Extreme Light Lab Part of Laser Consortium

Nebraska’s Extreme Light Laboratory plays a key role in the nation’s high-intensity laser research. With renewed funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, the consortium to which it belongs is expanding.

DOE established LaserNetUS in 2018. Its $18 million funding boost in 2020, distributed among 10 partner institutions, extends the network for three years.

Nebraska’s Extreme Light Laboratory, one of the LaserNetUS host institutions, is home to the powerful Diocles laser, able to generate the power of nearly 100 times the combined output of all the world’s power plants but compressed and delivered in brief bursts. It can recreate some of the most extreme conditions in the universe. Experiments using Diocles enhance the basic understanding of physics and develop solutions for advanced manufacturing, national security and medicine.

“By greatly expanding research opportunities across a broad spectrum of laser science, I am confident that this investment will pay huge dividends for many years to come,” said Donald Umstadter, Leland and Dorothy Olson Professor of Physics and director of the Extreme Light Laboratory.

All facilities in LaserNetUS operate high-intensity lasers, which have a broad range of applications in basic research, advanced manufacturing and medicine.

By greatly expanding research opportunities across a broad spectrum of laser science, I am confident that this investment will pay huge dividends for many years to come.

Donald Umstadter

Other LaserNetUS institutions are: Colorado State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, The Ohio State University, University of Michigan, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Rochester and University of Texas at Austin.

The U.S. has pioneered high-intensity laser technology. The network and future upgrades to LaserNetUS facilities will provide new opportunities for U.S. and international scientists in discovery science and technology development.