Past Meetings
Missed a meeting? Read about it here!
Missed a meeting? Read about it here!
5:30pm–7:00pm No-host meet & greet
7:00pm–8:00pmDinner
8:00pm Announcements and technical presentation
Professor Mike Dunne
Director LCLS
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Stanford University
Mike Dunne is Director of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s first "hard x-ray free electron laser facility". The x-rays produced by LCLS are a billion times brighter than can be produced by conventional sources such as a synchrotron, delivered in ultrafast bursts to study the dynamics of matter at the atomic scale, with applications ranging from structural biology to quantum materials, catalytic chemistry, atomic physics and plasma science.
Mike is an Associate Laboratory Director at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and Professor of Photon Science at Stanford University.
Mike has substantial experience in the design, construction and operation of a wide variety of photon science research facilities. Prior to joining SLAC, he was director for Laser Fusion Energy at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His role was to ensure full advantage is taken of the US National Ignition Facility, a $3.5 billion investment designed to demonstrate the proof of principle of laser fusion.
Mike previously served as Director of the United Kingdom’s Central Laser Facility, working for the Science and Technology Facilities Council where he secured a number of significant advances, including the Astra-Gemini two-beam Petawatt laser and the Artemis ultra-fast X-ray science facility. As director of the Photon Science Department he took on additional responsibility for developing coupled laser and accelerator facilities; pursuit of a next-generation Free Electron Laser facility; and oversight of the final phase of the UK’s Synchrotron Radiation Source.
As international project leader for the European laser fusion project ‘HiPER,’ Mike created a consortium of 26 institutions across 10 countries to develop one of the few Giga-Euro scale facility opportunities accepted onto the “European roadmap” of future research infrastructures.
Mike obtained his doctorate in laser fusion and laboratory astrophysics research from Imperial College, London. His personal research as part of the Photon Science faculty at Stanford focuses on the development and application of high power lasers to high energy-density science.
Topic: 'A billion times brighter': An overview of the revolution underway in X-ray science.
Abstract: This talk will provide an introductory overview of the world’s first "hard x-ray free electron laser facility", known as LCLS, operated by Stanford University on behalf of the US Department of Energy. The x-rays produced by LCLS are a billion times brighter than can be produced by conventional sources, such as a synchrotron, and are delivered in ultrafast bursts—typically a few tens of femtoseconds (10-15 seconds). This opens up revolutionary opportunities for the study of novel states of matter, quantum materials, ultrafast chemistry, and structural biology. Since its initial operation in 2009, LCLS has enabled a remarkable series of studies, via its ability to provide atomic resolution information, with freeze-frame 'movies' of how atomic, chemical and biological systems evolve on ultrafast timescales. Based on this success, a major upgrade project is now underway that will increase the repetition rate by 4 orders of magnitude and open up entirely new scientific opportunities. Access to LCLS is open to everyone, based purely on the scientific merit of the proposed experiments. Hopefully this talk will help engender further ideas and opportunities for future use of this remarkable new science facility.
Oakland Yacht Club
1101 Pacific Marina
Alameda, CA 94501
Phone: (510) 522-6868
