LLE Founded

1970:

With the support of University of Rochester president and respected physicist Robert L. Sproull, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) was founded in the fall of 1970. The mission of the Laboratory was to investigate the interaction of intense laser radiation with matter. LLE was established as a multidisciplinary teaching and research center for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. It was the first of its kind at any U.S. university. LLE’s founding director was Moshe Lubin.

The initial operating budget was $250,000 per annum, and its initial sponsors included the New York State Science and Technology Foundation, National Science Foundation (NSF), Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), General Electric (GE), Union Carbide, and Owens-Illinois. LLE began with 13 faculty and staff members and was housed in Gavett Hall and the Hopeman Engineering Building.

Shown here is University of Rochester President Emeritus Robert L. Sproull.