Agenda (2022)

Confirmed speakers

Plus, a multi-agency roundtable discussion led by Mark J. Kushner (Michigan) and Gary Zank (Alabama Huntsville), co-chairs of the 2020 Decadal Assessment of Plasma Science, with participating representatives from DOD, DOE, NASA, NASEM, and NSF.

The topical areas that were discussed by the invited speakers, and in the poster session, spanned the range from high-energy plasma astrophysics, to solar physics and space weather prediction, to plasma medicine and clean energy applications of low temperature plasmas. The agenda included talks about the new NSF ZEUS high-power laser facility, the new NSF DKIST solar telescope, and the recently established NSF CMAP Physics Frontiers Center. We heard about research on complex plasmas taking place on the International Space Station, plasma-based wakefield particle acceleration at CERN, some of the latest results from the Parker Solar Probe mission, and the plans and ideas of the high-power laser community for tackling today’s frontier physics questions. There were talks on ultra-cold plasmas, ultra-dense plasmas, liquid plasmas, and non-neutral plasmas. In addition, we heard about lessons learned from building university-based plasma experimental facilities like LAPD, initiating start-up businesses like Tech-X, developing open-source community software frameworks, and putting together successful science communication campaigns for the press and the public. Dedicated talks also addressed the challenges and opportunities in developing a demographically diverse plasma science workforce and an inclusive environment at both small colleges and major universities.