On the 18th-19th March, the Oxford Centre for High Energy Density Science (OxCHEDS) celebrated its 10-year anniversary at the OxCHEDS Annual Meeting.
A total of 67 attendees from the University of Oxford and from AWE met at Lady Margaret Hall for a two-day programme of scientific talks covering the gamut of high-energy-density physics studied within the OxCHEDS collaboration.
The meeting was introduced by OxCHEDS Directors, Justin Wark (Oxford) and Colin Danson (AWE). Justin delivered an opening talk ‘OxCHEDS: the first 10 years’ recounting the rich history of the collaboration and highlighting just a few of its many research achievements.
The following scientific programme was split into five sessions: electronic structure, modelling of warm dense matter, materials under extreme loading, fusion science and plasma dynamics, and extreme and exotic physics.
Among the many and varied talks delivered at the meeting were: Beyond the Chihara decomposition for warm dense hydrogen using real-time electron dynamics by Pontus Svensson, A study of copper under shock compression: data from the inaugural DiPOLE experiment by Domenic Peake, The electrothermal filamentation of igniting plasmas by Heath Martin, and Gravitational waves from high-power twisted light by Eduard Atonga.
The conference also featured a historical talk by Colin Danson entitled The global state of high-power lasers, as well as an invited talk Understanding the localisation of states in dense plasmas by this year’s Culham Thesis Prize Winner, Thomas Gawne, for work he performed during his time as an OxCHEDS-sponsored DPhil researcher.
The meeting was an opportunity not only to share the latest scientific research being carried out by the OxCHEDS collaboration, but to celebrate its longevity. A dinner marking the 10th anniversary of OxCHEDS was held on the evening of the 18th, and was attended by Professor Ian Shipsey (Head of Oxford Physics), Andrew Randewich (AWE’s Director of Science), Rob Lock (AWE Chief Scientist), and Toni Lilly (AWE Head of External Technical Partnerships).
Justin Wark, Director of OxCHEDS, said after the meeting: “OxCHEDS has come a long way in ten years. It is inspiring to see what has been achieved, and how our interactions are working to the benefit of not only Oxford Physics and AWE, but also the wider community. It was a pleasure to welcome the Oxford Physics Head of Department, Professor Ian Shipsey, to our celebratory dinner, and to hear him speak in such passionate tones about his support for our continued endeavours. Equally encouraging words from Andrew Randewich and Rob Lock at AWE served to further illustrate how fruitful these interactions have been. We look forward to the next decade!”
