THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP UNDERSTANDING AND PREDICTIVE CAPABILITY FOR MAGNETICALLY DRIVEN INSTABILITIES OF HIGH CURRENT SYSTEMS. THIS IS VITAL FOR THE DESIGN OF MAGNETICALLY DRIVEN IMPLOSIONS (MDIS), HIGH-CURRENT-DENSITY MAGNETICALLY INSULATED TRANSMISSION LINES (MITLS), MAGNETO-INERTIAL FUSION SYSTEMS, ULTRAHIGH MAGNETIC FIELD GENERATORS, Z-PINCHES, AND OTHER DEVICES. LAST, BUT NOT LEAST, THE PROJECT WILL EDUCATE STUDENTS IN HED LABORATORY PLASMA PHYSICS AND TRAIN THEM IN EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL METHODS FOR WORKING WITH MAGNETIZED HED PLASMA.