These short courses are being offered in conjunction with the UK/US Directed Energy Workshop, to be held 15-19 June 2015 in Swindon, United Kingdom. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits will be awarded upon successful completion of these short courses. These courses are open to all employees of the US and UK Government and their contractors upon approval via the bilateral agreements in place for this event.
Course 1. Introduction to High Energy Lasers
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructor: Mark Neice, DEPS
Day/Time: Monday, 15 June; 1300-1700
CEUs awarded: 0.35
Course Description: This lecture will introduce the field of HEL weapons and
their associated technologies using an interweaving of technical requirements, history, and
accomplishments. The basic attributes of HEL weapons will be covered, leading into discussions of
laser-material interaction, lethality, potential weapon applications, system requirements, laser
power scaling, propagation, and beam control. DoD interest in tactical applications, current
technical issues, and areas of research emphasis will be highlighted.
Intended Audience: This course is geared to those with a technical background who seek
an overview of HEL technology and the current state of the art. Individuals who are beginning to
work in the field or technical managers who wish an integrated overview would benefit from the class.
Instructor Biography: Mark Neice is the Executive Director for the Directed Energy
Professional Society. His experience in high energy lasers began in 1996 at the Airborne Laser
System Program Office, continued at the AF Research Lab as head of the Laser Division,
and concluded in 2012 as the Director of the High Energy Laser Joint Technology Office.
During his tenure at the JTO, he oversaw the technology demonstration of the 100kW Joint
High Power Solid State Laser and initiation of the Robust Electric Laser Initiative. Course 2. Introduction to RF Technologies
Classification: Unclassified, Public Release
Instructor: Robert Torres
Day/Time: Monday, 15 June; 1300-1700
CEUs awarded: 0.35
Course Description: This course will provide an introduction to RF Directed
Energy weapons, also known as High Power Microwave (HPM) weapons. The course consists of four parts:
1) a general introduction to the basic terms and concepts, 2) a discussion of the varous types of effects
that can be induced and how they are characterized, 3) the technologies that enable RF-DEW weaponization,
and 4) hardening techniques and technologies.
At the end of the class, students will know what RF-DEWs are and how they differ from classical Electronic
Warfare and nuclear EMP. Students will learn the various ways in which microwaves couple into a target
(i.e., front door/back door, in-band/out-of-band) and some of the many sorts of effects that they can
precipitate. Technology discussions will show the difference between narrow band (NB) and ultra-wide band
(UWB) sources, antennas and diagnostics, as well as the principal elements of the power systems needed
to support them. The course concludes with a discussion of hardening techniques and technologies.
Topics to be covered include:
Intended Audience: Newcomers to the field of RF-DEW or managers with some background in
science and engineering will benefit the most from this course.
Instructor Biography: Mr. Robert Torres is the High Power Electromagnetic (HPEM) Transition Program
Manager the Directed Energy Directorate High Power Electromagnetic Division. He leads a team of military,
government and contractor personnel tasked with designing, developing, integrating, demonstrating HPEM
technology to the warfighter. He develops and maintains relationships with Program Offices,
Combatant Commands, and Air Combat Command in an effort to transition HPEM systems.
Course 3. Laser Deconfliction
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution C (US), Confidential (UK)
Instructors: Day/Time: Friday, 19 June; 0800-1200
CEUs awarded: 0.35
Course Description: This course is intended to teach the "Why, Who, What,
How and What's New" of Laser Deconfliction (LD) - the process by which
assets are protected from accidental illumination by lasers. Predictive Avoidance (PA),
protecting space assets and Airspace Deconfliction (AD), protecting air assets, will also
be covered in the course. As the AD process is not as mature as the PA process, it will
not be covered in as much detail.
PA and AD are critical pieces of the testing process for DoD and NSF laser
systems and a knowledgeable and proactive approach by the
testing organization can maximize test windows and minimize frustration.
The course is also intended to help the laser community work together in this area
and provide a consistent source of information on current issues, capabilities
developed by other groups, and what's in store for the future. The course has
recently been updated to include the Navy's recent development of a hybrid safety
system and QRC deployment.
The goal of this course is to familiarize the student with the reasons
behind PA, the process for working with the Laser Clearing House (LCH) as
well as tools and points of contact available to hopefully simplify and
clarify the process. In addition, the course will cover efforts in the
community to standardize the process and make the safety requirements more
in line with current probabilistic risk assessment methodology.
Topics to be covered include:
Intended Audience: Anyone who is currently involved or anticipates
involvement in laser testing will benefit from this course. Test planners
and managers as well as those technically involved with the testing are welcome.
Instructor Biographies: Heather (Lehmann) Witts is the Deputy Chief
of the DE Branch of the JFCC
SPACE/J95 Unified Space Vault. In that role she is primarily responsible for
carrying out the Laser Clearinghouse mission. She was accepted into the
Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate (NuPOC) Program in 2001 and graduated
from Luther College with a BA in Math and Physics in May 2003. She received
her commission in December 2003, completed sea tours on USS IWO JIMA and USS
DWIGHT D EISENHOWER, and passed the nuclear engineers exam. In August 2008,
then LT Lehmann reported to JFCC SPACE/J95 at Vandenberg AFB as Deputy Chief
of the Directed Energy Branch where she spent most of her time dedicated to
carrying out the LCH mission. In late 2010 she transitioned out of the
active force, into the Navy Reserves, and became an AF civilian - remaining
in a similar position at JFCC SPACE. She obtained a Masters Degree in
Engineering Management and was married in 2011. Ms Witts is presently the
primary point of contact for the LCH mission.
LeAnn Brasure works for Schafer Corporation
supporting the HEL JTO as part of their technical team. She graduated from
the University of Michigan with a BS in Physics and was commissioned as a
second lieutenant in the Air Force. She obtained her Masters Degree in
nuclear physics through the Air Force Institute of Technology and retired
from the Air Force after 24 years of active duty service. During her active
duty time she had assignments including WSMC (Vandenberg AFB), AFTAC
(Patrick AFB) as well as a physics instructor at the Air Force Academy. She
began to focus on solid state lasers during her assignment as an AFRL
Laboratory Representative at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Her
last assignment was with AFRL at Kirtland AFB as the Solid State Laser
Branch Chief. Her role as a part of the HEL JTO team is to monitor current
technology projects and help define new technology development programs such
as the JTO's Predictive Avoidance and Airspace Deconfliction effort. In
addition, she has recently begun work on inernational agreements, helping the
JTO craft multi-service "purple" agreements to facilitate international collaboration.
Course 4. Tri-Service Lethality
Classification: Unclassified, Limited Distribution D (US), Confidential (UK)
Instructors: Day/Time: Friday, 19 June; 0800-1700 (full day course)
CEUs awarded: 0.7
Course Description: The Tri-Service Lethality short course consists of two distinct sessions as described below.
The Lethality Testing/Equipment Session will provide a discussion of all elements of HEL Lethality testing.
The course will address data collection standards to be applied during the planning and execution of the test to
assure meaningful and accurate data is collected. It will describe measurement techniques for measuring beam
profile and other laser parameters during the execution of the test. Experimental test setup and processes
will be described along with data acquisition requirements for targets, facility and test conditions as well
as the instrumentation and equipment necessary to acquire those measurements. The testing session will conclude
with a discussion of testing strategy for successful conduct of Dynamic Testing. This will include development
of test matrices to describe all the key test parameters as well as techniques and methods to execute HEL
Lethality full scale target testing.
The Modeling & Simulation Tools/Techniques Session will describe the models, codes and tools utilized
to analyze and predict Laser System performance in a variety of ground-based, air-based and at-sea based scenarios.
Model discussions will include high-fidelity physics based models as well as fast-running codes to provide vulnerability
assessment for system level modeling codes. The high-fidelity modeling will describe the key parameters and the physics
associated with laser / material interaction. Engineering-level modeling codes will be described that identifies the
key target and laser parameters used to analyze a wide set of target scenarios and engagements. The full scope of
end-to-end modeling will be described as used in DoD Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) decision processes. This session
will be concluded with a description and demonstration of the HEL JTO published Laser Lethality Knowledge Base.
Intended Audience: Students attending this course should have an undergraduate degree in science or engineering.
The course is tailored for the system program manager, system designer, and the lethality analyst who are interested in
learning the full gamut of HEL lethality and target vulnerability analysis and testing. Experience in the field would be
helpful but not necessary.
Instructor Biographies: Dr. Christopher Lloyd is currently leading the Navy’s High Energy Laser Lethality program.
He has been a Lead Scientist at NSWC Dahlgren since 2009, where he serves as the Lethality IPT Lead for the Solid State
Laser-Technology Maturation program (SSL-TM). He worked at the Naval Research Laboratory for 9 years, supporting
material fabrication and laser testing efforts for PMS-405 and NSWC Dahlgren. He has coordinated several HEL lethality
field and laboratory tests and collaborated jointly with the Army and Air Force lethality teams to support the Navy’s
SSL-TM, HEL JTO and Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) laser programs. Dr. Lloyd received his Ph.D. in Physical Sciences
from George Mason University in 2009.
Dr. Peter Wick is a Lead Senior Scientist at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. He received his
B.S. in Chemistry from the Virginia Military Institute in 1990 and Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Purdue University
in 1995. Upon arriving at NSWC Dahlgren in 1995, he worked in the chemical and biological department, mainly focusing
on instrument development and data acquisition up until 2007. He was brought into the high energy laser group in 2007
to develop instrumentation and diagnostic/algorithm capabilities to support laser weapon system lethality and development.
He has been involved in several HEL field test events over the years and used his instrumentation background to perform
system assessments via testing for various laser system platforms.
Mr. Chuck LaMar leads the U.S. Army High Energy Laser Lethality program. As such, Mr. LaMar led the Directed Energy
Alternative system engineering for the recent U.S. Army Analysis of Alternatives. He is also the program manager for
the Army’s Solid State Laser Testbed; a facility dedicated to lethality and propagation studies for High Energy Lasers.
In addition, he represents the Army on the JTO Lethality and Beam Control TAWG. He has written over 50 professional
papers and publications in the field of High Energy Lasers.
Mr. Robert Ulibarri is a Senior General Engineer with AFRL working in the laser effects branch. He has been involved
in effects testing and analysis for over 15 years specifically supporting SBL, ABL and, currently, evaluation of tactical
targets of interest to the Air Force. He has conducted numerous laser effects field tests at such facilities as HELSTF
and AEDC. He is currently supporting the High Energy Laser - Future Air Dominance Study (AFRL/ACC study) and the
upcoming DLWS field test effort. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of New Mexico.
Mr. Darren Luke is a Mechanical Engineer for the Air Force Research Laboratory Laser Effects Research Branch.
He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of New Mexico with an emphasis in
Computational Solid Mechanics. He has 10 years experience in high fidelity model development for laser effects
applications with an emphasis in thermal transport, laser-material interaction, high temperature progressive damage
plasticity, fracture mechanics, fluid dynamics, V&V methods, uncertainty quantification, finite element analysis and
particle methods. He has been involved in laser vulnerability studies for tactical and strategic targets and is
currently the laser effects modeling lead at AFRL/RDLE and is the synergistic effects IPT lead for the multi-disciplinary
Integrated Weapons Environment for Analysis program.
Mr. Bryan Knott received his degree in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech, after which he began work
for the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. For the past 14 years, Mr. Knott has worked in the Lethality
and Effectiveness Branch performing analysis for both kinetic energy and directed energy weapon systems. Mr. Knott has
also worked on the development of various M&S applications and he is currently the model manager for the Effectiveness
ToolBox (ETB) and the Laser Vulnerability Tool (LVT). Mr. Knott is a member of the HEL JTO Lethality TAWG and is the
NAVSEA representative for the HEL JTO M&S TAWG.
Mr. David Loomis is providing program management and technical support to the High Energy Laser Joint Technology
Office. He led an effort to develop a set of Laser / Material Interaction data summaries and to integrate those data
summaries into a Laser Lethality Knowledge Base that was published by the HEL JTO. He led an effort to perform a
Beam Control Systems Study that reviewed and analyzed the state of the art of HEL Beam Control Technology delivering
a comprehensive report to the HEL JTO that describes the state of the art and provides recommendations for advancing
the Beam Control technology. Mr. Loomis was the Lockheed Martin Program Manager for the Zenith Star / Alpha - LAMP
Integration Program that achieved several technology firsts including development of uncooled optics, design and
fabrication of state of the art bandwidth deformable mirror and fast steering mirror, successful application of
holographic optical elements on a 4 meter segmented primary mirror and development of the largest PtSi area focal
plane array. Mr. Loomis was responsible for the test planning and test operations of all the Surface Navy Weapons
System RDT&E programs including the Standard Surface to Air Missile, the Standard Arm Missile, the Standard Active
Missile, the Vertical Launch System, the Surface Launched Harpoon, the Surface Launched Tomahawk, the Phalanx Close
In Weapons System, the Rolling Airframe Missile, the 5 inch and the 8 inch Guided Projectiles.
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