The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced $28.5 million in funding to LaserNetUS to further advance discovery science and inertial fusion energy (IFE) research. LaserNetUS, North America's high-intensity laser research network, was established in 2018 by the Department's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) to provide scientists and students from the U.S. and abroad with access to high-power laser facilities across the United States and Canada that house some of the most powerful laser systems in the world, including the OMEGA EP Laser System. With over 1200 members, LaserNetUS “has been extremely successful in providing opportunities and capabilities that were largely unavailable to the broad community prior to the formation of this network,” says Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director of Science for FES.

The new award will fund a wide range of projects at the network, including those aimed at exploring astrophysics and planetary science, laser-produced plasmas, cancer radiotherapy, materials science, IFE, and more. The University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics, home of the Omega Laser Facility and one of the dozen institutions in this unique partnership, “has been a critical node of the network,” remarks Kramer Akli, FES Program Manager. Over the last five years, LLE has completed 15 LaserNetUS user projects, with several experiments scheduled at the facility over the coming months. “We are very pleased to continue our participation in LaserNetUS and play an important role in advancing discovery science and IFE research as well as training students,” says Chris Deeney, LLE Director.

News from: https://www.lle.rochester.edu/u-s-department-of-energy-awards-28-5-million-to-lasernetus/