Cutting-edge laser research gets NSF support

The National Science Foundation has awarded another three-year, $300,000 grant to Distinguished Physics Professor Rainer Grobe and Distinguished Physics Professor Qichang Su for their laser research. The pair had previously received a grant for the same amount from the foundation.

The current study, titled “RUI: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Matter in Intense Laser Fields,” is accompanying work being done in laboratories worldwide “to develop high-powered laser systems that create electromagnetic radiation pulses that are so energetic that new avenues to probe and control the states of matter can be tested soon.”

The project also seeks to give students research experience. Six undergraduate students and a postdoctoral researcher are part of the professors’ research team.