Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was establish in 1931 by Ernest Lawrence as the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley, California. It centred physics research around the cyclotron, a particle accelerator, invented by Ernest Lawrence and for which he received a Nobel Prize in 1939. Lawrence believed that scientific research is best done through teams of individuals with different fields of expertise working together, and the LBNL considers this to be a guiding principle today.

It was one of the first laboratories to be incorporated into the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), now Department of Energy (DoE). The research at Berkeley Lab has four main themes: discovery science, clean energy, healthy earth and ecological systems, and the future of science.

LBNL has had 15 Nobel Laureates work in its laboratory, and 15 Berkeley Lab scientists recieved the National Medal of Science.

It is headquartered at Berkeley, University of California, USA.