brighter, more penetrating, higher-energy x rays. ARC became the world's highest-energy short-pulse laser, capable of creating picosecond-duration laser pulses to produce energetic x rays in the range of 50–100 keV. NIC runs restarted in May 2011 with the goal of more precisely timing the four laser shock waves that compress the fusion target. In January 2012, Mike Dunne, director of NIF's laser fusion energy program, predicted that ignition would be achieved at NIF by October. In the same month, the NIF fired a record high 57 shots. On March 15 NIF produced a laser pulse with 411 TW of peak power. On July 5, it produced a shorter pulse of 1.85 MJ and increased power of 500 TW. DOE Report, July 19, 2012 NIC was periodically reviewed. The 6th review, was published on July 19, 2012. The report praised the quality of the installation: lasers, optics, targets, diagnostics, and operations. However: The integrated conclusion based on this extensive period of experimentation, however, is that considerable hurdles must be overcome to reach ignition or the goal of observing unequivocal alpha heating. Indeed the reviewers note that given the unknowns with the present 'semi-empirical' approach, the probability of ignition before the end of December is extremely low and even the goal of demonstrating unambiguous alpha heating is challenging. Further, the report expressed deep concerns that the gaps between observed performance and simulation codes implied that the current codes were of limited utility. Specifically, they found a lack of predictive ability of the radiation drive to the capsule and inadequately modeled laser–plasma interactions. Pressure was reaching only one half to one third of that required for ignition, far below the predicted values. The memo discussed the mixing of ablator material and capsule fuel likely due to hydrodynamics instabilities in the ablator's outer surface. The report suggested using a thicker ablator, although this would increase its inertia. To keep the required implosion speed, they proposed that the NIF energy be increased to 2MJ. It questioned whether or not the energy was sufficient to compress a large enough capsule to avoid the mix limit and reach ignition. The report concluded that ignition within the calendar year 2012 was 'highly unlikely'. NIC officially ended on September 30, 2012. Media reports suggested that NIF would shift its focus toward materials research. In 2008, LLNL began the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy program (LIFE), to explore ways to use