Application of Laboratory Experiments and Atomic Physics Modeling to Astrophysical Observations Kevin B. Fournier, M. Finkenthal, M.J. May, M. Mattioli, W.H. Goldstein, S.B. Hansen Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory PO Box 808, L-473 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550 We present examples of observations of x-ray and XUV emission spectra from magnetically confined laboratory plasmas. We emphasize the strengths of these thermal-plasmas: the control over plasma and sample conditions and accurate measurements of the main plasma parameters (electron temperature, density), the high brightness of emitted spectra, and their similarities to astrophysical plasmas, and their challenges, such as blending problems between emission from intrinsic and injected 'impurities' (the main plasma is composed of hydrogen or deuterium atoms). Specific emphasis is given to study of line ratios and ionization balance for L- and M-shell Fe ions. Interpretation of the spectra relies on complex collisional-radiative modeling and high quality atomic data. A specific application of observations and calculations of M-shell Fe ionization balance to recent CHIPS results is presented. This work performed under the auspices of the US DoE by UC LLNL under contract No. W-7405-Eng-48.