Laserlab-Europe AISBL was inaugurated and held its first General Assembly meeting in Salamanca, Spain

Laserlab-Europe AISBL was inaugurated and held its first General Assembly meeting with 38 Full Members and 3 Associate Members on 29 October 2018 in Salamanca, Spain. The meeting venue was the Old Chapel for Studies within the University of Salamanca, an historic room used as the Council Chamber of the University, and was part of the 800th anniversary celebrations of the University of Salamanca, the third oldest university in the world.

An AISBL is an international not-for-profit organisation under Belgian law and gives Laserlab-Europe legal independance. The registration of Laserlab-Europe AISBL was approved by Royal Decree from the King of Belgium. The members include laser facilities from 23 countries across Europe. The kick-off of the AISBL was marked by the elections of the members of the Management Board, the Executive Director, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the General Assembly.

At the end of the meeting the participants had the opportunity to see the VEGA laser facility at CLPU, the Centro de Laseres Pulsados, whose Director, Luis Roso, had hosted the meeting. CLPU was established in December 2007 as part of the implementation of the Spanish Roadmap for Unique Research and Technology Infrastructures. VEGA is a new facility, opened in September 2018 by the King of Spain. The laser system is capable to reach one petawatt of peak power and has a singular architecture with three synchronized outputs of different powers that offer services to scientific users around the world.

Laserlab-Europe AISBL General Assembly group photo in front of the University of Salamanca (Escuelas Mayores).