A Cornell research center dedicated to high-energy density plasma research has received a five-year, $11 million renewal grant from the National Nuclear Security Administration.

Cornell's Center for Pulsed Power Driven High Energy Density Plasmas, first established in 2002, is run under the auspices of the Cornell Laboratory of Plasma Studies in collaboration with researchers at five partner institutions: University of California, San Diego; Princeton University; Imperial College in London; Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel; and P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow.

Cornell will receive $2.2 million per year starting Oct. 1 to continue operating the center. Research objectives include producing magnetized high-energy density plasmas using gas puffs, thin foils or arrays of fine wires driven by pulsed power generators.

These processes create plasma in a configuration called a z-pinch, which tends to implode upon itself, forming a hot, dense substance that can undergo a variety of instabilities and emit intense bursts of X-ray radiation. The researchers are studying the fundamental properties of such plasmas. Part of their aim is to contribute to the development of a power source based on nuclear fusion.

The Laboratory of Plasma Studies carries out a wide range of fundamental and applied research in pulsed-power-driven plasma physics, including research related to inertial confinement fusion and astrophysics investigations.

Faculty who participate in the center's research include David Hammer, the J.C. Ward Professor of Nuclear Energy Engineering; Bruce Kusse, professor of applied and engineering physics; and Charles Seyler, professor of electrical and computer engineering.