The scientific opportunities of the Matter in Extreme Conditions Upgrade project at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

2023-01-27

On January 27, 2023, ELI-NP hosted ELI-NP hosted a seminar on the scientific opportunities that will arise from the Matter in Extreme Conditions Upgrade project at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, in the series of events that our institution organizes with foreign guests from renowned research centers around the world.

The seminar given by Siegfried Glenzer, Professor at Stanford University, presented information about the new experimental capabilities that will access a novel physics regime, expected to rapidly produce knowledge in the areas of High Energy Density Science and Inertial Fusion Energy.

Presently, the Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument is Department of Energy's flagship facility for discovery science in plasma physics and high energy density science that has produced over 100 publications with 25% of the papers in high-impact journals and letters; MEC research results have been highlighted in international TV and radio shows including the CNN, BBC, and DW news. DOE has recently approved a community-supported plan to upgrade the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument that will bring high-repetition rate petawatt lasers to the LCLS's world-class X-ray beam to support the discovery physics and inertial fusion energy science's missions.

About SLAC
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory was founded in 1962, with the construction of a a 2-mile-long electron accelerator that aimed to take particle physics to new heights. Today the Laboratory is known for conducting a broad range of research, leading large-scale science projects, and welcoming scientists around the world to use their X-rays, lasers and electron beams for groundbreaking experiments.

About Siegfried Glenzer
Siegfried Glenzer, who is the recipient of the recent E. O. Lawrence award, is Professor and High-Energy-Density division director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He is the individual recipient of the American Physical Society "Excellence in Plasma Physics" Award (2003). He also won two DOE Excellence in Publications Awards (2011 & 2014) and two Science and Technology Awards (2005 & 2012). In 2004, he received the Alexander-von-Humboldt senior research prize and spent a research and teaching year at the Universität Rostock and at the Deutsche Elektronen Synchrotron in Hamburg, Germany. Prof. Glenzer authored and co-authored more than 400 journal publications and published the textbook "Plasma Scattering of Electromagnetic Radiation" by D. H. Froula, S. H. Glenzer, N. C. Luhamn, Jr., J. Sheffield, 2nd edition (Elsevier, 2010). Siegfried Glenzer is also a fellow of the American Physical Society.

Event webpage