Annual Workshop Strengthens Collaboration
This past May, LLE hosted the sixteenth Omega Laser Facility Users Group (OLUG) Workshop, which brought together over 140 participants from 38 institutions worldwide, with 110 attendees joining in person and 31 virtually. Highly anticipated each year, this event provides invaluable opportunities for users to collaborate and engage with the facility and for students and early career researchers to present their work and develop connections within the community.
A Platform for Innovation and Connection
This annual workshop is more than just a meeting for Omega users—it is a hub for innovation and community building. Designed to spark dialogue between users and facility management, OLUG also creates a welcoming space for students and young researchers to exchange ideas and build lasting professional networks.
Over two and a half days, participants attended sessions that explored a wide range of topics, including:
- Federal Funding Agency Talks: Program managers from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) presented an overview, perspectives, and program updates
- Findings and Recommendations (F&Rs) Sessions: Omega users provided valuable feedback on desired improvements, new capabilities, and future directions with 34 F&R items
- Omega Laser Facility Talks: Facility updates and progress on prior OLUG F&Rs, and Omega user program updates
- Expert Science Talks: Discussions on ignition in the laboratory and efforts toward higher target gain on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), imaging of inertial fusion energy foams at the Linac Coherent Light Source, and the scaling of high-energy-density (HED) vortex rings formed at shocked interfaces on OMEGA EP
- PhD Thesis Presentations: Graduate students shared their research and insights
- New Diagnostic Capabilities: The latest advancements in diagnostics at the Omega Laser Facility
- FLUX and NSF OPAL Updates: The new FLUX laser, experiments on Omega, and exciting updates on the NSF OPAL design project
- Young Researcher Forum and Career Opportunities: Students and postdoctoral researchers discussed F&Rs unique to them, and met with scientists from national laboratories, industry, and academia for career and training opportunities in HED science
- Two Poster Sessions: 62 posters, 51 of which were presented by students and postdocs, showcasing innovative research
Maria Gatu Johnson, Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, closely collaborates with LLE and has been focusing on studying inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and plasma nuclear physics using particle and nuclear diagnostic techniques. These techniques have been essential for guiding the ICF Program on OMEGA to record yields and on the NIF for ignition and energy gain. “OLUG is the opportunity to build connections,” she says, “both with other teams doing experiments, and with the facility and the team at LLE to do the best possible science.”
Landon Tafoya, a doctoral student at the University of Michigan conducting his thesis research with a Los Alamos National Laboratory team, has been conducting experiments on the Omega Laser Facility for his thesis research. He says, “The key to success is collaborating with people here at LLE and other people in the user community. No one person can be an expert in everything.”
Celebrating Excellence
The workshop culminated in the recognition of outstanding contributions by young researchers through the Best Poster Awards. Congratulations to the five winners:
- Graduate Students: Matthew Cufari (MIT), Huws Landberger (Princeton University), Jaya Sicard (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, soon joining UC Berkeley)
- Undergraduate Student: Selma Zuhrić
(University of Michigan) - Postdoctoral Researcher: Edoardo Rovere
(University of California, San Diego)
