Pogorelsky, I. Ben-Zvi, I. Palmer, M.A. JACoW Geneva, Switzerland 978-3-95450-180-9 10.18429/JACoW-NAPAC2016-THB2IO03 English 1096-1100 THB2IO03 ion laser electron acceleration plasma Contribution to a conference proceedings 2017 2017-01 http://dx.doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-NAPAC2016-THB2IO03 https://jacow.org/napac2016/papers/thb2io03.pdf 25 years ago, Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility (ATF), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of High-Energy Physics (HEP), pioneered a concept of a proposal-driven user facility for advanced accelerator research using lasers and electron beams. Since then, the ATF became an internationally recognized destination for researchers to benefit from free access to unique equipment not affordable otherwise to individual institutions and businesses. We will show by examples how collaborative user research achieves high productivity when supported by the ATF's capabilities. Researchers from academia, industry and national laboratories coming to ATF successfully investigate wide range of topics. Recently endorsed as an Office of Science National User Facility and a flagship in Accelerator Stewardship, ATF continues broadening its user community. DOE is now planning a considerable expansion of the ATF's capabilities via simultaneously upgrading the parameters of the e-beam and laser.