LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a 192-beam 1.8 MJ ultraviolet laser system designed to support high-energy-density science. NIF can create extreme states of matter, including temperatures of 100 million degrees and pressures that exceed 100 billion times Earth's atmosphere. At these temperatures and pressures, scientists explore the physics of planetary interiors, supernovae, black holes and thermonuclear burn. In the past year, NIF has transitioned to an operational facility and significant focus has been placed on how users interact with the experimental tools. The current toolset was developed with a view to commissioning the NIF and thus allows flexibility that most users do not require. The goals of this effort include enhancing NIF's external website, easier proposal entry, reducing both the amount and frequency of data the users have to enter, and simplifying user interactions with the tools while reducing the reliance on custom software. This paper will discuss the strategies adopted to meet the goals, highlight some of the user tool improvements that have been implemented and planned future directions for the toolset.
