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In memory of Prof. Kunioki Mima
Professor Mima dedicated his entire life to the research of plasma physics and laser fusion. He worked in several internationally renowned academic institutions, including: Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE) of Osaka University (1975 - 2009), Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries (2009 - 2020), and Institute of Fusion Nuclear of University Politecnica de Madrid (2009 - 2014). After retirement, he was Professor Emeritus and Guest Professor of ILE and guest scientist of Japan Atomic Energy Agency at Tsuruga, and continued working till his last moments.
Professor Mima made significant contributions in laser-plasma interactions, free electron lasers, laser fusion target design, and relativistic laser plasma physics. He received numerous awards and honors including: an APS Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics, an EPS Alfven Prize on the theory of fusion plasma turbulence, and an ANS Edward Teller Medal for laser fusion research.
As one of the founding advisory board members of MRE, Professor Mima made important and far-reaching contributions. He actively participated in the founding of the journal and served as an editorial board member for three consecutive terms from 2016 to 2022, continuously contributing by publishing high quality papers in MRE, which made MRE a source journal of EI Compendex and SCIE.
Professor Mima was not only an active peer reviewer of MRE but also a positive organizer and participant of MRE’s conference series, the International Conferences on Matter and Radiation at Extremes. He attended most ICMREs, sharing research achievements or working as a moderator, thus helping significantly in establishing this top-tier international academic platform of MRE.
In 2022, when Professor Mima, who was in his seventies and was fighting the pandemic along with MRE, he still made great efforts in the mission of academic dissemination. He hosted one of MRE’s webinars and made a presentation entitled "Laser Driven Neutron Source and NRA imaging" to a global audience.
Besides a successful researcher and academic author, Professor Mima was also a wonderful supervisor. Hearing the sad news, Professor Cai Hongbo, the current executive editor-in-chief of MRE, recalled with deep condolence: " Professor Mima was my supervisor during my postdoctoral studies at ILE in Osaka university and taught me many research methods that left a deep impression on me. On some weekends, he led the whole group to climb mountains, which were the most comfortable times I had in decades. I remember that Professor Mima had a map of the 100 major mountains in Japan, and the Mima group climbed them one by one. Sometimes it was necessary to stay overnight at the rudimentary mountaintop, and sometimes, after descending the mountain on the same day, we had a big meal and soaked in hot springs. We climbed snow-capped mountains at an altitude of three to four kilometers, we encountered storms at the mountaintop, and we witnessed much rare and beautiful scenery together. These long-forgotten memories suddenly surged up, like a dream, while Mima-sensei had already passed away. I miss him a lot. RIP! “
Researcher Weimin Zhou from the Laser Fusion Research Center of China Academy of Engineering Physics was also grieved: "He was very friendly to China and took good care of us Chinese students. It's really heart-breaking!"
In May 2024, after surgery, Professor Mima overcame numerous difficulties, arrived in Hangzhou and participated ICMRE2024. Professor Baifei Shen from Shanghai Normal University clearly remembered: "He gave an invited talk, and I asked a question after listening to his report. When he saw us old acquaintances, he seemed very happy." Researcher Zhou Weimin from the Fusion Research Center of the China Academy of Engineering Physics also felt at that time that "although he was not in good health, his remained in good spirits." After the conference, Professor Mima also joined the MRE core team and enjoyed a very nice evening. All the colleagues were deeply impressed by his perseverance, kindness, and the spirit of never giving up.
Professor Zhengming Sheng from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said with sorrow: "Professor Mima was very friendly to Chinese scholars. Many domestic laser plasma scholars did their postdocs and PhDs under his supervision. Prof. Mima was part of the Japanese community supporting fusion research in China and having strong interaction with his Chinese colleagues. He visited China many times. The last time was at ICMRE2024 in Hangzhou last May. It was difficult for him to walk then...He was amiable, always willing to help young ones. He is a role model for many of us."
MRE associate editor, David Crandall, recalls that Professor Mima often attended conferences in the US. He was always enthusiastically greeted by US colleagues seeking the news from Japan on laser-driven fusion and seeking his insights on related physics questions.
Though Prof. Mima has passed away, we will miss and remember him!
Laser fusion research is still on the way. Researchers in this field, especially the young scholars and followers, will keep on climbing all the "mountains" ahead!
May Professor Mima rest in peace!
The 1st Announcement: The 8th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes
ICMRE 2025 | May 12-15, 2025 | Xi’an, China
The International Conferences on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE) are convened periodically since 2016. The 1st (ICMRE2016), 2nd (ICMRE2017), 3rd (ICMRE2018), 4th (ICMRE2019), 6th (ICMRE2023) and 7th (ICMRE2024) were held successfully in Chengdu, Beijing, Tsingtao, Hefei, Zhuhai and Hangzhou, China, respectively. The 5th ICMRE was postponed to 2022 and held online due to COVID-19. The conference provides an opportunity to discuss the latest results of physics, technology and applications in the area of matter and radiation at extremes.
The 8th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2025) will be held from May 12th to 15th, 2025 in Xi’an, China. ICMRE2025 will be hosted by the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, China and Shaanxi Normal University, China, and supported by the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE).
The 2nd Announcement: The 7th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes
ICMRE 2024 | May 13-17, 2024 | Hangzhou, China
The 7th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2024) will be held from May 13th to 17th, 2024 in Hangzhou, China. ICMRE2024 will be hosted by National Key Laboratory of Shock Wave and Detonation Physics, School of Physics, Zhejiang University, and Pulsed Power Technology and Application Association of Chinese Nuclear Society, and will be supported by the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE).
Meet new MRE Co-Executive-Editors-in-Chief
Jinren Sun joined Shanghai Institute of Laser Plasma (SILP) in 1996, and received her master’s degree on optics from the Department of Physics of Tongji University in 2006. Jinren Sun had participated in many experiments by using X-ray laser probes to diagnose the plamas at high temperature and high density on the ShenGuang (SG) series facilities in the National Laboratory on High Power Lasers and Physics (NLHPLP). From 2011 to 2022, she’s mainly responsible for organizing and implementing the large-scale comprehensive physics experiments on laser inertial confinement fusion. Since 2022, she has been serving as the deputy director of the Science and Technology Committee of SILP. Her current research interest mainly focus on investigation on the laser-driven protons acceleration at the SG laser facilities.
Hongbo Cai received his Ph.D. in Plasma Physics from the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, Beijing, in 2007. After his Ph.D., he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Laser Engineering, Osaka University. In 2009, he joined the Institute of Applied Physics and Computational Mathematics, where he is currently a professor of plasma physics and heads the laser plasma research group. Currently, he is also a part-time professor at Peking University and Zhejiang University. Prof. Hongbo Cai has published 102 referenced papers. He received the Yu Min Award in Mathematics and Physics in 2020, was awarded China's Top 10 Optical Breakthroughs in 2021, and received the Distinguished Young Scholar Fund from the NSF of China in 2023. His main research interests are investigation of the laser-plasma instabilities and hydrodynamic instabilities in inertial confinement fusion.
The 1st Announcement: The 7th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes
ICMRE 2024 | May 13-17, 2024 | Hangzhou, China
The 7th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE 2024)
Abstract submission deadline extended to March 1, 2024
Conference website: http://icmre2024.mre.org.cn/en-us/index.html
The International Conferences on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE) are convened periodically since 2016. The 1st (ICMRE2016), 2nd (ICMRE2017), 3rd (ICMRE2018), 4th (ICMRE2019) and 6th (ICMRE2023) were held successfully in Chengdu, Beijing, Tsingtao, Hefei and Zhuhai, China, respectively. The 5th ICMRE was postponed to 2022 and held online due to the COVID-19. The conference provides an opportunity to discuss the latest results of physics, technology and applications in the area of matter and radiation at extremes.
ICMRE2024 will be hosted by the National Key Laboratory of Shock wave and Detonation Physics, the School of Physics, Zhejiang University, and Pulsed Power Technology and Application Association of Chinese Nuclear Society, and supported by the journal Matter and radiation at extremes (MRE).
The 1st Announcement: The 6th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes
ICMRE 2023 | June 5-9, 2023 | Zhuhai, China
The 6th International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE2023) will be held from June 5th to 9th, 2023 in Zhuhai, China. ICMRE2023 will be hosted by Science and Technology on Plasma Physics Laboratory, the Department of Astronomy, Beijing Normal University, and Shenzhen Technology University, and will be supported by the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE).
The International Conference on Matter and Radiation at Extremes (ICMRE) is an international conference convened periodically since 2016. The 1st (ICMRE2016), 2nd (ICMRE2017), 3rd (ICMRE2018) and 4th (ICMRE2019) were held successfully in Chengdu, Beijing, Tsingtao and Hefei China, respectively. The 5th ICMRE was postponed to 2022 and was held virtually. It will provide an opportunity to discuss the latest results of physics, technology and applications in the area of matter and radiation at extremes.
Meet New Associate Editor of Matter and Radiation at Extremes, Dominik Kraus
Dominik Kraus is a professor for high energy density physics at University of Rostock and group leader at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) in Germany. He received his PhD at TU Darmstadt, Germany in 2012 for experimental work at the PHELIX laser of GSI Helmholtzzentrum for heavy ion research. He then moved to UC Berkeley as a postdoc to conduct experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source of SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and at the National Ignition Facility of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In 2016, he joined HZDR as a Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Leader to work towards first experiments using the Helmholtz International Beamline for Extreme Fields (HIBEF) at the High Energy Density instrument of European XFEL. Before starting the professorship in Rostock in 2020, he also headed the high energy density division at HZDR from 2018 to 2020.
Dominik’s primary research interests are the experimental investigation of chemistry and phase transitions inside giant planets, warm and hot dense matter relevant to the interiors of stars, and the synthesis of new materials via extreme conditions.
Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE) Appoints Michel Koenig as Co-Editor-in-Chief
After a master in theoretical physics and doctoral studies on theoretical atomic physics in Warm Dense Matter at University P&M Curie (Paris), Michel Koenig entered CNRS in 1988 at the LULI laboratory (Ecole Polytechnique). He moved from theoretical to experimental plasma physics, more especially to ICF, being in charge of the 4 implosion campaigns conducted on the 6 beams laser facility at LULI until 1992. He then created and led the High Energy Density research group until 2013. Since then, his research activity did present a large spectrum of topics among HEDP: Atomic physics in dense plasmas, Warm Dense Matter, ICF, Fast Ignitor physics, Shock ignition physics, Laser driven shocks & EOS measurements, Highly correlated plasma physics, Planetary physics, Laboratory Astrophysics.
Among this large spectrum in HEDP, M. Koenig has been recognized as a pioneer in EOS measurement on using laser driven shock wave (PRL95). It was followed by several EOS dedicated work and applications to planetary physics. In particular, he looked after materials of terrestrial planets either Earth or super-Earth type paying a dedicated attention to iron, iron alloys melting line up to 1 Tpa.
In parallel, Michel Koenig and his group initiated, in France, the novel research field so-called "laboratory astrophysics". In particular they perform a comprehensive study of radiative shocks (RS) on several high energy laser facilities such as LULI, Gekko, LIL and now LMJ. M. Koenig also studied the formation and dynamics of accretion shocks in collaboration with E. Falize (CEA) as found in magnetic cataclysmic variables. More recently he performed with his group and A. Casner (CELIA) hydrodynamic instabilities studies on LULI2000 laser facility and SACLA using a new extremely high spatial detector (LiF).
Michel Koenig supervised 20 PhD thesis, published 266 referenced papers, and was awarded by the PPCF Dendy Europe-Asia Pacific Award for Outstanding Research Collaboration in Plasma Physics in 2019. He is member of the JLF Executive Committee, of the NIF Executive Committee, of the HEDLA conference executive committee. He was chair of the ICHED conference executive committee, member of the WDM conference executive committee from 1993 until 2017 and visiting professor at Osaka University.
Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE) Appoints Ho-Kwang (David) Mao as Co-Editor-in-Chief
Ho-Kwang (David) Mao is currently the Director of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in China. He received Ph.D. degree in 1968 from the University of Rochester, and worked at the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington on high-pressure research from 1968 to 2018.
As a fundamental physical variable, high pressure alters all states of matter, but for many years, its effects were poorly understood due to experimental limitations: either the pressure was too low to cause significant changes in liquids and solids, or samples under high pressure could not be subjected to thorough analyses. Advances in diamond-cell technology led by Mao have changed this prospect. He reached static high pressures of several megabars with simultaneous high-temperature or cryogenic conditions in the laboratory and developed an unprecedented array of laser, synchrotron and electromagnetic probes for accurate investigations of new phenomena through the diamond windows. He has pioneered the establishment of dedicated high-pressure synchrotron beamlines since 1980’s and was the founding Director of the HPCAT Sector at the Advanced Photon Scource. With co-workers, Mao has made key discoveries in physics, chemistry, geoscience, and materials science, and in effect, added a new pressure dimension to science and technology.
Mao is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) and Foreign Member of Royal Society of London (UK). He has been elected as Fellow of the American Physical Society, American Geophysical Union, Mineralogical Society of America, Geochemical Society, and European Association for Geochemistry.
Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE), a leading journal of science and technology on extreme states of matter and radiation, seeks a Co-Editor-in-Chief.
Requirements: Candidates should be highly regarded scientists with research expertise in related field of fundamental physics at extremes conditions and be able to maintain and build on the prestige and influence of MRE. The successful candidate will bring a vision and passion for excellence to the role as well as strong leadership and interpersonal skills. Adopting a strategic view will be important, as will working collaboratively with the Editor-in-Chief Dr. Weiyan Zhang and other editors, editorial advisory board members, editorial office staff, and Publisher AIPP, to translate that strategy into a vibrant editorial program. Previous editorial experience is beneficial but not mandatory. This is an exciting and challenging position at a time of change in scholarly publications and communication.
Responsibilities: The Co-Editor-in-Chief is chair of the editorial board and has the following executive responsibilities:
- Oversees the technical content and quality of MRE, be responsible for ensuring the quality and quantity of the research articles published in the journal
- Organize hot topics or special issue and commission important papers
- Lead an editorial team at the journal
- Acts as spokesperson for MRE in public forums, to travel to attend conferences, seminars, and scientific meetings and to build a broad network of domestic and international contacts
- Chairs and directs editorial board meetings
There are no geographic limitations to the Editor’s location. The initial appointment is for five years with the possibility of renewal. The successful candidate will be paid an honorarium commensurate with the roles and responsibilities of the position.
The search committee welcomes either applications or nominations of potential candidates. A nomination can be a short note suggesting a suitable candidate. An application should consist of a Curriculum Vitae and a statement of the applicant's vision and future aspirations for MRE. The statement should be no more than 3 pages and should include a few paragraphs on your leadership experience and scientific accomplishments that make you uniquely qualified for the co-Editor-in-Chief position.
Applications or nominations received before March 1, 2019 will receive full consideration. A Search Committee will advise MRE editorial office regarding suitable candidates for the position. Please send applications or nominations by e-mail with the subject line 'Editor Search' to [email protected].
Matter and Radiation at Extremes (MRE) Person of the year, 2019
Distinguished Editorial Board Members of MRE
Hokwang Mao
Associate Editor of MRE
Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, China
In recognition of his (and his team’s) exceptional dedication to the Editorial Strategy of MRE, and outstanding contribution to the section of High Pressure Physics and Materials Science of MRE.
Outstanding Authors of MRE
Stefan Weber
Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic
In recognition of his (and his team’s) highly cited paper “P3: An installation for high-energy density plasma physics and ultra-high intensity laser–matter interaction at ELI-Beamlines”
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mre.2017.03.003
Bai-Song Xie
Beijing Normal University, China
In recognition of his (and his team’s) highly cited paper “Electron-positron pair production in ultrastrong laser fields”
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mre.2017.07.002
Xiao-Jia Li
Laser Fusion Research Center, CAEP, China
In recognition of his (and his team’s) innovative paper “A novel superconducting magnetic levitation method to support the laser fusion capsule by using permanent magnets“
Professor Yu Min, a master of theoretical physics, left us forever
It is with deep sadness we announce that Yu Min, a master of theoretical physics and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, left us forever on Jan.16, 2019, at the age of 93.
Professor Yu graduated from Peking University in 1949, and made major contributions in a number of important topics as a theoretical physicist at the Institute of Modern Physics, CAS, from 1951 to 1960. During this period, Professor Yu developed the nuclear coherence structure model, and had made pioneering and outstanding contributions to fundamental research on atomic physics.
In addition to Professor Yu’s fundamental scientific contributions, he also made major contributions to China’s national security. For over half a century, Prof. Yu was a leading scientist of China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), and led and guided the development and research of high technology in China, including inertial fusion, free electron lasers, x-ray lasers and Z-pinch. Of particular significance was his work in inertial fusion where he developed China’s long-term strategy in this field, innovative concepts, and its potential for energy and fundamental high energy density science.
Yu also recognized the importance of scientific publishing. In the late 1980s, he and his colleagues founded the Chinese journal High Power Laser and Particle Beams. In 2015, he named CAEP’s new international journal as Matter and Radiation at Extremes.
Recognizing all of Professor Yu’s indelible contributions, he received China’s most prestigious award in science and technology, the State Supreme Science and Technology Award of 2014 in Jan., 2015.
May Professor Yu have eternal rest and peace!