August 11-14, 2026 Hotel Andaluz
Background
Over the last several years, our ability to drive matter to unprecedented pressure / temperature states has produced significant new insights across many fields, including material science, planetary science, astrophysics, fusion science, radiation science, and plasma physics. Sandia’s Z facility is the premier facility in the world in the area of pulsed-power science and has unique capabilities to deliver high-precision data at extreme conditions. The Z facility is available to the academic community for fundamental science experiments and calls for proposals were issued in 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Projects were selected after facility- and scientific peer review. Close interactions with the international research community are crucial for continued success and improvements of the Fundamental Science Program. This Workshop is the seventeenth in a series of yearly workshops held on the topic of fundamental science in extreme environments.
Workshop Objectives
The 17th Fundamental Science with Pulsed Power: Research Opportunities and User Meeting returns to the Hotel Andaluz in downtown Albuquerque on Tuesday August 11 through Friday August 14. The Z Fundamental Science Program and this Workshop continue to be an integral part of the work on Z, bringing fresh ideas and initiatives. We feel that it is important to offer both a user meeting component – for collaborative users to present the status of their research and to hear about the Z accelerator facility status and plans – and a collaborative component – to provide an opportunity for current and prospective future collaborators to discuss research directions and ideas for new work on Z. Current collaborative research areas are Astrophysics, Planetary Science, Materials Physics, and Magnetized High Energy Density (HED) Science that is relevant to Magnetized Inertial Fusion (MagLIF).
ZFS Workshop poster presentations list
Tuesday evening Welcome Reception
Wednesday am Plenary Sessions
Wednesday pm Plenary and Breakout Sessions
Thursday am Plenary and Breakout Sessions
Thursday pm Breakout Sessions and Student Poster Session
Friday am Plenary and Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session Objectives
The Breakout sessions are meant to identify key scientific development/direction enabled by the Z Fundamental Science Program to date. The focus should be more about direction, capabilities, momentum, and new scope. The Breakout sessions also provide an excellent opportunity for current and prospective future collaborators to formulate research ideas, continue ongoing collaborations, begin new collaborations, and galvanize ideas for the Call for Proposals.
The Breakout sessions can also help define the future direction of the Z Fundamental Science Program and the overall Z program by identifying:
- New research directions/ideas within existing fields and suggestions for new topics/fields
- New or extended collaborative teams
- Ways that the Z Fundamental Science Program can best support the collaborative teams
- Improvements on Z, i.e., new diagnostics or infrastructure that would be beneficial for the collaborative teams
Breakout Areas
Agenda | Room Location | Co-organizers
Location – Casablanca Room
CY26 Call for Proposals
We are issuing a tenth Call for Proposals for the Z Fundamental Science Program. We plan to allocate approximately 21 shots over a two-year period beginning July 1, 2027 and ending June 30, 2029. The workshop is an excellent opportunity to formulate research ideas, continue ongoing collaborations, and start new teams.
CY26 Call for Proposals important dates:
June 15, 2026 Call opens
September 15, 2026 Proposals due (to zproposals@sandia.gov)
December 15, 2026 Distribution of shots to projects
July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2029 Experimental award period
Experimental time on Z is a precious resource. We are committed to working in close collaboration with academic PIs to ensure the success of the proposed experiments. As for the previous calls, prospective PIs will work with scientists at Sandia and the Z-machine to design and execute experiments. An award of time on Z will include all hardware necessary to field the proposed experiments and assistance from the Sandia scientist(s) assigned to collaborate with you on your project. Awardees are expected to provide their own funding for their time.
Student Session and travel support
A very important aspect of the Z Fundamental Science Program is the opportunity for students and academic postdocs to participate on the research teams. Throughout the lifetime of the Z Fundamental Science Program, students and academic postdocs have developed experimental platforms and diagnostics, lead design reviews, and participated fully in fielding experiments on Z. We are again working with the NNSA Academic Programs to offer financial support to several students and academic postdocs to attend the workshop. NNSA is currently expecting to be able to cover costs (including transportation, lodging, and registration) for a number of students/academic postdocs. Travel funds are limited, and will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. This year, because the Z Fundamental Science Workshop is being held in conjunction with the ZNetUS Workshop, there will likely be an increase in requests.
If you are interested in student / academic postdoc travel support, please email Martha Mitchell and Sandy Guthrie (mcmitch@sandia.gov and sguthri@sandia.gov) and please copy Tim Ledford (William.Ledford@chickasaw.com). Requests for travel support must be received by Friday, June 26, 2026. Indicate if you are attending only the ZFS Workshop or if you plan to attend the ZNetUS Workshop as well. You will receive pertinent information regarding rules for reimbursement (also note that reimbursement will occur after completion of the Workshop, i.e., you will have to pay for your travel arrangements in advance and submit a request for reimbursement after the Workshop).