LLNL Chairs International Fusion Sciences Conference

November 17, 2009

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently co-chaired one of the landmark conferences for fusion scientists, the 6th International Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications Conference (IFSA), in San Francisco. LLNL was joined by the French Laser and Plasma Institute and the Japanese Institute of Laser Engineering in hosting the event.

Some 600 attendees traveled from all over the world to connect with colleagues and share the latest in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) sciences and High Energy Density Physics (HEDP). Fifteen engineers and scientists from National Security Technologies (NSTec) attended, with five of them presenting oral papers or posters.

NSTec also hosted an exhibit booth featuring work in High Energy Density Physics for LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), Z, and Omega. “Participation in events such as IFSA, and the High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics conference in early 2010, provides great opportunities to show off our technical prowess in areas that add value to the HEDP and ICF community,” said Chris Silbernagel, NSTec HEDP Diagnostics project manager.

Many curious visitors expressed interest in those accomplishments, along with the Livermore Operations calibration capability; especially when they learned of the office’s proximity to LLNL and NIF. Opportunities to do work for others, as well as collaboration, became especially evident in discussions with scientists from Japan, France, the Czech Republic, as well as the United States.

“At IFSA ’09, we showcased our successful support of NIF, our HED Physics capabilities, and our scientific and engineering innovations,” said Zaheer Ali, an NSTec scientist. “Beyond NIF and LLNL, we also interfaced with International Fusion Energy institutions from across the globe, forging relationships that will lead to new collaborations and new business.”

The conference is also the forum for awarding the Edward Teller Medal, which recognizes pioneering research and leadership in the use of laser and ion-particle beams to product unique high-temperature and high-density matter for scientific research and for controlled thermonuclear fusion. Award recipients at this year’s conference were Riccardo Betti, director of the Fusion Science Center at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and Ed Moses, director of NIF at LLNL.