Rip CollinsDr Gilbert (Rip) Collins is staff scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA, where he worked on nuclear spin polarization and relaxation mechanisms in heavy hydrogen. He received his BS degree in Physics and Mathematics in 1983 from the University of Cincinnati, USA, and his PhD in Physics in 1989 from the Ohio State University, USA. More recently, Dr. Collins’ research has focused on using laser-generated shock waves to study materials under extreme pressure, and to probe for new material states at high pressure and temperature. He is currently the group leader for shock physics in the Physics Division and project leader for shock timing and capsule optimization of ignition targets at the National Ignition Facility. He is the recipient of the 1998 Excellence in Plasma Physics Award and the 1998 Weapons Physics Award. He has been elected Member of the AIRAPT Executive Committee in 2011, where he also served as an ex-officio Member, in his role of Chair of the Gordon Conference on Research at High Pressure, in the period 2012-2014. E-mail: gcollins@lle.rochester.edu .