As part of the 7th Framework Programme , the European Commission has recently entrusted CNRS with the coordination of the preparatory phase of the ELI (Extreme Light Infrastructure) project which aims to construct an ultra powerful laser between 2013 and 2015. Spearheaded by the Laboratoire d’Optique Appliquée (LOA), whose director Gérard Mourou is one of the prime motivators behind the project, and under the joint trusteeship of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA), Ecole Polytechnique and CNRS, this preparatory phase is scheduled to span three years.