THE PRIMARY PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. DEMONSTRATE A MODEL-INDEPENDENT ION TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT INSIDE WARM DENSE MATTER. 2. MEASURE ELECTRON-ION EQUILIBRATION RATES IN VARIOUS COMMON METALS (AU + OTHERS). 3. RESOLVE THE LONG-STANDING QUESTION REGARDING THE EXISTENCE OF BOND-HARDENING IN HIGHLY NON-EQUILIBRIUM GOLD (TE > TI). 4. INVESTIGATE HOW RADIATION DOSE AFFECTS THE HETEROGENEOUS MELT TIME OF GOLD AFTER SHORT-PULSE LASER IRRADIATION USING MEV ELECTRON DIFFRACTION. 5. IMPROVE AND VALIDATE NON-ADIABATIC QUANTUM MECHANICAL MODELS FOR SIMULATING NON-EQUILIBRIUM WARM DENSE MATTER.