Europe snatches laser lead from the US

In the 1990s, the US was the leading innovator and major user of high-intensity laser technology. But Europe and Asia are now dominating this sector after developing coordinated national and regional research and infrastructure. The growth of high-intensity laser research in Europe and Asia has been ‘stunning, coordinated, and rapid’ over the last two decades while the US has lost its previous dominance in this field, according to new analysis by an expert panel of the US National Academies released earlier this month.