8-9 November, LASERLAB User Training Workshop, Salamanca, Spain

The training school aimed to provide information and involvement of potential users of High power lasers (TW-PW). The scientific directions of the Training school were focused on making a brief survey of the physics of High Power lasers, showing some of the High Power facilities in LASERLAB and discuss the experience of users of these facilities.

The training school offered an innovative approach of training for prospective LASERLAB-EUROPE Consortium network users. The main target audience for this training school were potential users interested in starting experiments using the unique capabilities of the high power lasers as well as scientists and technical personnel working with high power facilities. The Training school presented the capabilities of the high power lasers and informed the potential users about the laser technology, the facilities and the experience of using beam time in some of the facilities of high power inside LASERLAB.

The training school had four sections:
- Physics of high power lasers: Brief survey on the research activities with high power lasers such as electron and ion acceleration and x ray sources.
- Facilities: Presentations about high power facilities in the LASERLAB network.
- Users experiences: Presentations about how to plan successful experiments and the differences with table-top lasers.
- New sources: Presentation on new developments of high power lasers.

Invited speakers included Patrick Audebert (LULI, France), Marta Castillejo (CSIC, Spain and Laserlab User Representative), Dusan Chorvat (ILC, Slovakia), Franck Falcoz (Amplitude Technologies, France), István Kocsis (ELI – Hungary), Victor Malka (LOA, France), Stuart Mangles (Imperial College London, UK), Rajeev Pattathil (CLF, UK), and Matthias Schnürer (MBI, Germany). In addition, Dusan Chorvat, coordinator of NA4 gave a presentation of Laserlab activities. The areas discussed ranged from the procedures for beamtime access application to the possibilities offered to potential users by new high power laser facilities, including secondary sources like high energy electron and ion beams. Some specific requirements of user communities were also brought up, in particular the need for technical training. The User Training Workshop was attended by more than 30 people including researchers, and postgraduate students.

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