A brief history of lasers and plasmas at IST and GoLP

Abstract:
In 2023 we celebrate 30 years of the Lasers and Plasmas Group. In this colloquium, I will discuss the first steps in this area at IST, including the origins of plasma physics and laser-plasma interaction studies, the first laser based on the Chirped Pulse Amplification technique (recognized with the 2018 Nobel Prize) from the Iberian Peninsula and the launch of experimental research in laser-plasma and beam-plasma interactions, including harmonic generation and attosecond pulses,  and some of the scientific and technological milestones of the last 30 years.

I will also present some of the scientific and technological frontiers associated with the most powerful and intense lasers and particle beams that suggest that the next 30 years will also be filled with exciting scientific and technological advances.