Background:Dr. Hammel has dedicated two decades of his professional life to advancing HEL systems
for the U.S. Navy. Throughout his tenure, he has spearheaded a comprehensive initiative aimed at understanding
the influence of the atmosphere on laser beam propagation. In his capacity as a senior scientist within the
U.S. Navy, he has supervised field test programs focused on enhancing laser beam measurement techniques,
while also formulating innovative approaches to enhance the accuracy of models to predict atmospheric effects
on laser transmission.
Dr. Hammel has created innovative techniques to study the joint impact of maritime aerosols, turbulence,
and refraction on the transmission of laser beams. This enables accurate estimation of laser beam spread,
beam wander, and power distribution at the target location. He has also introduced new turbulence profile
models designed for maritime conditions and is currently leading a unique program to improve the precision
of laser propagation performance predictions by utilizing a novel combination of high-resolution Numerical
Weather Prediction and atmospheric lidars.
Dr. Hammel took the initiative to establish the SPIE Optics and Photonics conference on Atmospheric
Propagation in 2005, and he maintained the role of conference Chair until 2019. Currently, he holds positions
as a Member of the Executive Organizing Committee, the Technical Organizing Committee, and Program Chair for
the Atmospheric and Space Optical Systems track. In recognition of his contributions, Dr. Hammel was honored
as a Fellow of SPIE in 2020.
Furthermore, Dr. Hammel's notable achievements include receiving the prestigious 2015 Lauritsen-Bennett
Award for Excellence in Science, which is the highest honorary award presented by SPAWAR Systems Center
Pacific. This award is granted to only one individual in the field of science each year. Additionally, he
was recognized with the 2014 Navy Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award, an esteemed annual
accolade bestowed upon a mere 0.1% of the Navy's scientists and engineers.
Candidate's Statement: I aspire to join the Board of Directors with the aim of fostering the career
development of new and mid-career DE professionals. I am convinced that DEPS provides an unparalleled
collaborative and educational setting, and I am committed to contributing my efforts to further enrich it.
One of my foremost objectives is to collaborate with the DoD Services in acknowledging the significance of
attending DEPS conferences as a vital platform for networking opportunities and professional development for
early and mid-career professionals. I will strive to eliminate any artificial restrictions that hinder
potential conference attendees from participating.
The rationale for my first interaction with DEPS was my eagerness to gain knowledge about the diverse
fields involved in the development of a HEL weapon system. I discovered the conferences to be extremely
beneficial in expanding my education. Subsequently, I recognized the immense significance of DEPS' security
measures imposed on all conference participants. In comparison, the SPIE conferences I coordinated suffered
from the challenge of preventing the unauthorized transfer of intellectual property to foreign attendees.
Conversely, the security controls implemented by DEPS foster an environment of open exchange without the
concern of information leakage.
DEPS offers an unparalleled combination of academic institutions, service laboratories, and industry, and
my commitment lies in fostering its growth and continuity.
Phil Macklin, MZA
Background: Dr. Phil Macklin is currently the Director of Business Development for MZA Associates
Corporation. He currently supports the phenomenal growth of this over 31 year old company that has provided
technical solutions to Directed Energy Weapons advancement over decades. His 40 year career in the
Department of Defense brings a blend of military, corporate and academic experience to any organization.
Through military operational positions from STINGER platoon leader to division air defense operations and
from his experience as a Department of Army Acquisition selected Project Manager, Dr. Macklin’s focus has
been in ‘system of systems’ for countering airborne threats and the enabling associated technologies to
support the Warfighter.
As a 20 year career U.S. Army Air Defense Officer, he provided leadership and management in joint and
multinational “3rd dimensional” aspects of force protection from platoon to division level under General
Schwartzkopf, 24th Infantry Division. This experience provided significant “operational defense of the
warfighter” perspective. As a U.S. Army military Project Manager under Missile Defense Agency oversight,
at the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, he managed the design, development and customer
acquisition for Extended Air Defense Simulation (EADSIM), Extended Air Defense Testbed (EADTB) and Israeli
Testbed (ITB). These diverse synthetic environment simulation systems were designed for integration and
interoperability assessments for multiservice and multinational asset defense. These electronic
'sand tables' were significantly used to assess system of system technical capabilities for multiple
platforms at the strategic and tactical levels in the context of an integrated battlespace.
During Dr. Macklin’s tenure from 1995 to 1999, these systems grew from several casual users to over 400
users worldwide. Dr. Macklin’s 4 year Assistant Professorship of Chemistry at West Point provided
significant support for his abilities in technical and educational areas, which will be necessary for
outreach to the broader DE community.
Dr. Macklin’s experience with industry involves capture and management of defense contracts with Bechtel
National, Inc. a $6B, 15 year Kwajalein Range Operations contract; DRS Technologies, capture and management
of a $400M Force Protection business line and for Universities Space Research Association (USRA) a $20M
Philip Scholars Intern Program contract for Air Force Research Laboratory.
Dr. Macklin has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West
Point and Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University.
Candidate's Statement: The Advancement of Directed Energy from a technical, political and
historical perspective will require the DE community pulling together to this end. As a business developer
for one of the premier companies in the industry, MZA Associates Corporation, the strategic view of those
needs and requirements for the advancement of DE as a community are studied, analyzed and acted upon both
strategically (long-term) and tactically (immediate and short-term) on a daily basis. My contribution to
the DEPS Board, as well as the DE community moving forward will come from a former warfighter operational
perspective (former Army Airborne Ranger, Pathfinder in Air Defense) and those actions that I see daily
from an industry perspective that are necessary to advance DE as a community. Those political, technical
and cost aspects of providing effective support to the Warfighter with DE technologies should always be
foremost in our daily pursuits.
Jeff Maloney, Mantech
Background: Jeff Maloney has been supporting HEL weapon system development for over 20 years.
Recently, Jeff has brought his decades of industry leadership to the JDETO. He currently manages part of
the JDETO R&D portfolio and supports the government in developing next generation strategies, requirements,
and industrial development to meet the ever-expanding challenges of DE weapons. Having worked with all
services, primes, and many 2nd and 3rd tier vendors for years, Jeff is well known for his expertise with
HEL Beam Directors, large optical systems, and precision pointing. Jeff has worked at Coherent/II-VI
Aerospace & Defense, L3Harris Brashear, BWX Technologies and was an officer in the US Army serving in
Germany and the Gulf war.
Candidate's Statement: Hello again fellow DEPS members. Once again, I come before you to
request your vote for another term on the DEPS Board of Directors. Thanks to your prior votes, I have
served two terms (with a break in-between) where I have been the Vice-President (1 yr) and President (2 yr)
and currently oversee the Student Scholarship and DEPS Fellow processes. During my tenure, we have emplaced
policies that have saved DEPS from significant fiscal strain due to COVID and Symposium cancelations,
transitioned into and back out of virtual events during COVID, strengthened our international collaboration
efforts, and are now transitioning to a new Executive Director. We continue to look for ways to increase
participation, enhance the collaboration and communications that are fostered through DEPS events, and
prepare the next generation of DE leaders to transition this technology to the warfighter. DEPS is unique
in its ability to bring the community together at multiple distribution levels while also supporting
significant scholarship / research opportunities for students across the country. With your vote, I will
continue my support of this valued institution.
Mike O'Connor, nLIGHT
Background: Mike O'Connor is the General Manager of nLIGHT Defense, a vertically integrated
business unit which offers semiconductor lasers, fiber amplifiers, and laser systems to the U.S. DOD
and U.S. allies. Mike's history in U.S. Defense started in the late 1980's when he served in the Army
Special Forces. Mike then attended the University of Massachusetts on the GI Bill and earned a B.S. in
Physics and a M.S. in Geology (Geophysics). After several years working in the telecommunications
optical fiber industry at Lucent Technologies, Mike joined Nufern (now Coherent) in 2001 and became
Director of Business Development for Defense, focusing on developing high power fibers for Directed
Energy applications. In 2008 Mike joined IPG Photonics as Director of Advanced Applications, serving
the defense, scientific, and medical markets. Mike transitioned to nLIGHT in 2016, first serving as
G.M. of Components and later becoming G.M of nLIGHT Defense, with a focus on Directed Energy.
Candidate's Statement: This is a critical time for our Directed Energy community, as we
transition from S&T to field demonstrations, and to programs of record. Our DEPS organization is also
transitioning in order to continue to meet the need of the DE Community. I have been fortunate to have
been a member of this vibrant, patriotic community for more than 20 years. I have benefited considerably,
both personally and professionally, as so many of us have. I have considered it a privilege to try to
give back as a DEPS Board Member over the last 3 years. I have learned much, and as an industry
veteran with a broad DE background, I hope I have helped to broaden our board membership with an
industry perspective. I would be honored to serve a second term with the DEPS Board in service to
our community.
Greg Quarles, Applied Energetics
Background: Dr. Gregory Quarles has been recognized as a global leader in the laser and electro-optics
fields, having worked at a national laboratory, university, three start-ups, one Fortune 500 company, a
family-owned business and a not-for-profit organization. Dr Quarles was hired as the CEO and Board member
for Tucson-based Applied Energetics, Inc, in May 2019, a recognized leading company developing ultrashort-pulse
lasers, frequency agile optical sources, and laser guided energy technology, all focused in the Directed
Energy sector. He had previously served on the AE Scientific Advisory Board. Prior to joining Applied
Energetics, Dr. Quarles served as the Chief Scientific Officer for Optica (formerly The Optical Society of
America). He is an experienced Chief Executive Officer, Board Member and renowned physicist with 30 years of
experience driving cutting-edge laser, optics and photonics technology development and operations within
optical materials and defense-related companies. Greg is a globally recognized leader for his strategic
partnerships with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Congress, and his innovative work in the progression
of optical materials research, specifically developing new laser devices for medical, national security
and industrial applications. He has also spent the past ten years interacting with global leaders in the
optics, photonics, industrial and academic communities discussing policy and funding opportunities. Greg
has been awarded five patents related to his research in solid-state lasers, has twelve pending, and has
published over 120 peer-reviewed and conference publications and has chaired over 40 conferences and
symposia for various organizations.
Greg previously served as the CEO at B.E. Meyers & Co., Inc., a pioneering company in the development
and manufacturing of opto-electronic technology and related products used in defense and law enforcement
applications. His previous experience includes serving on 8 Corporate and not-for-profit Boards, including
the Optica Board of Directors, working at II-VI Incorporated for 18 years as the Director of R&D and Director
of Government Relations, and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory for 5 years where he was a part of the first
team in the DOD to develop a diode-pumped IRCM platform. Greg has served the past 9 years on the Department
of Commerce’s SITAC Committee (Sensors and Instrumentation Technology Advisory Committee) advising on export
control revisions for the lasers and directed energy sectors and served as the laser and materials expert on
the DOD committee for Military Critical Technologies List. Dr. Quarles is a graduate of Oklahoma State
University and holds a Ph.D. and MS in Physics, and a dual BS in Math and Physics. He has served as Assistant
Editor for both Optical Engineering and the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics and is a Fellow of both the
Optical Society and SPIE and a Senior Member of IEEE.
Candidate's Statement: I am honored to have been a part of this Directed Energy community for over
35 years. My PhD research was funded by a fellowship by what was then the Air Force Weapons Lab in Albuquerque,
and my involvement has continued to my position today. My initial DEPS membership dates back to 2003, and this
engagement has included being actively involved as a committee member for the DEPS and SSDLTR meetings for
over a decade (including Committee Member for the DEPS Annual Meeting (2007 – 2011) and as a Committee Member
for the Solid State and Diode Laser Technology Review (2008 – 2015) and Chair in both 2011 and 2012), and was
PI on the first DE-JTO contract received by VLOC/II-VI back in 2001. I have witnessed the emergence and
deployment of solid-state DE laser platforms exceeding 100 kW and have been involved in the development and
delivery of component level technologies which have included high-damage threshold optics, thin disk gain
media, and ceramic laser hosts previously while at II-VI Incorporated. Part of my experience has included
leading BE Meyers to production hardening and delivering high volume optical disrupter and dazzler technology
for SOCOM, the Marines, and Army Programs of Record. Currently at Applied Energetics, we are developing the
next disruptive directed energy system utilizing ultrashort pulse optical systems.
I am asking for your support as a Board member because I understand that offering a directed energy solution
is often just one step of the process. I see an opportunity to incorporate greater outreach to improve the
testing and acceptance of a multilayered set of technologies for threat intercept. This starts with increasing
the visibility of Directed Energy opportunities to students that can possibly hold clearances during graduate
school and post-graduation. I was blessed to be a mentor for two of the DEPS DE Graduate Scholars for 2022-23,
and this is a tremendous program begun by DEPS that needs to be expanded and sustained for the development of
future DEPS leaders. Filling this pipeline with qualified scientists and engineers is necessary to continue
to make strides to keep the US in a leadership position in global DE systems. Secondly, my breadth of
experiences as the Chief Scientist for the Optical Society (now Optica) in cross-society and global
interactions will allow me to assist the DEPS Board and community in expanding prominence and teaming
opportunities with other parallel and complimentary societies, such as MSS, Optica, LIA and SPIE to increase
visibility to future members and contributors to DEPS. Finally, I support a dedicated effort of public policy
and advocacy for continuing the double-digit year over year growth in the federal budget for all aspects of
Directed Energy platforms from the basic R&D level to the program of record and acquisition line items. I have
demonstrated over 20 years of experience in briefings and testimony to over twenty various congressional
committees and subcommittees on a multitude of topics spanning STEM outreach, education policy, small business
focused grants and contracts, and specifically technology insertion programs and initiatives that have
received funding increases and appropriations for highly specialized needs as identified by multiple agencies
(from optics, photonics, quantum technologies to high brightness lasers. Continuing education for both the
defense department leadership to the congressional appropriators is imperative for sustaining this growth
and acceptance of DE platforms as a necessity for national security. My experience, insights and relationships
across a wide-range of research, developmental, operational, strategic, and advocacy teams will enable me to
be an effective Board Member for DEPS and allow me to facilitate implementation of solutions for our members.
If elected to the DEPS Board of Directors, I commit to taking an active role supporting all steps of expanding
the visibility and highlighting the necessity of directed energy solutions for our national security
requirements and to fight to increase funding and capabilities to protect our troops at home and abroad.
In summary, as a DEPS Board member I will commit to actively supporting (1) Early Career Development and
Education in DE, (2) Advocacy for DE, (3) greater DE Communication of results in publications and at
conferences, and (4) the Empowerment of Partnerships across the academic, industrial and federal laboratory
RDT&E efforts in Directed Energy.
Paul Shattuck, LMCO
Background: Paul Shattuck is the Director and Chief Engineer for Directed Energy Systems at Lockheed
Martin Space in Sunnyvale, California. Paul has over 49 years of technical, management, and business
development experience in the pursuit, capture, development and operations of space, launch, airborne and
ground systems. His experience encompasses the total product life cycle - focusing on long-range strategic
planning; systems engineering and integration; and design through field test, deployment, and operational
support of the delivered system. Paul has particular technical expertise in the areas of: beam control &
acquisition, tracking, and pointing; guidance, navigation, dynamics and control; robotics & control;
object-oriented software; flight software V&V; modeling and simulation; and mission and operations analysis.
A focused area of Paul’s career has been the development and maturation of the system architecture and beam
control technologies for High Power Laser Directed Energy Systems. He spent the 1980’s developing and testing
beam control technologies for the Strategic Defense Initiative, culminating in a simulated ground demonstration
of a Space Based laser engagement of enemy ballistic missiles for President Reagan in November 1987. His
ground breaking work in rapid retargeting and precision pointing was recognized by SDIO with the receipt of
their Technology Achievement Award in 1987. He also received the Corporate Jefferson Cup and Engineer of the
Year award for technical excellence in 1988 for his efforts in this field. Paul spent 15 years (1997-2012) in
various leadership roles on the Airborne Laser (ABL) program including Program Director during the design and
development phase and Remote Site Test Director leading the team responsible for integration of the Beam
Control/Fire Control system on the Airborne Laser and for all ground and flight tests. He was also a lead
member of the flight test mission crew with over 120 sorties on the ABL aircraft, which culminated in a lethal
shootdown of a boosting ballistic missile in February 2010, a historical first. His contributions to this area
were recognized by the receipt the Missile Defense Agency’s Technology Pioneer Award in 2010 and Technology
Achievement Award in 2011. In addition, he received the Lockheed Martin Corporate NOVA award for Technical
Excellence in 2009 and NOVA Team Excellence award in 2010 in recognition of this accomplishment. Paul was
recognized in 2011 by his alma mater Purdue University with the Outstanding Aerospace engineer Award for his
contributions on the Airborne Laser Program to the field of beam control. For the past 12 years (2012 to
present) Paul has focused his attention on maturing tactical laser weapon systems on ground, maritime, and
airborne platforms for transitioning to the warfighter. He has led teams in the development of compact,
self-contained laser weapon systems, such as the ADAM, ATHENA and Layered Laser Defense (LLD) Laser Weapon
Systems, designed for area defense, self-defense and precision strike missions. In February 2022 Paul led
the LLD team for the first successful shootdown of a surrogate cruise missile by an electric laser at
WSMR/HELSTF . The teams have been recognized by Lockheed Martin with Technical Excellence Team Awards for
their demonstration of area defense against improvised rockets, UAS, small boats, trucks, and surrogate cruise
missiles. Paul was recognized in 2018 as a Fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS) for his
extensive contributions and distinguished service to the DE (Directed Energy) community. He continues to be
very active in the Directed Energy field, working to bridge the valley of death and transition this capability
to the warfighters.
Candidate's Statement: I have been involved in the development of Directed Energy High Power Laser
Systems and Technologies since the 1980’s. The majority of this time was spent inventing and maturing the
technologies needed to build a Directed Energy System and to prove that the system works and can defeat the
target. Today there is recognition that these DE systems are an effective means to defeat specific targets
and the questions that remain are focused on showing the military utility and cost effectiveness of the
system. DEPS was born in 1999 to support and advocate for the research & development necessary to develop
Directed Energy Systems, and to help drive the transition of these systems to the warfighters. I am one of
the original members of the DEPS organization and have been involved since its founding. I have been involved
in various capacities including a member and sponsor, an author and presenter of technical papers, a member of
various panels at conferences and symposia, and a member of the BSEA for 3+ years.
I believe that Directed Energy is at a critical junction in development where the technology maturity and
user needs and gaps have converged. It is an opportunity to cross the technology “value of death” and put
these systems in the hands of the warfighters to defend our nation and our allies. I believe that the DEPS
will provide a valuable service to accomplishing this goal. It will provide the forum for collaboration and
exchange of ideas between academia, industry, government and national labs. DEPS can provide the catalyst
for this through its various outreach efforts. And DEPS can help to build and strengthen the pipeline of
talent for the next generation of engineers. We can continue to facilitate our sponsorship of college
graduate students, continue to sponsor the STEAM events, and reinvigorate our outreach to the hill and
Pentagon. We can further our international outreach to our allies. As a board member, I will be an active
participant and valuable resource to help turn these opportunities into reality.
