Magurele to host EUR 180 million laser investment

The Diplomat (Bucharest):  Magurele to host EUR 180 million laser investment


The European Commission has approved funding for the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) laser, one of the biggest research programs in Romania, worth EUR 180 million. The project is intended to reach a high level of international research, by gathering the top Romanian and foreign experts. "This plan is like an oxygen balloon for all the specialised faculties, which are permanently dealing with the absence of students. This way they will be more interested in science," said Stefan Antohe, dean of the Physics Department at the University of Bucharest. The ELI-NP will serve as a pan-European laboratory and will host a wide range of scientific disciplines, which include innovative areas of fundamental physics, nuclear physics and astrophysics, material and life sciences.
Researchers will study possible new ways of dealing with nuclear materials and radioactive waste. Hiring will be conducted through an international competition and starts in October. The ELI-NP will be located in Magurele, 13 km from Bucharest.