Working Group 7 (WG7), the International Committee on Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers (ICUIL) was created by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics in 2003 at the Council and Commission Chairs meeting in Vancouver, Canada.

The ICUIL community represented in the ICUIL.org world map below today corresponds to more than $4B of global science activities.

ICUIL.org World Map of Ultrahigh Intensity lasers

At the core of each of these facilities is a high intensity laser system based on chirped pulse amplification. The 2018 Nobel prize in Physics was awarded in part to Prof. Gerard Mourou (ICUIL’s 1st chairman) and Prof. Donna Strickland for their invention of chirped pulse amplification.

Every two years, ICUIL sponsors the International Conference on Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers. More information about ICUIL and its activities may be found on the organizations web page.

Mission/Mandate

  • To provide a venue for discussions among representatives of the Ultrahigh Intensity Lasers facilities and members of the user communities on international collaborative activities such as the development of the next generation ultrahigh intensity lasers, exploration of new areas of fundamental and applied research, and formation of a global research network for access to advanced facilities by users;
  • To promote unity and coherence in the field by convening conferences and workshops dedicated to ultrahigh intensity lasers and their applications;
  • To accelerate progress in the field by exploring opportunities of sharing information, joint procurement, and the exchange of equipment, ideas and personnel among laser laboratories world-wide;
  • To attract students to high-field science by promoting their education and training, interactions with prominent scientists, and access to the latest equipment, results and techniques;
  • To strengthen and exploit synergy with other relevant fields and techniques, notable accelerator-based free electron lasers.

Additional Information

Website for The International Committee on Ultra-High Intensity Lasers.