HEDSA
High Energy density science association
Latest News
The HEDSA Symposium at the 66th APS DPP meeting
Hi All, The HEDSA steering committee invites you to attend the annual symposium at the American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics meeting. It will take place on Sunday October 6th from 6-8:30 PM ET in the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Hanover DE room. The agenda is below. We hope to see you all there, The…
Generation of Relativistic Pair Plasma Jets
A recent collaboration between Oxford University and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) has yielded groundbreaking results in the study of relativistic pair plasma jets. This experiment successfully created and observed these high-energy plasma beams, which are composed of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, positrons. The achievement has garnered significant media attention, highlighting its potential…
Estimated 5.2 MJ yield shot on NIF
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) recently achieved an estimated 5.2 megajoule (MJ) yield shot, a significant advancement in their efforts to achieve fusion ignition. This achievement is part of NIF’s broader progress in plasma ignition experiments, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to harnessing fusion energy. The 5.2 MJ shot marks a key milestone in the quest…
Fusion Ignition Milestone Published in Physical Review Letters
LLNL Achieves Fusion Ignition Milestone Published in Physical Review Letters: Unveiling the Groundbreaking Experiment on Fusion Ignition, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) showcases its monumental achievement in igniting fusion within a laboratory setting for the first time. Detailed in the cover article of the February 5 issue of Physical Review Letters (PRL), LLNL’s historic December…
DOE Announces $42 Million for Inertial Fusion Energy Hubs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $42 million for a program that will establish multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary hubs to advance foundational inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology, building on the groundbreaking work of the Department’s researchers into harnessing the power of the sun and stars. The hubs will be led…
University of Rochester Receives $18M for New Laser Facility.
The University of Rochester has secured nearly $18 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to design and prototype crucial technologies for EP-OPAL, a new facility dedicated to studying ultrahigh-intensity laser-matter interactions, potentially located at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). High-intensity lasers have diverse scientific applications, from plasma science to laser-driven nuclear…
2024 ZNetUSWorkshop
Please save the date for the next ZNetUS Workshop to be held in San Diego, CA, at the La Jolla Shores Hotel. Registration information will be available soon. The Workshop will feature invited talks from the inaugural class of ZNetUS User Program awardees. (Call for Proposals coming on October 15!) In addition, the Workshop will…
Scientists repeat breakthrough fusion experiment, netting more power than before
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a Department of Energy lab, have successfully repeated a breakthrough fusion power experiment, surpassing their previous results. In the experiment, lasers targeted a tiny gold cylinder containing a deuterium-tritium fuel pellet, resulting in a nuclear fusion reaction that generated more than 3.5 megajoules of energy, an improvement over…
CSU and Marvel Fusion to build groundbreaking $150M laser facility through public-private partnership
Colorado State University and Marvel Fusion are partnering to establish a cutting-edge laser and fusion research facility in Fort Collins, with a $150 million investment. This collaboration aims to position Fort Collins as a global hub for laser fusion research and significantly benefit Colorado. The facility, anticipated to be completed by 2026, will house powerful…
About Us
HEDSA was formed in 2005 to provide an organization to enable University and Small Business scientists who are working on high energy density research to:
- Advocate a broad-based High Energy Density Science research program based in universities and small businesses as well as in national laboratories and large companies.
- Advocate new initiatives to maintain the health of high energy density science and the related workforce in the United States, including the formation of a High Energy Density Science Users Program.
- Facilitate increased collaboration and communication opportunities among its members.
- Provide, in addition, a Point of Contact (individual) through whom university and small business high energy density research scientists can communicate with government agencies responsible for sponsoring such research in order to facilitate the flow of information in both directions.
Steering committee
Heath LeFevre
Secretary
Dr. LeFevre is an NSF ASCEND postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan studying laboratory astrophysics problems relating to the radiation hydrodynamics of shocks and heat fronts using facilities such as the Omega-60 laser, the Omega-EP laser, the Z-Facility, and the National Ignition Facility.
Douglass Schumacher
Member
Douglass Schumacher is a Professor of Physics at The Ohio State University. He has studied intense laser plasma interactions for thirty years and directs the Scarlet Laser Facility, a sister LaserNetUS facility. Prof. Schumacher is the current Chair of LaserNetUS.
Bedros Afeyan
Member
Dr. Bedros Afeyan received his MS and Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in Theoretical Plasma Physics. He worked at the University of Maryland, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and UC Davis-Livermore before forming Polymath Research. His work is focused on the Nonlinear Optics of Plasmas, Statistical methods, kinetic theory, wavelets and multi-resolution analysis, photonics, Wigner optics, and laser fusion research.
Jason Clapp
Student Chapter President
Jason Clapp is a fifth-year graduate student working with Dr. Roberto Mancini in the field of plasma spectroscopy. The research project involves tracer spectroscopy in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments at the Z Pulsed power driver from Sandia National Laboratories.
HEDSA Student Chapter
The Student Chapter of US students in the field
of High Energy Density Physics.