2008 SSAA Program Symposium

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) sponsors the Stewardship Science Academic Alliance (SSAA) program of grants and cooperative agreements with American university researchers. This program, jointly managed by the NNSA Offices of Research, Development and Simulation and Inertial Confinement Fusion, emphasizes support for unclassified experimental research in three areas of physical science that are relevant to stockpile stewardship:
- High Energy Density Physics
- Low Energy Nuclear Science
- Properties of Materials under Extreme Conditions and Hydrodynamics

NNSA is pleased to announce a scientific symposium for researchers with grants or cooperative agreements in these areas of physical science to be held on February 26-28, 2008, in Washington, DC.

The goals of this symposium will be to:

Highlight accomplishments of participants in the SSAA program, National Laser User Facility (NLUF) grants, and NNSA-sponsored cooperative agreement programs. These presentations are also part of the periodic reviews of the program to assess progress and ensure alignment with the objectives of the program.
Promote interaction among grant program participants and help build user communities in areas of physical science relevant to stockpile stewardship.
Foster ties between participants, sponsors, and the NNSA National Laboratories and identify areas of future collaboration.
Encourage student and postdoctoral researcher involvement and interaction with the scientific community.
Introduce the new Joint Program in High Energy Density Laboratory Plasmas. This program is sponsored in collaboration with the Office of Science.
Enhance synergy between the academic efforts supported by the SSAA program and other NNSA-sponsored university outreach initiatives.

The symposium will last three days and will be held at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, located in the P Street Building in downtown Washington DC. A representative from each grant/center will be expected to give an overview of their work to date and their plans as sponsored by the SSAA or NLUF programs or other NNSA cooperative agreements. Several presentations on stockpile stewardship, facility access, scientific challenges and collaborative opportunities will also be given by National Laboratory and Department of Energy personnel. All presentations and discussions will be unclassified.

Registration is required, but there will be no registration fee. The registration deadline for this Symposium is January 25, 2008.