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Mission: Develop and establish the technologies associated with high field superconducting magnets in order to provide cost-effective options for the next-generation high-energy physics accelerators and apply our expertise towards achieving the goals of the high-energy-physics community. Performance requirements of modern accelerators continue to press the limits of magnet technology. Ever-higher beam energy is a constant goal in high-energy physics, so magnets must be made both stronger and more cost-effective. Advanced magnets are especially important in an upgrade scenario, where a higher-energy and/or higher-luminosity machine must fit into an existing tunnel. Our program is directed towards advancing all aspects of the technological infrastructure for high field magnet development relevant to possible future accelerators. Our role—as not only a leading R&D group but also the administrators of the multi-institutional DOE/HEP National Conductor Development Program—is to create both evolutionary improvements and paradigm shifts in the application of accelerator magnets, providing innovative technology that enables new science. Achievement of these goals requires development and application of new materials, new magnet designs, and new techniques for magnet construction. These innovations will find application both in dipole bending magnets for hadron machines at the energy frontier and in final-focus quadrupoles for highluminosity interaction points. In addition, this work will benefit non-HEP applications, such as superconducting undulators in light sources. In recent years we have passed a number of key milestones in both magnet fabrication and materials development work, culminating in the successful test of HD-1, which exceeded 16 tesla. To put this result in perspective, one might compare it with the world’s other high-field programs, none of which have exceeded 11.5 T despite considerable investment and effort. The success of our program has been internationally recognized. While much of our attention is focused upon the base of enabling technologies for future high-energy colliders, our unique capabilities can already provide essential contributions to HEP. In particular, LBNL is a key player in the US LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP). Started in 2003 by the U.S. Department of Energy, LARP brings together the resources of four national laboratories (BNL, FNAL, LBNL, and SLAC) to develop advanced technology for future LHC upgrades. Upgrading the machine luminosity was identified by the High-Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) as an “absolutely central” medium-term goal. A key element in this effort is the development of powerful Nb3Sn quadrupoles to better focus the beams at the interaction points. LBNL supports this goal with a broad magnet R&D effort involving design studies, conductor R&D, mechanical models, and simple prototypes. Stephen Gourlay |