AccelNet-Design: Extreme Light in Space, Intensity, Time and Space(X-lites)

Ohio State University, The, Columbus OH

Investigators

Abstract

The invention of the laser in the late 1960s enabled a wide range of scientific and technological advances, from communications to surgery to facial recognition to analysis of Martian soil. Laser science and technologies continue to advance, and a new generation of lasers are accessing frontiers of laser-matter interactions at the highest intensities, the fastest times, and the shortest distances. The Extreme Light in Intensity, Time, and Space (X-lites) network builds on these technological advances to organize and support scientists around the world as they research and apply this extreme light. X-lites is a new global network that unites the work of scientists across disciplines and geographic borders to support the next generation of scientific advances, researcher training, skills development, and laser technology. X-lites accelerates discovery and invention through its support of team building, knowledge sharing, and education. X-lites applies the Science of Team Science (SciTS) to build on existing networks of researchers developing and applying extreme light. X-lites builds on US and European investments in research facilities that provide access to cutting edge extreme light capabilities. The X-lites network is built on a coupled, two-layer network concept that has proven to be effective in forming impactful networks. One networked layer links user facilities, and the second layer links these facility's users. Users are a diverse community of researchers taking advantage of infrastructure investments to explore questions in physics, chemistry, biology, materials, and more. X-lites hosts workshops and short courses on effective teaming, followed by meetings of the researcher community to strengthen connections, enable collaboration, gather feedback on the key technical challenges, and shape the future of X-lites. These activities intentionally engage early career and diverse researchers (i.e., diverse demographics, scientific specialties, and geographic locations) who are the future of these fields and who drive X-lites and extreme light science, technologies, and applications forward. The Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet) program is designed to accelerate the process of scientific discovery and prepare the next generation of U.S. researchers for multiteam international collaborations. The AccelNet program supports strategic linkages among U.S. research networks and complementary networks abroad that will leverage research and educational resources to tackle grand scientific challenges that require significant coordinated international efforts. This project is funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.