when we saw another one - that's big news. Seeing two [element 116] in that time frame is massive. It means that the production of a new element could be achievable."

It's beamtime

This work is a Berkeley Lab-led effort, with Esker and his students as support. To oversimplify, these types of experiments (called "beamtime" experiments) aim to create heavy elements by using a machine called a cyclotron to aim a beam of ions at a target, usually a thin film that the ion beam hits. If the right combination of ions and target are used, scientists are able to produce the elements they want to see, like element 116 on that fateful day.

Of course, this is far easier said than done - there are many possible approaches, involving different materials, ions and elements that scientists can try in order to create the bigger, heavier elements.

Esker's work focuses on nuclear targetry, which explores and produces the types of targets used in these beamtime experiments. His students help him with this research, producing the thin films for the targets that the ion beams then hit to produce these reactions.

As Melanie Guerrero, '25 Chemical Engineering, explains, "The way we run this experiment can be put in terms of a billiard game. When you start the game, you have your cue ball and the triangle of balls. In this case, the cue ball is our 'beam' and the triangle of balls is the 'target.' A good break shot is when the cue ball is hit with just enough force and accuracy to hit the front ball of the rack squarely, resulting in a nice scatter of the balls.

"This goal is pretty similar to what we want to happen in the cyclotron. In the cyclotron, we have our beam ('cue ball') and our target ('rack'). We want to position the beam so that it hits the target most efficiently and hopefully we get some head-on collisions to create a bigger element."

For this particular experiment, the team was using a beam of Ti-50 or titanium 50. Its success in creating element 116 suggests a new path forward to creating even heavier elements, like element 120, that have eluded scientists for years.

In the room

Of the four students from Esker's lab, Botha and Barrios were the only ones in the room when element 116 was produced, but they also took a great deal more from the experience.

Willem Botha, '26 Chemical Engineering, loved the chance to visit and work in Berkeley Lab. He started researching in Esker's lab in January, "creating thin metallic films to be used as either targets or target backings for nuclear reactions." He also enjoyed interacting with Berkeley Lab staff and faculty.

"I was able to meet many different people from many different backgrounds, and it gave me a much broader view of the nuclear science world," he says. His role was data acquisition and storage. "They taught me how to navigate their files and what I needed to record and when I needed to record it," he explains, "and then Brandon Barrios and I were able to help run the accelerator."

Barrios was fascinated by the lab's inner workings. "Definitely the most memorable part of working with Berkeley Lab was touring the 88-Inch Cyclotron and entering the 'caves' where the ion beam is funneled towards its target," he says. "Almost the entire setup is encased in massive concrete blocks and foot-thick steel doors to contain radiation while we were stationed in a nearby office for tracking data. My other favorite part was seeing the control room for the facility, which looked like something out of a movie, with almost every wall covered in rows of blinking lights and monitors giving information about the various areas."

As both a chemistry undergrad and a current master's student at SJSU, Barrios has had a chance to dip his toes into various fields within chemistry, but finds nuclear chemistry especially interesting. He joined Esker's lab in February 2024 and works on "developing nuclear targets by means of molecular plating for use in nuclear reactions."

Like the others, he was "elated" when he heard about the experiment's success, "both because it was an incredible feat of engineering, physics, and chemistry to be able to perform this experiment in the first place, but also because it was such an honor to be a part of this work as a student."

The work has also affected his career goals. "From my limited experience with Dr. Esker's group and this amazing opportunity to help with Berkeley Lab, I think that nuclear chemistry has really taken hold of my scientific interest, and I hope to continue working in the field towards new and exciting discoveries of the atom," he says.

"I was really excited when I heard that the experiment was successful," Botha adds. "Not only because the results are quite impactful for the future of heavy nuclide research, but also because it felt like I had a role in something bigger. It's sometimes hard to feel like you have an impact in undergraduate research, especially when you are just starting out like I was. But participating in this project, and the fact that the project was successful, showed me the impact I could be making, especially if I reach for the opportunities around me."

Whetting their appetites

Guerrero wasn't on shift when element 116 was produced, but her time at Berkeley Lab still provided her with great hands-on experience. During her shift, the team had to run diagnostics on the cyclotron, which gave her a chance to get up close and personal with its inner workings.

"We were able to see the insides of the beam source and actually see how the titanium ions were being produced," she says. "That's something you usually don't get to see."

Phu Vo, '26 Chemistry, originally came to SJSU as a pre-nursing student, but quickly fell in love with chemistry. An early interest in nuclear science led him to Esker's lab, where he works on plastic thin films as a type of hydrogen target. His work was unrelated to the element 116 experiment, but he jumped at the chance to work a beamtime shift and see "the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator setup up close."

He adds, "This research means a lot to me. It's my first experience in an accelerator lab and with undergraduate research, and it will further expand my understanding of the field. I would love to continue with this kind of work and hopefully take part in these kinds of experiments again in the future."

Guerrero agrees, "This research may potentially lead to the discovery of a new element. As an undergraduate researcher, it's exciting to see how our research can be applied in real world scenarios! I plan on volunteering for the next beam shifts since they are a unique experience where you can always learn something new."

A teachable moment

Esker wants his students to know that this kind of high-level scientific research is within their reach."My goal at San José State is to give students the opportunity to participate in these types of experiments, because it was something that I didn't know was an option when I was a student," he explains. "I felt like making new elements was for the people that go to prestigious schools. When I started out, I was a first-generation student who didn't really know about how nuclear science was done and where I could contribute. Now I want my students to know: if you want to, you can absolutely do this."

After all, there are more elements to discover.

Learn more about this remarkable discovery.

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