The Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) organized the annual meeting of its International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) on September 23-24, 2024. This event, held at ELI-NP facility headquarters in Magurele - Bucharest, focused on external scientific and technical input in the planning, prioritization and review of ELI-NP research centre activities.
The ISAB panel discussed, from a scientific and technical standpoint, relevant topics related to ELI-NP research activities status and future plans. Over the two days workshops, the members provided advice and recommendations concerning support for research, education and related activities involving the ELI-NP scientific community working in a global context, as well as strategic efforts to promote a more effective ELI-NP role in international science.
Dr. Calin Ur, the ELI-NP Director, began the overview session with reflections on the ELI-NP key priorities for the next period that include promoting the development of an internationally engaged workforce, facilitating and supporting collaborations for research and education, and providing opportunities for the most powerful laser in the world leadership to shape the global science and research agenda in the field.
The ISAB members were enthusiastic about the current projects portfolio and engaged in active discussions during the sessions and visits of the research sites. The committee discussed the need for long term analysis and asked what processes could be further put in place to gather more data and measure the impacts.
The ISAB members discussed the ways in which ELI-NP thinks about partnerships and provided examples of activities to further consider how the facility might think about partnerships moving forward. International components and projects were important topics of the debates, as in many scientific fields there is already recognition that more benefits are realized by joining collaborative ventures.
In his closing remarks, Prof. Muhsin Harakeh, Chair of ISAB, expressed his appreciation to the Board for the expertise it brings to the ELI-NP and stressed the importance of scientific evidence to the success of the facility research.
ISAB is comprised of 13 independent internationally recognized scientific and technical experts in the field of laser, plasma and nuclear physics. ISAB members are selected for their scientific expertise and understanding of the main research components of the facility.
