Student and Young Scientist Participation in the 8th International Conference on X-Ray Lasers to be held in Aspen, Colorado

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

The PI's are requesting funding from NSF to support the attendance of US students and young scientists to the "8th International Conference in X-Ray Lasers", that will be held at the Aspen Institute, in Aspen Colorado during the last week of May of 2002. This bi- annual international conference is recognized as the most important in the field of X-Ray lasers, and constitutes a forum to report the most recent advances in one of the frontiers of laser research. The conference will cover advances in ultrashort wavelength laser development, theory, and applications. Advances in the field of soft x-ray lasers have a synergistic effect in several disciplines. After decades of research these sources have now reached the point at which they are making important contributions to numerous disciplines, including plasma physics, material surface characterization, nanoelectronic metrology, and biology. The continuation of advance of this field is therefore of significant scientific and industrial interest. The conference has historically changed locations, to give at different times the maximum opportunity for attendance to scientists and students from different countries. In May 2002 it will be 8 years since the conference was held in the United States, in Williamsburg (Virginia), in May 1994. The 2002 Aspen conference follows very successful meetings in Sweden (Lund, 1996), Japan (Kyoto, 1998) and France (Saint Malo, 2000). The Aspen meeting will offer the United States scientific and broad technical community the opportunity to actively participate in this international forum. National Science Foundation support will be important in assisting the participation a maximum number of US students and young scientists, and to make the presentations at the meeting accessible to the scientific community in general through the rapid publication of the conference proceedings. More than 250 scientists from all over the world are expected to attend.