Funding: Department of Energy to Provide $4 Million for Research on Matter in Extreme Conditions

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a plan to provide $4 million for new research under the Department's High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas (HEDLP) program. HEDLP research, typically carried out with lasers, studies matter at extreme conditions of temperature and density. The HEDLP program is administered jointly by DOE's Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration within the Department.

"An important objective of the high energy density laboratory plasmas program is to carry out studies of hot dense plasmas both to understand the plasma universe and also advance the basic science of matter at extreme conditions," said James W. Van Dam, DOE Acting Associate Director of the Office of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences.

Priority for the grants will be given to research to be conducted at laser facilities belonging to the LaserNetUS initiative (LaserNetUS.org). The recently established LaserNetUS network provides scientists with increased access to high-intensity laser facilities at several universities and national laboratories across the county.

Universities, nonprofits, and private sector companies are eligible to submit applications for the program. Funding is to be awarded competitively, on the basis of peer review, and is expected to be in the form of three-year grants ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 per year, beginning in the current fiscal year. Total planned funding will be $4 million over three years, with outyear funding contingent upon Congressional appropriations.

The DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement, titled "High Energy Density Laboratory Plasma Science," is to be found here.