Măgurele is a town situated in the southwestern part of

Ilfov County Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs ...

Muntenia Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It has a population of 11,000 and hosts several research institutes.

Research institutes

The town hosts ''Măgurele Science Park'', the largest science park in Romania, consisting of a series o research institutes. among which a nuclear research lab, the (IFA) and its

National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(IFIN-HH). Between 1957 and 1998, it had a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

VVRS

research reactor Research reactors are nuclear fission-based nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or marit ...

, now closed down. The Faculty of Physics of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

is also located in Măgurele. According to a Romanian government press release, the high power laser system (HPLS) project of the

Extreme Light Infrastructure The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) is an international series of physics laboratories for generating and studying intense laser light. It is part of the European ESFRI Roadmap. ELI hosts the most intense beamline system worldwide, develop new ...

— Nuclear Physics Center achieved the power of 10 petawatts on 7 March 2019, becoming the most powerful laser in the world.

Administration

Măgurele was declared a town in 2004. It has a population of over 11,000. Four villages are administered by the town: Alunișu, Dumitrana, Pruni, and Vârteju.

Etymology

Its name is derived from a Romanian word possibly of Dacian origin, ''măgură'', meaning "hill".

Natives

George Anania George Anania (; July 14, 1941 – April 5, 2013) was a Romanian science-fiction writer and translator. Born in Măgurele, Ilfov County, he graduated from the University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din Bucure ...

Augustin Deleanu Augustin Pax "Coco" Deleanu (23 August 1944 – 27 March 2014) was a Romanian footballer, who played as a left back. Club career Augustin Pax Deleanu, nicknamed "Coco" was born on 23 August 1944 in Măgurele, Romania and started to play footbal ...

References

External links

Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering
Magurele Town Welcome Sign

Towns in Romania Populated places in Ilfov County Localities in Muntenia {{Ilfov-geo-stub