John Collier, Director of the Central Laser Facility (CLF), an institution of the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Oxford, UK, has been elected as the new Executive Director of Laserlab-Europe AISBL.

​Laserlab-Europe AISBL is an international not-for-profit association that represents 47 prominent laser research infrastructures across 22 European countries.

Director of the CLF, John Collier will be taking over the position from Jens Biegert of The Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, who served as the Executive Director since 2021. Prior to becoming the Executive director, John held the role of Vice-Chair of the General Assembly of Laserlab-Europe AISBL since March 2022 and has been actively involved in the association for several years.

John has been the Director of the CLF for over a decade, helping establish the facility as one of the world's foremost research centres using laser technology and establishing it as a key player in major international programmes.

John Collier (left) and Jens Biegert (right) shake hands.

​John Collier said,

"I am delighted to have been elected the new Executive Director of Laserlab-Europe AISBL. I look forward to working with colleagues across Europe to further strengthen and develop laser and photonic-based science throughout the continent."

Jens Biegert said,

​“It has been a tremendous honour serving as Executive Director of the Laserlab-Europe association. I am proud of our progress and how closely we work together as a European laser community. I am confident that John Collier will provide the leadership and foresight to steer Laserlab-Europe into a promising future. I wish him the best."

The General Assembly extends its congratulations to John Collier on his appointment and expresses gratitude to Jens Biegert for his achievements and dedication in leading the Laserlab-Europe consortium.

Laserlab-Europe provides leadership in laser-based and photonics research, and in related technologies, through a wide range of world-leading investigative capabilities, user training, and services. The association understands itself as the home for laser-based research in Europe, formulating and promoting new developments in laser-based research that are pursued in a flexible and co-ordinated fashion beyond the potential of a national scale. ​

News from: https://www.clf.stfc.ac.uk/Pages/Laserlab-Europe-John-Collier-Executive-Director.aspx