News Archives - Laboratory for Laser Energetics

New Publication by David Turnbull in Physical Review Letters

Congratulations to LLE scientists David Turnbull and coauthors Avi Milder, Russ Follett, Joe Katz, and Dustin Froula, whose paper “Thomson Scattering with Gain” has recently been published in Physical…

Photo of liquid crytals.

Liquid Crystal Plasma Mirrors: A Breakthrough for NSF OPAL

Researchers at LLE and The Ohio State University (OSU) have teamed together to develop renewable, liquid crystal plasma mirrors (LCPMs) to enhance the temporal contrast of the 25-PW pulses planned…

Close-up photograph of a cone0-in-shell photograph with a puff of air on a blue background

A Gentle Puff with a Big Impact: A New System Advances Cryogenic Target Technology

A new gas puffer system (GPS) is transforming how fusion scientists fill cryogenic targets, turning precise whiffs of deuterium gas into liquid fuel and opening the door to next-generation “wetted-foam”…

A conceptual rendering of Focused Energy's Fusion Pilot Plant.

LLE and Focused Energy Inc. Announce $6.9 Million Research Collaboration to Bridge Fusion Science and Commercial Power

The University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) and Focused Energy Inc. have established a $6.9 million partnership, the largest single industrial-sponsored research agreement awarded to LLE, to address…

Colorful gradient with Physics of Plasmas and AIP Publishing logos at the top and a figure at the botom showing a direct relationship between accuracy and level of theoretical refinement.

Valentin Karasiev’s Paper Selected as Editor’s Pick in Physics of Plasmas

Congratulations to LLE staff scientist Valentin Karasiev and coauthors Suxing Hu, Katerina Hilleke, Ammar Ellaboudy, Deyan Mihaylov, and Samuel Trickey, whose paper “Thermal Exchange-Correlation Functionals: Capturing Quantum Electron Behavior…

Photograph of FLUX SHG stage

FLUX: A Next-Generation Broadband Laser for Direct-Drive Fusion Experiments

A Next-Generation Broadband Laser for Direct-Drive Fusion Experiments A New Laser Concept to Mitigate Laser–Plasma Instabilities Achieving fusion in the laboratory has proven a grand challenge of science. At its…

Abstract illustration of an eye projecting a beam of light through glowing spheres and waveforms.

National Report Supports Measurement Innovation to Aid Commercial Fusion Energy and Enable New Plasma Technologies

A newly published report on a DOE-sponsored Basic Research Needs Workshop on Measurement Innovation—led by Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory’s (PPPL) Luis Delgado-Aparicio and LLE’s Sean Regan, with guidance from Curt…

BHx diagnostic on table in the Diagnostics Evaluation Lab.

The BHx Streak Tube: Enabling the Next Generation of Streak Cameras

February 23, 2026

Over the last several years, scientists and engineers at LLE have been developing the BHx streak tube, a cutting-edge instrument designed to capture changes in light on a trillionth-of-a-second timescale.…

A figure from Physics of Plasmas showing a classical particle transitioning to a ring polymer to a quantum particle

Ioannis Pagiazitis’s Paper Selected as Editor’s Pick in Physics of Plasmas

February 4, 2026

Congratulations to LLE graduate student and Horton Fellow Ioannis Pagiazitis and coauthors Nathaniel Shaffer and Suxing Hu, whose paper “Path Integral Molecular Dynamics: A High-Fidelity Approach to Quantum Dynamics…

Map of the United States of America with arrows pointing from LLE to collaborators' locations across the states.

Powering Discovery Through Academic Partnerships

December 1, 2025

Scientific discovery thrives when expertise and resources come together. At the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), collaboration is not just a practice—it is the foundation for advancing…

Laser target shot photograph.

A Milestone Achievement: Omega Laser Facility’s 50,000th Shot

November 17, 2025

On October 28, 2025, the Omega Laser Facility, operated at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), surpassed 50,000 target shots. The facility houses the largest lasers…

Grating Compressor Chamber (GCC) optics in the MTW-OPAL laser facility on Monday, September 18, 2023.

Awards, Honors, & Fellowships

Di Piazza, International Team Win Prestigious ERC Synergy Grant for Quantum Research

November 14, 2025

Antonino Di Piazza, Professor of Physics at the University of Rochester and distinguished scientist at LLE, is part of an international collaboration that has been awarded a prestigious €14M European…