THIS PROPOSAL PRESENTS THE PLANNED PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER’S LABORATORY FOR LASER ENERGETICS (LLE) FOR THE NEXT FIVE-YEAR PERIOD (FY24–FY28) AND SUMMARIZES LLE’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE CURRENT PERIOD (FY19–FY23). LLE’S RESEARCH ACTIVITIES FOCUS ON SUPPORTING THE MISSIONS OF THE NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (NNSA) IN INERTIAL CONFINEMENT FUSION (ICF), HIGH-ENERGY-DENSITY (HED) PHYSICS, AND LASER AND OPTICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. LLE OPERATES THE OMEGA LASER FACILITY (INCLUDING THE 60-BEAM OMEGA AND THE FOUR-BEAM OMEGA EP LASER SYSTEMS) AS NNSA’S PRINCIPAL HED USER FACILITY. TOGETHER WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER’S NEW HED PHYSICS CURRICULUM, LLE PROVIDES A UNIQUE, MISSION-ORIENTED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT PREPARES STUDENTS FOR A CAREER WITHIN THE NATIONAL SECURITY COMPLEX. BY ENHANCING THIS PIPELINE, LLE HAS SIGNIFICANTLY EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF GRADUATES ENTERING THE NNSA WORKFORCE, WHICH IS HELPING TO FILL THE NEEDS OF THE STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.