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United StatesISTC Creates New Targeted Initiative on “Ultra-High Intensity Light Science and Technologies”
The latest developments in Particle physics raise high hopes in the scientific community as it could drastically redesign our understanding of the Universe and may contribute to a sustainable solution of energy supply problems namely through a controlled fusion process, which is how stars create their energy. Research is now being carried out around the globe at an accelerating pace and ISTC is already involved in bringing together scientists from various countries through various science projects and workshops. In an effort to better coordinate the collaboration between Russia, the CIS and Canada, the EU, Japan, South Korea and the US, ISTC created a new Targeted Initiative, “Ultra-High Intensity Light Science and Technologies”.
The Targeted Initiative’s working group headed by Prof. S Garanin (RFNC-VNIIEF, Sarov) and Prof. A. Sergeev (IAP RAS, N. Novgorod) was established to develop scenarios of collaboration for the near future. The first meeting of the working group was held on January 15, 2010. Many organizations worldwide have already shown interest in various forms of collaboration with Russian institutes.
The Extreme Light Infrastructure ELI proposed a direct involvement in projects by inviting the Russian Federation to participate in its consortium.
The European High Power Laser Energy Research facility (HiPER) has two official partners in Russia. One partner is the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, IAP RAS, and Nizhny Novgorod, which has direct contract with HiPER. The other partner, the P.N. Lebedev Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, LPI RAS, Moscow, conducts research for HiPER through the ISTC Partner Project Program.
The French research center Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and German Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung mbH (GSI) offered opportunities of collaboration through bilateral lab-to-lab projects, and invitation of visiting professors.
As there is no intergovernmental agreement between the Russian Federation and the European countries that regulates the participation of Russian institutions in this field, the role of ISTC is critical in providing a valid mechanism of collaborative work.